Find Your People

I had man-flu last week. It was awful.

For those who are not familiar with this dire scourge, the symptoms of man-flu are very similar to the common cold, but accompanied by lots of whining, moaning, and feeling sorry for oneself. As far as I'm aware it's exclusive to men (but I'm talking from a fairly limited sample size).

I'm fortunate enough to mostly work remotely so I didn't inflict my symptoms on anyone except for my wife, who of course took wonderful care of me.

I also happened to have a call scheduled one evening with my peer group of coaches.

I have been working with this amazing group of people for a while now, providing each other with mutual support and encouragement as we grow our businesses and explore ideas. They were gracious with me, despite my dreadful affliction.

As I was reflecting on this, emerging from my cocoon of misery over the weekend, I realized how lucky I was to have found a group of people who are supportive, encouraging, inspiring, and challenging in equal measure.

I believe that no matter where you are in an organization - whether you're the CEO, an entrepreneur, a manager, or a front line worker, you can benefit from creating a varied set of support networks to help you be successful.

This is a long-winded intro to say...you should find your people.

You are not alone

Find a Peer Group

Create a group of peers - people in similar roles or with similar aims as you. I find this works best if they're in a different organization than you - or at very least a different department - as it allows distance and perspective. It also allows you to speak freely and confidentially about your situations and experiences.

Find people that challenge and inspire you, as well as give you support when you need it.

Find a Mentor (and a Mentee)

No matter the journey you're on, there will be others that are further ahead on the road, and those that are following along. Engage and learn with the former, and help the latter. As well as just being A Good Thing To Do, you'll find you'll learn a lot from working with a mentee as well as them from you.

Find a Coach

I'm sure you're all shocked and surprised that I recommend finding a coach that suits you. Find someone to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you on your quest and let them help you discover what sort of transformation is really possible.

Don't be afraid to try a couple of coaches on for size - and you may find that you want different coaches at different stages in your journey. For example, if you're trying to find out what business idea you want to launch you might want to work with someone different than if you are scaling an existing business.

The important thing is to find someone that you like to work with and that supports and challenges you.

Find a Support Network

This could be your birth family, your chosen family, your group of friends - find people that lift you up and support you in your dreams. Some of the abovementioned groups might also become friends but I think it's important to have people that you hang out with that aren't related to work or personal development.

You need space to breathe and relax. To have fun. To do the things you like to do with.

Find Communities

While I'm talking about fun, engage with communities about things you're interested in. This doesn't have to be - maybe even shouldn't be - work-related at all - if you're into guitars, join some guitar-related communities! Learn more about watercolours, Roman-era history, ballet, whatever fascinates and inspires you.

As Ferris Bueller once said, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

When you're ready, I offer 1:1 coaching for leaders who are looking to take their life and career to the next level. Send me an email and we'll set up a time to have a chat.

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