Don’t Fall In | Stretch | A Foundation of Confidence
Hello there! Welcome to my weekly LEAPS.
You’re receiving this email because you subscribed to my weekly Wednesday feature or our mailing list. Every Wednesday, I share 5 things using our LEAPS approach:
Learn: something new or an idea
Energy: an energy (good or bad) word and it’s meaning
Action: something to do
Processing: a question to consider
Shout out: something or someone that I want to celebrate or acknowledge
LEARN
Something Worth Sharing
Don’t Fall In
How comfortable are you with silence? How confident are you to ask someone a question, and just sit while they process their response? Most people have a habit of falling into this ‘space’ and speaking rather than just ‘being’. Holding the space and resisting the temptation to fall in is an important skill to develop.
I recall chatting to a friend of mine a few years ago and him telling me about his work as a business consultant - when he had a light bulb moment. He admitted to me that in his eagerness to help people, he’d often fall into their space - the space of being able to think and come to their own conclusions. He imposed himself on their space and very often influenced the client while fast-tracking past an important stage for them.
In a challenging and fast-paced world, we can all trip up and find ourselves trying to push, accelerate, be martyrs, forcing things and falling into important spaces. My learning this week is that we must all keep developing our skill and ability to resist falling - and occasionally jumping - in to spaces. Equally, be aware of people trying to fall into your space - taking your time, focus, processing and energy.
ENERGY
An emotion or energy; a stand-out word / s
Stretch
Stretching and stretch - as words - can bring about both positive and negative feelings. When we are stretched we can be overwhelmed, however stretching ourselves can be a great way of challenging ourselves. Physical stretching is important to stay limber and resilient.
The meaning of STRETCH comes from Old English STRECCAN meaning "draw out to full length, spread out, prostrate (oneself);" also "to reach or extend in space". When we choose to stretch rather than ‘being’ stretched, we can reach out into the world.
ACTION
Something small that you can do that might make a big difference
Open Something
Last week I suggested that the action could be to close something - this week I thought we perhaps could focus on the opposite. Opening something could be a conversation, an idea, a door, an opportunity, our eyes, a new chapter…just open something!
PROCESSING
A question to think about and consider (you can discuss this with someone or write your thoughts down)
“How confident am I feeling about…?”
It’s a general question - how confident are you feeling about whatever it is you’re contemplating, facing or working on? You get to fill in the “…”I’d love for you to send me your own stories / thoughts about this. Drop me a line with your answer / thoughts on this question
SHOUT OUT
Who / what I think deserves recognition - my gratitude or to be celebrated.
Energy in the Room
We’re all pretty used to Zooms, Teams and other virtual meetings - they are very much part of our usual working arrangements these days. However, being able to get face-to-face time with those we engage and communicate with has a very different feel and energy about it. This week we are in the room with some American colleagues in Phoenix - and it’s served as a great reminder for “the power of live and in-person”. We get so much more from the time we share together than via screens - and we have way more empathy for each other when we are together.
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LEAPS is a process used by our team and clients all the time - and even my own family on a daily basis.
I’ll be sharing a set of LEAPS each week with you and encourage you to do your own version:
L: what have you learned?
E: what’s your energy / feeling word
A: what’s one thing you need to do?
P: what are you thinking / processing?
S: who or what can you shout out?
