Crawl, Walk, Run
Personal and profession growth requires patience and commitment
Victor Steven started walking a few weeks ago. As a first-time parent, it was such a proud, thrilling moment to see him take his first steps. In the beginning, he was tentative. He’d hold on to furniture as he learned to balance. He’d take a few steps, then fall to the ground. Every day he’d walk a few more steps: two steps, then four, then eight. Now he’s cruising around the house like a pro:
As y’all know, I draw from coaching conversations and things I’m reading, studying, or experiencing to write these weekly newsletters. I also draw from real life experiences to share with my clients. In a few recent coaching conversations, I was able to share the analogy of watching Victor Steven learn to walk with how we make progress in our personal growth.
Some clients have been struggling with what they consider regression. After making progress towards goals or new ways of BE-ing, they sometimes still revert to old ways of thinking, feeling, and doing. But the point isn’t to be perfect right out of the gate.
Oftentimes our internal gremlins or saboteurs tell us that we have to be 100% perfect, without slipping up, in order to truly make progress. But personal growth isn’t always linear. Sometimes we need to crawl, then walk, then run; and we’ll experience a mix of the three along the way.
When it comes to a baby’s development, crawling is an essential step. It gives them skills and body awareness for all sorts of things beyond just walking. While Victor Steven is walking more every day and his balance improves with each step, he still occasionally crawls. As parents, we don’t fret over it because we know he’s becoming more consistent with his walking, and crawling is still an important part of his development.
The same is true for each of us as we become more conscious leaders. In the beginning, we’re going to crawl before we walk. It’s an opportunity for us to have compassion on ourselves, celebrate the steps we are able to take, and learn along the way.
Likewise, walking must be mastered before running is possible. Sometimes Victor Steven gets going really fast while he walks—almost running—and then he faceplants after losing his balance from exceeding his current walking abilities. It’s not a setback, it’s a learning process.
Each phase of our growth is important. While we want to run right away, we’re going to start by crawling, then walking, and eventually running. If you start metaphorically running with new ways of BE-ing, you may have days where you walk or even crawl. Again, it’s not a setback, it’s a learning process.
When clients get frustrated with what they perceive as regression, or they feel intimidated by their goals, I share an empowering tool that sets them up for success regardless of the outcome. It’s called AIM-ing for their goals.
A stands for Acceptable progress (What’s the minimum you could do?).
I stands for Ideal (What’s your perfect outcome?).
M stands for Middle (What’s a happy medium between Acceptable and Ideal?).
An example of this could be someone who wants to run a 5k. Acceptable could be walking around their block. Ideal would be running 3 miles. Middle could be running for 1 mile and walking 2 miles. Regardless of which measure they hit, it’s success because they are making progress.
As you consider your own personal growth, and the growth of your team, think about the crawl, walk, run analogy. What AIM goals can you set for yourself and your team? What can you learn when you start walking again after running?
There’s no right or wrong, no good or bad. It’s simply a process on the way to becoming a conscious leader who will transform the way we work and relate so we can create a better future for all.
Work happy. Live happy. BE happy.
Meredith
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The way we work and build teams is rapidly changing. Leaders often feel unprepared to navigate the transition. As a conscious leadership coach, consultant and communicator, Meredith helps leaders and their teams create new ways of working and relating so they can prepare for the future by consciously co-creating it.
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I love the video and can't believe he is walking!! Thank you for always being so practical and personal as you write. We are hard on ourselves so this was a great reminder to think, focus and set goals for success.