In our current Quadrant 3 Leadership Cohort, we’ve been talking about personality, abilities, and habits. Over the course of a few classes we’ve looked at the Enneagram, the Highlands Ability Battery, assessments like DISC, and the various ways we use stories and storytelling to define who we are.

One of the coaches asked if I felt the point of helping clients identify their patterns was to help them return back to some point before they built of the habits. Or if it were to help them appreciate the habits that have been developed and to grow beyond those patterns.

I love that question!

Is the road back to you regressing or progressing?

I don’t believe the point of coaching is to regress to some state of being. One of the things I love about coaching is helping clients see the wisdom they’ve gained from the experiences they’ve had.

As coaches, we get to help clients see a wider view. We get to acknowledge the validity of their current perception. And we are called on to offer a perspective we see from being in a different point of view.

I love that we can help clients become more self-reflective. More aware of their habitual responses. Not judgmentally aware; simple more aware.

Once our clients see the patterns, they can choose if those patterns are still serving them. If they are great. If they aren’t, also great. Knowing they exist will help them start the process of changing the patterns.

How are your patterns impacting your life?

How about you? Are your patterns still serving you? Or have those habits that protected you in the past like a suit of armor now become constricting, limiting your growth?