Weeknotes #46: The Stuff of Years
Discovering our professional practice through the slow churning of the years
You are reading Coaching Weeknotes by Roxana Bacian: explorations at the intersection of inner-growth, coaching practice and organisational change-work
‘Catch only what you’ve thrown yourself, all is mere skill and little gain; but when you’re suddenly the catcher of a ball thrown by an eternal partner with an accurate and measured swing towards you, to your centre, in an arch from the great bridge-building of God: why catching then becomes a power – not yours, a world’s.’
From Solang Du Selbstgeworfnes fängst by Rainer Maria Rilke (1922) –
translated from the German
[found via The Leicester Conference, 2024 Brochure]
I’m thinking about how long it takes to really build something. And how even after years of building, there is still so much more to build. I’ve heard this process being described as finding the core of your work across the years. Not in a two-hour workshop, not overnight, not at the end of a coaching programme. It makes me think about being in my late thirties and this new relationship I feel I have with time — for the first time ever, it’s okay and actually wonderful that things take time.
I’m thinking about all the barriers that come up when we try to voice that unique approach, perspective to our jobs, fields, craft. How much self-doubt, anxiety, imposter syndrome stall and delay me and us. This text from the Group Relations Conference does a really good job at naming how personal authority is such a vital ingredient in exercising leadership. The next question that comes up is resourcing, finding the people and material resources that enable us to become visible and bold.
I’m thinking about goals as external vectors versus direction that comes from within, like inside-out goals. The deep listening that is required of us if we are to discover not the mind-response to the question of what is next for you, but the emboddied knowledge and intuition that, over the years of work, has accumulated and is gaining momentum in our bodies as we speak. What words will be uttered if I let this part of my curiosity and professional desire speak?
‘In the Hindu Upanishads, there’s a passage that speaks to how those who become wise lose their names in the Great Oneness, the way rivers lose their names when they flow into the sea.'
- Mark Nepo
I’m thinking about a new relationship to community, team, organisation. And how in truly allowing ourselves to become a part of, influenced by, impacted, changed, we are invited to flow our rivers into the sea. What an incredible and awesome opportunity: to lose your name but gain vastness.
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I'm currently available for new projects and/or roles with a focus on social impact leadership, organisational culture and health, relational approaches to the development of collaborative and compassionate teams.
I am an associate with two leading coaching organisations in the UK supporting leaders to deliver strategic, structural and cultural change through 1-2-1 and organisational coaching sessions. Insured, ICF Associate Certified Coach with 5 yrs+ experience with clients across UK/Europe/Australia.
You can learn more about my approach and previous work on my website.
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