Flexibility in the Midst of Abrupt, Unplanned Flux
I learned a lot about myself, being flexible in the midst of unexpected stress and the beautiful teamwork spirit in others last week. This confirmed my continued passion to mentor and coach people of all walks of life.
My coaching colleague, Alice Bonhomme-Biais (formerly Team Lead of Google NY) and I had planned a much anticipated coaching trip to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Large companies, non profits, family legacy businesses were all on our much anticipated calendar. Then suddenly, due to nationwide violent political unrest, and a Travel Advisory Level 4 issued by the US Embassy, we decided to change our trip plans within 24 hours and head to Miami, Florida instead. We felt so bad for our colleagues in country, many having to close business activities for over a week due to rioting. And truthfully, we felt bad for us too. The countless hours of pre-coaching, planning and preparation, not to mention complicated trip logistics and customized seminars designed for the Haitian marketplace now needed to be put on hold – for the time being.
But, our collective professional relationships built on trust over a period of years really paid off. Our Haitian business and tech colleagues quickly connected us virtually with their trusted colleagues in the Miami area letting them know that we were on our way. This resulted in a featured Tech Teamwork seminar at prestigious Venture Cafe Miami, a coaching session with Empower Tomorrow and brainstorming session with Caroline from Caribbean Media Group and Haitian American Chamber of Commerce. We also had great introductory conversations with Dell Technologies Inc., who share our passion for positive empowerment and coaching of people. We even landed an interview with a two time Emmy award-winning producer from Speakqnetwork, the talented Reizel Larrea-Alvarez.
My Takeaway: I have to be flexible and not give in to stress when my agenda gets thrown off. I must always be prepared for opportunities to share my work and hang on for an adventurous ride! Our client base continues to grow in a brand new location we did not expect and gave us the opportunity to share our passion for business and technical coaching with others. The saying: ‘God is doing 10,000 things in your life right now and you may be aware of about 3 of them.’ really rang true for me personally and gave me renewed energy for wherever the road takes me next.
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