Finding Freedom
In a Covid19 world, we are all learning a lot about who we are and who we want to be.
Paying attention to who we are is the easy part. Digging into who we want to be? Well, that’s where it gets tricky. As we start digging in, emotions tend to run high and run high quickly--even for the most (conventionally) successful people … You know the ones: that person in your office or that leader of your organization who seems to have it all “figured out.”
As emotions run high, they offer us an invitation to transformation. One of my mentors, Ken Mossman, once told me, “emotion tells you that something really important is happening here.” What could be more important in our work lives than stepping into the work life we long to live and the leader we yearn to be?
For many of the clients I speak with, they feel bound by old (and sometimes toxic) stories about who they think they are or who others think they are; enslaved by the narrative of who they should be and what they should be doing.
As the Passover holiday came and went last week, I found myself kicking around these ideas by day in coaching sessions with clients and my Thriving While Remote workshop with teams. By night, I found myself digging into the holiday’s central theme of finding freedom over dinner with my husband. Quarantined in Washington, separated from our families, and 3,000 miles away from the LA seder we had planned months ago, something felt especially resonant about the holiday’s message of freedom from bondage this year.
As we all sit in quarantine, we’ve never been so aware of what “freedom” means to us. It got me thinking about how and where we can find freedom at work. Even, and dare I say especially, in a COVID19 world when we’re so aware of who we are and who we want to be.
As I wrote a few weeks ago, when seeking profound answers there is so much power in leaning into profound questions. Here are three questions I’ve been exploring with clients over the past few weeks as they navigate shifts--big and small--in their work lives:
Getting aspirational: where could you find freedom if you made the next decision from a place of could do vs. a place of should do?
Intuition and authenticity over expectations: where could you find freedom if [somebody else’s] expectations didn’t play a role in making this decision? Who is the leader you want to be right now?
Inviting innovation to the party: where could you find freedom if you tried doing this a different way?
While it may seem counterintuitive, I’m really optimistic about the opportunity to find freedom at work in a Covid19 world. Get in touch with me to share where you’re finding freedom or what powerful questions are changing the game for you right now.
Randi Braun is a coach, consultant, speaker, and the Founder of Something Major. Get in touch with Randi via email or social (below). Copyright 2020. All rights reserved.
