Take a flight of fancy with me today...

by Sonya Shellard, #RideTheWave Co-Founder,  Executive Coach and Leadership Consultant

I stopped to admire this young seagull in Fowey, Cornwall, who chose such a lovely colourful nest. It had swapped a nest of grass, twigs and earth for something more beautiful, more comfortable and with an incredible view of the harbour.

I wanted to tell it that it too would be fully beautiful soon with pearly white feathers and a bright yellow beak. I also thought about how wonderful it would be if each seagull was actually instead a blank canvas and could choose the feathers it wore. But it would tell me no doubt that to stand out from the flock would be dangerous, make it a target for capture or attack. So best settle for a colourful nest instead and stick to being the same as all the others when it grew up.

As a coach I look beyond the "sameness" of my human clients, the feathers they feel they have to wear to fit in, be perfect, to stay safe, and encourage them to find their own feathers, their identify, their voice, their unique combination of skill set. It takes courage to stand out and not remain invisible but for many people this leaves them feeling lacklustre, frustrated and unfulfilled. Through my listening and questioning I encourage them to try flying instead.

On WAVES, our professional coach training programme, we enable coaches to paint their own corner of the coaching industry, #CelebratingDiversity, and making a real difference to others and the environments they work within.

So, I have a creative coaching activity for you to try today:

Draw the outline of a seagull on a piece of paper and choose the feathers that best reflect you and the world you want to live and work in. Which of these feathers are you already wearing; which would you like to find; and which would you like to offer to others so they can also wear them, helping them fly to greater heights and further destinations. Pick your beak! What shape, what colours can you envisage for yourself? What will be your song?

So I've taken a flight of fancy in this blog and hope you will too.

If you want to fly into our Beach Hut anytime soon, you'll find a warm welcome. Take a look at what's coming up soon...

Until then fly high on your new feathers!

What's coming up soon?