The New Path

Sometimes we feel there are too many changes in our lives, most of the time it's from outside and it makes no sense to us. Do you know the feeling?

It's common to most of us that we don't see the point in those changes, going on outside in the world, the workplace, or what other people are talking about. It's useless.

It can lead to feeling overwhelmed and disconnected from what is going on, and it disturbing good grab we have on things, we have to change to new ways of doing things. Making sense is important to all of us, but what to do if it is really doesn't?

During the last years I have been coaching leaders to make sense, and then find the solutions and there is no doubt that the last 2,5 years have been harder than usual. Then what to do?

“If you do not create change, change will create you.” ~Unknown

When leading change for many years, I know the emotions it brings when I was telling them that we were going to change the way we work, the values we work from or level up our competencies, etc.

There was always one thing thin in common: Resistance to change! Most of us want to hold on to what we know because it makes us feel secure and safe, and we find it hard to change just because it's someone else's agenda.

One thing we have to tell ourselves is: We change All The Time! Even if we are not aware of it, even if we don't feel like it or think about it - it's a part of who we are, as humans!

The first few times I was a leader in a school and the only solution was to go through a big change, it stroke me that if I called it: small adjustments, they accepted the "small" things we were going to change. So our language in how we want to create engagement is so important. It's about to contain what is going to happen and how I am supposed to act.

So I learned that my communication, when I came to new schools, was a determined result. It was obvious that when I was focusing on the very few things they were going to change in their work, it was very easy for them to accept - adapt - and implement.

The last years I was leading change, I changed my approach by saying: Look forward to all the benefits you want in your work. And it all starts with our mindset and belief in this.

I could see the flourishing employees as they were learning the first few steps in the process, and they realized that the new learnings actually helped them to grow, as a human. The new insights brought in a new wider aspect of life, and that was very meaningful progress.

Going through new learning sometimes can lead to creating new paths we never thought possible. I love to bring in creative approaches such as my Diploma in Design Thinking, and help employees discover the unknown that is not existing until they create it.

Sometimes we have to be brave enough to roll out the new path that will lead to the distance we want to live in. We don't know how this journey might turn out to be - maybe we are going to start all over or we learn something new we never thought about when planning this dream that we are building.

We have to learn the beauty of Designing The New Path - and where it may lead us.

Helle Ottesen

We have to learn to trust The Process; Frequent changes make you easily adapt to new situations, new environments, and new people. As a result, you do not panic when something new unexpectedly shifts your life - you invite it in.

When we have enough courage to build up The Strenght needed to live from our own Values and that is the way I help Leaders to build up the True Mindset that helps them personally and in business. First, we have to stand strong, and even if we know it, it can be hard.

There is something STRONG in building up our own PATH - as if building up a strong fundament that comes from our Inner Natural Core and who we are. This, in itself, is strong.

So even if your leader is telling you that something is changing in your work, don't panic! Be calm, stay safe and rely on the process, and most importantly: make it YOUR progress. Grow & Learn during this process, and let all the emotions turn into strength and find ways to develop yourself and design the way you want to adapt and learn to master your work.