I thought by now I’d be through the transition I’ve been talking about this month, but I find, no, I’m not. It seems it’s all a bit more vague and unscripted than that. I have to laugh – there’s a big part of me that thought I could control it all!

Transition takes its own good time. There is no right order and there’s certainly no set timetable for it all to take place. There are new steps to take and new skills to develop. There are lessons to learn, and growing pains to go through. It means letting go of old ways and old thinking. Sometimes denial gets in the way as we process something so far outside of the paradigm we know that it seems impossible. It means opening up to new ideas, new ways of doing things and even, doing new things. It’s about learning, and that can be challenging.  Learning means trying on new ideas and for most of us that could mean six times six ways – hear it, read about it, write it, act on it, think on it, see the progress and outcome of it and teach it forwards (oops, that’s 7; a bonus one!). This means understanding the theory, putting it into practice and fine tuning it so it works in real life.

I don’t feel like I’ve arrived yet, I’ve not gone through the transition as I’d hoped and yet I’m far from disappointed. I’m seeing the progress. I’ve taken big steps out of my comfort zone; well, actually I’ve probably taken lots of little steps out of my comfort zone. At each step, I’m assessing the feedback, the comments, how I feel about it. Feedback is coming unasked – not the horrid and hurtful opinions of those who feel threatened by something they think I’m doing to them – but positive suggestions, team collaboration, the thank-you-did-a-great-job kind of feedback. The kind of feedback that reflects who I am and what I’m doing, not a sought-after validation that I must have in order to feel I’ve made a worthwhile contribution.

At some point, I may need to take a big leap of faith outside of my comfort zone. In the meantime I have faith in myself, I’m learning and growing and I am in a supportive team. Perhaps this transition is not about taking a leap of faith. Perhaps it’s one of those where I’ll arrive, look back at where I was and be amazed, wondering “When did I get here!”

Struggling with your own transition? Looking for a supportive team? Contact me to see if I can help.