My client:
A young woman technical writer for a university faced a serious situation in her work environment. This issue created intense fear and frustration to the point she was thinking of quitting her job.
As her coach, I focused on her emotional state, as it blocked her ability to see the situation from all sides, make a decision about how to resolve the problem for herself, and regain her ability to focus on her current work. We communicated via email.
The goal:
Strengthen her ability to see the external problem clearly
Uncover the internal issue she was was grappling with
Help the client recognize solutions she already has
Commit to new action
Problem:
My client is tasked with assisting a university to complete an accreditation review. It is a high stress situation. The U.S. Department of Education requires a university to be accredited. This is determined as the school proves it has maintained a certain level of educational standard through their submitted extensive report. My client was hired six months ago to help manage the accreditation report issue that should have been addressed within the university over a year ago.
Client states:
“So, my boss just told me (in a nice way, he is not mean) that they are bringing in a consultant to address something that was part of my job. The consultant is the guy who had this job before me. I have felt like there is a brick in my stomach for two days. I'm done. I'm just done (meaning she plans to quit). When he told me [about the consultant], I had been writing and writing for hours.
“I am pretty sure it was the college president's idea to bring in the consultant. What do you do when the big boss knows you are a screw up?
“I have been feeling so under stress about the impending accreditation review. Our report is due in less than a year and I don't know if we can dig the school out of the hole it dug for itself. [My boss] looks under stress, too. He does not even smile anymore,”
My responses:
Reading your email, here are a couple of thoughts: Remember three things:
1) You're a human being, AND especially, a human being working hard to do her job well. Yes, you have “off” days... Think you're alone in that? NOPE I'll bet anything your boss and coworkers spin their wheels too.
2)You are a skilled experienced writer who has finished many demanding projects in the past under stressful deadlines. Recall instances when you’ve succeeded in spite of chaos around you.
3) All that you and your coworkers can do is what you can do during work hours. You can't work yourself to death for a mistake the school made, right? You are supportive and hard working. Do the best you can with the information given, and, when more is known, do better still with the new instruction.
We all want to aid our coworkers whenever/however we can. If you have compassion for others, you feel that way. At this impasse: feel the feeling, change the thought. In other words, do what you're doing - intelligently looking at the big picture, finding where you are in it and doing what you can do, and that's it.
Move forward to give the issue your best. Be “lighter” in your thoughts towards yourself. Guilt is like a rocking chair, it moves back and forth but takes you nowhere.
Her response – identifying the problem:
I realized this afternoon -- this is not our fault. [My boss, coworker], and I were not here when the school completely dropped the ball on its accreditation and assessment. I don't blame the people who were here -- they had a president who did not care about accreditation and assessment and they were also overwhelmed with Covid and then short staffing. But, if it is not their fault, I know that it most certainly is not my or [my boss or coworker’s] fault. I will do what I can but, ultimately, if we cannot save the school, we can’t.
Client uncovers her issues:
The client said, “The school will benefit if I, my boss, and coworker blame ourselves for this accreditation review mess because we are incredibly responsible people and will work hard to save the school. We all of us need to remember. It is also not the new President's fault -- he got here last August. I doubt he would have taken the job if he knew how much of a disaster the accreditation and assessment has become.
“I am feeling better than before. I think your kind and encouraging words planted the seeds to make me think differently about the situation I am in. Of course, it is ultimately God who is in charge.”
New action:
The client talked with her coworker about the issue: “I talked with [my coworker] about how to manage some of the challenges in the assessment work. She was encouraging and gave me assistance. She assured me that no one is angry at me here. It’s all in my demented mind.
Conclusion:
On days when we feel we have been pushed to our limit, we are reminded that we won’t be pushed beyond our faith. The old adage is, “man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.” We won’t discover just how much strength we do have until it is tested, refined, and tested again. Often—perhaps usually—it is the difficult, demanding times of our lives that are the growth periods—the defining periods. They are the ones that take us from who we are now to who we are meant to be.
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