There will always be times when you’re not sure what you have to offer – the work is complex, your resources are low, or you just feel plain old stuck.
It helps to know your strengths, what you are able to do well, even at 70% of your best performance or less. Yet these are often the very things we most take for granted or feel the most invisible when we’re focused on what else we think we should be doing or where we need to go next.
Perhaps it is your capacity to listen deeply, offer a safe space, or just be a genuinely kind and caring person.
“I’m just listening” might become “I’m really listening”. The safety you create offers a place for someone to experience what it feels like to let their guard down a little. Your acceptance of the other person for who they are provides a concrete example for how they might accept themselves.
And in that moment you might both be able to feel less pressured, catch your breath and create room for the next step forward to emerge.
Helen Mentha 