Where we’ve come from 

For the last 20 years, our work has been coaching people, private and corporate, in situations that are often conflicted, with significant issues of either unrealised potential or underperformance, and often a feeling of stuckness or frustration amongst those involved.

What we have seen is that people’s first response is often to draw on answers, tools, and approaches that are known to them and acceptable to their organizations. It is only when the difficulty continues that the frustration intensifies, and we know that we are at a dead-end, and where we care enough about the situation, that we begin to look for new ways forward. The good news is, once there is a big enough frustration or curiosity, we can start working.

During our journey of learning, which sometimes involved challenges, we’ve gained insights into how complex adaptive systems operate. We have learned intensively from how nature works (Anne’s MSc in Environmental Studies) and, about 20 years ago, we added the human element into our understanding of complexity, a whole new layer of challenges to our work.

For the last 20 years, our work has been coaching people, private and corporate, in situations that are often conflicted, with significant issues of either unrealized potential or underperformance and often a feeling of stuckness or frustration among those involved.

During our journey, we have been inside the rabbit hole of various schools of thought, learned from different teachers, and explored many theories. We’ve thoroughly experienced a range of approaches related to change, transformation, and complexity. Some of these include Integral Theory, Coach Training, Consciousness Training, various coaching methods, Theology & Philosophy, Theory U, Holacracy, Adult Development Theory and Complexity Theory.

While each of these approaches holds some valuable insights, some more than others, the truth each of them holds is necessarily partial. We have wrestled with these approaches and we have mostly been able to navigate past the blindspots and shallows of different schools of thought and teachings, and have, with some bruises, worked out, what works and what doesn’t work. It has made us who we are.

Through these years of introspection and learning, we’ve developed our repertoire for navigating the inner and outer worlds. We can assist our clients in navigating the complex challenges they face, whether they exist within their consciousness and thoughts or in the external world of people, groups, and organisations.

We can scaffold our clients’ thinking, be thinking partners to them, and coach and enable change and transformation, personal and corporate.

Complexity Coaching

In what we call “Complexity Coaching,” everything we’ve learned comes together. The coaching aspect means we don’t come with ready-made solutions and recipes. Instead, we empower our clients, whether individuals or organisations, to find their own solutions within the context of their everyday challenges.

The complexity element involves drawing on many perspectives based on coherent theories and practices of leadership, change and transformation for today’s disruptive, volatile, and highly interconnected society. We work with the entire system, the relationships, and design for the collective impact of small shifts that constitute the change our clients seek.

In this sense, complexity coaching goes beyond unlocking personal and professional potential. It considers people’s relationships within different systems and environments, emphasising context, interactions, and relationship dynamics as much as the actions and skills of individual leaders.

Photo credits: Dan Meyers on Unsplash