Feel the Freedom

A wonderful client of mine wanted to work on a perpetual feeling of being overwhelmed. He wanted to have time to focus on strategy but found his time being usurped even after blocking time on his calendar to focus his attention.

A picture painted….

What was happening? With each curious question, clarity was gained.

He connected his value with being needed. A long-held belief he learned from his father. A discussion they have to this day.

What does being needed look like?

He gave a very animated description of people showing up at all times “needing” something from him. He was 100% accessible. During the time he blocked off focusing on strategic thinking, he found himself checking email to see if anyone “needed” him, telling himself that if he could just get through all the emails, he could THEN focus.

He had another strongly held belief – “I trust my staff and I want to help create autonomous functioning in my staff.’

He’s very close with his staff. The curiosity was peaking….

How is being 100% accessible demonstrating trust in your staff and valuing autonomous functioning?

“It really doesn’t.”

Light bulb began to illuminate.

What would it look like if your staff senses your value comes from being needed?

Light bulb became brighter.

“It would look like a continuous stream of questions for me, needing me, even when they could figure it out on their own. Wow. I don’t want to do that – I want to demonstrate the trust that I have for them, to have them be and feel autonomous.”

What does the former look like?

“A revolving door, a loop, that keeps them coming back to me and keeps me feeling overwhelmed.”

What does the latter look like?

“A path away from me with the trust and tools for autonomy.”

What is your biggest takeaway from today?

“The loop makes it about me. The path makes it about them.”

Brilliance and freedom in action.