Relationships are the path to personal transformation

At the tender yet still very-much-an-adult age of 37 I was broken.

Severely burnt out, newly separated, two young kids, wondering how I would ever work again.

The circumstances of my life at the time meant I had a LOT of time on my own, so I set upon answering the question that changed my life:

“If I have everything going for me, how the hell did I end up here??”

Over the next few years I went on a personal development journey that uncovered what I had never allowed myself to see.

I laid out the insecurities that led me to burn myself out, caused me to follow paths that weren’t meant for me and protect myself from being judged by others.

All the ways I had kept myself small and safe but ultimately distant from being my brilliant, happy self.

But there came a moment when I had gone as far as I could.

I’d asked myself all the questions.

I had cried all the tears.

And I had become a little too comfortable with my solitude.

I needed something else.

I needed someone to show me what I couldn’t see about myself.

Right on cue, he showed up.

The relationship that would take my growth to the next level.

A relationship we both knew would grow us in every way.

It was not plain sailing.

We triggered each other deeply.

Forced courage we didn’t know we had within us.

And brought us both to a new level of authenticity and growth.

Growth we could not have experienced on our own.

The truth is, whilst we grow on our own, we grow the most in relationships.

People trigger us.

They reveal our development edges.

We hold ourselves back in fear of what people may think.

And, when given the chance, they show us what we could never have seen in ourselves.

Leveraging relationships for growth is the fundamental principle of Unmanaged™.

It guides leaders how to show their people what they cannot see in themselves.

The egg on their face they could have otherwise walked around with all day.

The role of leader is to hold up the mirror.

To show people what they do; what they couldn’t be aware of until someone else shows them.

It is so obvious to us where others need to grow.

But until that is spoken, it is hidden.

Nothing changes.

The egg remains firmly on the face.

Obvious to everyone … except the wearer.

When it is spoken with respect and curiousity, the pathway to change appears.

With a guide alongside, invested in your growth and prosperity, your people will walk down that path enthusiastically.

That is what The Unmanaged Method™ delivers.

Because at your level, you aren’t developing the functional skills, you’re developing the person.

Are your relationships ones that foster an environment of growth? If not, why not? And what will you do next week to ensure that they are?

Kate