Today I had a meeting in an unfamiliar part of town. After my meeting, I headed to the entrance ramp to the highway that would take me back home – only to find it closed.
I live in the city, and my meeting was in a first ring suburb – not an area I know well. I’ve got good instincts and directional sense when I’m in town, but curvy suburban streets throw me for a loop. I know some people are intimidated by city driving, but I’m the opposite: give me a city grid any day over a series of suburban cul-de-sacs.
So, my entrance ramp is closed, and I need to go over a major river to get back home: now what?
I realized that I actually did know the county highway I was on from
other suburban outings. After some thought, I remembered that it
intersected with another, albeit less direct, way to go over the river
(and not through the woods) home. So, I went the way I remembered, and
with only a few false starts, made it back home.
So, the lessons for me today were these:
You do know your way home.
Even in unfamiliar territory, your instincts, memory and experience will help guide you.
The way you find may not be the original way you planned on getting to your destination, but it will still work.
You’ll cross the river when you get to it.
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What’s helping you find your way today?
Before specializing as a professional coach in 2004, I spent more than a decade in leadership, management and program development for state and local government and non-profit organizations. Now I get to help leaders and teams have more clarity and ability to stand up for what's important in their work and in their organizations. Working with me, leaders and teams find more meaning and purpose, feel happier and more confident, navigate change and conflict, and work together better.
Without being typecast as the typical male who does not ask for directions, I do possess a confidence that I can figure out how to get somewhere. Some of the confidence comes from preparation. I do spend time looking at maps before getting somewhere new. It also comes from the experience of learning to carefully observe the surroundings when I am going some place new. These landmarks may come in handy later.