A Common Coaching Situation

The scenario:
A department in a small organization is under stress because a key, veteran member has left the company. Although people are trying to move forward and hope for the best, the negative fall out of the situation seems to be taking on a life of it's own.  People speculate about what this departure might mean for them, concern for the future of the company, and resentment at added work on already full plates.  There is some talk of others choosing to leave and others simply experience the dread of facing another day in the midst of potentially emotional situations.  

Laura Lind-Blum
Personal & Business Coach

In challenging times of change, it's tempting to gather round the water cooler and commiserate with your coworkers... but ruminating, worrying, blaming others and plain old complaining drain your energy and reinforce the feelings of being stuck and out of control - a victim of the circumstances around you. Exactly the opposite of how you want to be feeling right now!

Instead, invest a little of your creative energy in looking at the situation in a new way. Put on your imaginary thinking cap and consider: Who says this situation is bad? What if current events were in fact opening up new possibilities for you? What might those possibilities be? Imagine that you felt very positive about the situation. What would you do then? How is this situation the perfect launching pad for your next adventure? List all of the ways the changes happening around you are exactly what you need. Notice that when you do this, you begin to feel more energized and more in control of your situation. It becomes easier to take the actions that will create the outcome you want. Choosing how you look at a situation can put you back in the driver's seat.

Melita DeBellis
Life & Business Coach

For members of a work team, the departure of a colleague can provoke a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty.  What's going on?  Why is this happening?  What does this mean for me?  Where will I get support going forward?  Will this job even be fun for me?

Walking through a changing, uncertain environment can be very difficult, especially when your focus stays on all that is changing and uncertain.  So the opportunity here for the affected members of the team is to connect with a place of "realistic optimism." First, explore and clarify what the departure of your colleague means to you personally; recognize the values that have been impacted and be honest about the personal implications.  From there; however, there is a wonderful opportunity to begin to see new possibilities - personally and professionally, and the way to be optimistic about these possibilities is to shift your thinking to the things that can be controlled.  I would invite each team member to identify one or two things that they immediately can do or focus on, that will draw them forward in a positive way toward a new place of greater possibility for themselves.

Liz Dallas
Executive Coach

To a leader who is already under tremendous pressure to create results, managing the negative fallout of turnover can seem counterproductive to keeping the department focused and effective.   In this case, your gut instinct will serve you well, since it is true that whatever people focus on will expand -- including the negative fallout!

Leverage your ability to keep people's attention on the positive.   Put a compelling vision of what's possible in front of people and watch the tide turn as people are pulled (vs. pushed) to creating bottom-line results and using their energy to move forward instead of dwelling on the loss.   And as your own stress builds, resist the temptation to drive performance.   Instead, step up your ability to compel people to the future, such that it holds people's attention and expands. That's one distinction between managing and leading: pushing people with goals and objectives vs. pulling people with a vision of success.

Lea Belair
Change Agent

One of the causes of emotional stress in organizational change is the lack attention to completing an ending before rushing into a new beginning. One way to make the new beginning more successful is to have the department identify and acknowledge what has been lost. A period of grieving is natural and healing. Open up the channels of communication and compensate for the loss by finding a new balance point.  For instance, recognize what has not changed and use that as a basis for moving forward. Working with a coach can facilitate this process by helping you to uncover and ask the right questions before leaping to answers.