June Newsletter

Welcome to the much awaited, much anticipated month that will see the start of the Soccer World Cup!

While the soccer is at the forefront of my mind, I am also thinking about the fact that my car needs to have its engine block remounted.  At horrifying expense, but that is not the point.  The point is that, the engine needs to be remounted because it has come loose because of the potholes that afflict Johannesburg’s roads at the moment (well that is my story and I am sticking to it!).  And the rash of potholes is due to the excessive rain we have had this last summer - apparently too much water in the underground drainage system puts pressure on the roads which then crack and break open.   And the unprecedented rainfall we have had?  Well, that is another whole discussion involving global warming, climate change, volcanoes and other big topics that we won’t get into here.   

What I am struck by is that my car’s engine mounts are just a tiny part of a much larger system.  I am reminded that there are systems – complex, intricate systems – all around us.  Families are systems, workplaces are systems.  And they in turn, form part of the larger systems of communities, of economies, of populations.  Each person is one part of a much greater whole.   We South Africans have a term for this; Ubuntu.  Loosely translated, it means that it is impossible to exist as a human being in isolation from others. 

We are not parents OR siblings OR children OR friends OR colleagues OR bosses.  We are many of these things, sometimes all of them.  So trying to understand and address one aspect of ourselves- or of others - in isolation from the rest of the system that contributes to all the facets that make up each individual, is like expecting my car to be in perfect working order all the time as long as I put the right fuel in it.  It just isn’t possible, no matter how hard we may try, to compartmentalise our lives to such an extent that we are unaffected by all the elements of it.

I believe that people are not inherently good or bad, lazy or productive, anxious or confident.  They are merely showing one (or maybe two or three) particular facets of themselves that have been more highly polished through exposure to certain elements within the broader system that they are a part of.

The coaching clients I work with, be it in individual coaching sessions, or through workplace coaching programmes targeting whole teams or departments, find this concept very reassuring and liberating.  When we realise that we are just one part of a larger process that is happening, it can help us to understand not only our responsibilities but also our limitations in making the broader system work efficiently and effectively. 

Take a few minutes to think about the system/s that you are a part of; how do the actions and events that happen outside of you, but within your broader environment affect you and how you are in the world?  And what effect do your thoughts and actions have on your broader environment? 

I think that the reason why many organisational development interventions fail is that emphasis is placed on developing people or processes in isolation from the broader system that these people or processes are part of.  Managers often struggle to help their subordinates reach their full potential because they are managing only one aspect of their staff member, rather than developing an understanding of the whole person.

I have been hard at work developing and piloting Workplace Coaching Programmes which are designed with a systems thinking approach in order to effectively bring about both individual and organisational change, and have been very excited by the results we have been achieving.  The depth of individual and collective understanding and change has been quite mind-blowing, and I am so excited about it I can hardly sit still.

I am also busy designing a weekend coaching workshop to individuals who want to understand and enhance their lives systemically; rather than having separate workshops for work, for life, for relationships, for communication, I am designing a workshop that will help participants understand their lives as systems, and how each thought and behaviour affects, and is affected by, the broader environment they are part of.  I am planning the weekend workshop for the last weekend in August, so please keep that weekend free if you are keen to understand and improve your WHOLE life, rather than individual parts of it. 

Please e-mail me to find out more about the weekend workshop, or to talk about designing a Workplace Coaching Programme to suit the needs of your team or organisation.

Happy June and enjoy the World Cup.  I am looking forward to being a part of the positive effects on the system that is our country as we all unite behind Bafana Bafana and our pride at hosting the first World Cup in Africa.

Love Judy

Disclaimer: Stellar Life Design has taken every precaution possible to ensure that the information within this Newsletter was correct at time of transmission and will not be held responsible for any inaccuracies. Offers within the Newsletter have to be verified from the vendors. Stellar Life Design holds the right to make changes or cancel products, prices and other offerings without any notice.

June Newsletter

Welcome to the much awaited, much anticipated month that will see the start of the Soccer World Cup!

While the soccer is at the forefront of my mind, I am also thinking about the fact that my car needs to have its engine block remounted.  At horrifying expense, but that is not the point.  The point is that, the engine needs to be remounted because it has come loose because of the potholes that afflict Johannesburg’s roads at the moment (well that is my story and I am sticking to it!).  And the rash of potholes is due to the excessive rain we have had this last summer - apparently too much water in the underground drainage system puts pressure on the roads which then crack and break open.   And the unprecedented rainfall we have had?  Well, that is another whole discussion involving global warming, climate change, volcanoes and other big topics that we won’t get into here.   

What I am struck by is that my car’s engine mounts are just a tiny part of a much larger system.  I am reminded that there are systems – complex, intricate systems – all around us.  Families are systems, workplaces are systems.  And they in turn, form part of the larger systems of communities, of economies, of populations.  Each person is one part of a much greater whole.   We South Africans have a term for this; Ubuntu.  Loosely translated, it means that it is impossible to exist as a human being in isolation from others. 

We are not parents OR siblings OR children OR friends OR colleagues OR bosses.  We are many of these things, sometimes all of them.  So trying to understand and address one aspect of ourselves- or of others - in isolation from the rest of the system that contributes to all the facets that make up each individual, is like expecting my car to be in perfect working order all the time as long as I put the right fuel in it.  It just isn’t possible, no matter how hard we may try, to compartmentalise our lives to such an extent that we are unaffected by all the elements of it.

I believe that people are not inherently good or bad, lazy or productive, anxious or confident.  They are merely showing one (or maybe two or three) particular facets of themselves that have been more highly polished through exposure to certain elements within the broader system that they are a part of.

The coaching clients I work with, be it in individual coaching sessions, or through workplace coaching programmes targeting whole teams or departments, find this concept very reassuring and liberating.  When we realise that we are just one part of a larger process that is happening, it can help us to understand not only our responsibilities but also our limitations in making the broader system work efficiently and effectively. 

Take a few minutes to think about the system/s that you are a part of; how do the actions and events that happen outside of you, but within your broader environment affect you and how you are in the world?  And what effect do your thoughts and actions have on your broader environment? 

I think that the reason why many organisational development interventions fail is that emphasis is placed on developing people or processes in isolation from the broader system that these people or processes are part of.  Managers often struggle to help their subordinates reach their full potential because they are managing only one aspect of their staff member, rather than developing an understanding of the whole person.

I have been hard at work developing and piloting Workplace Coaching Programmes which are designed with a systems thinking approach in order to effectively bring about both individual and organisational change, and have been very excited by the results we have been achieving.  The depth of individual and collective understanding and change has been quite mind-blowing, and I am so excited about it I can hardly sit still.

I am also busy designing a weekend coaching workshop to individuals who want to understand and enhance their lives systemically; rather than having separate workshops for work, for life, for relationships, for communication, I am designing a workshop that will help participants understand their lives as systems, and how each thought and behaviour affects, and is affected by, the broader environment they are part of.  I am planning the weekend workshop for the last weekend in August, so please keep that weekend free if you are keen to understand and improve your WHOLE life, rather than individual parts of it. 

Please e-mail me to find out more about the weekend workshop, or to talk about designing a Workplace Coaching Programme to suit the needs of your team or organisation.

Happy June and enjoy the World Cup.  I am looking forward to being a part of the positive effects on the system that is our country as we all unite behind Bafana Bafana and our pride at hosting the first World Cup in Africa.

Love Judy

Disclaimer: Stellar Life Design has taken every precaution possible to ensure that the information within this Newsletter was correct at time of transmission and will not be held responsible for any inaccuracies. Offers within the Newsletter have to be verified from the vendors. Stellar Life Design holds the right to make changes or cancel products, prices and other offerings without any notice.