I have two blueberry plants in my garden and on my coffee breaks I started to wander past to see if there were any ripe berries to pick. Initially I stood over the bush, saw a few berries and started picking. Then the more I looked the more berries I saw. I soon discovered the more perspectives I took even more berries were ready, just hidden from view. Before long I was standing up, kneeling down, leaning to the left side, leaning to the right and even lying on the ground looking underneath! I was outside for 20 minutes – just picking blueberries and, chuckling to myself about how many I kept on finding! All this made me think of my coaching work. Why?
Because there is a connection between blueberries and leadership coaching.
In coaching the solutions are often hidden from view. You might arrive with a problem you don’t think you have an answer, or a solution for, but you do.
I find that answers can be hidden away in your head, just like the blueberries. It takes different perspectives, different questions and some time to help you find your answers/solutions that may be hidden away. My coaching approach helps you delve into your own experience, look at things differently and find what’s relevant. I also bring my own unique perspectives, developed over years of experience and practice. So, as they say ‘two heads are better than one’ – in coaching you get double value.
You have many more of your own answers than you realise. And I know that the fruits of your labour are well worth discovering – just like the blueberries.