Category: New Year

The Intentionality of Choice

For many, this time of the year offers an opportunity to reflect on the past and make resolutions for a future reality. Even if you’re not inclined to make a new year resolution, I invite you to bring attention to what matters through the intentionality of choice, by bringing full consideration to the subtler vibrations of what is calling your heart! 

It is akin to moving beyond autopilot, engaging in every activity with the attention a pilot might give to landing a plane. 

As complex, multiple-dimensional individuals, we live in systems and have learned to adapt to their ebbs and flows through our moment-by-moment choices. Dr. William Glasser’s Choice Theory emphasizes that all behavior is chosen and is driven by the desire to satisfy the need to:

  • be free
  • have fun
  • to survive
  • be powerful
  • be loved and accepted

When individuals are intrinsically motivated, they behave and act from a sense of volition and choice. They recognize – they have control over their behavior – and the freedom to chart a course.

Oxford Languages defines choice as an act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities. 

Two possibilities might be too dualistic … pitting one off the other … so consider offering yourself enough possibilities to feel whelmed (yet not overwhelmed). 

When individuals are open to possibilities, they arrive at a place they want to go, that they may not have known they wanted to get to. 

Since organizations are comprised of individuals, when they are encouraged to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another within organizations, both they and the organization thrive.

Encouraging autonomy with resources and accountability leads to mastery and engagement. 

Organizations that cultivate a culture that promotes autonomy grew at four times the rate of control-oriented firms and had one-third of the turnover. They encourage their employee’s choices of mastery, connection, and creativity of their talent. 

Individuals have different desires. The best strategy for a leader would be to figure out what’s important to each individual.    

From the individual and organizational perspective, what possibilities await you in 2024?  

With the opportunity to coach more than 1,000 individuals, I am uniquely positioned to understand the evolution of individual, interpersonal, and organizational choice management.

A central tent of BETA Coaching & Consulting is choice – working with clients to chart the pathway that will serve to satisfy their unique needs. This is fostered through an inclusive approach, being an intentional, trustworthy partner, and listening deeply, while partnering with the client to realize their insights.   

Rayner and Bonnici explore how intentional restructuring of social and environmental arrangements brings about social change — be it in healthcare, racial justice, or education reform — in their book, The Systems Work of Social Change: How to Harness Connection, Context, and Power to Cultivate Deep and Enduring Change. I draw from this book that system work is akin to purpose in action — embedded in principles and practices that cultivate a more peaceful and just world by engaging the primary actors in the change process while limiting unintended negative consequences.

Rayner and Bonnici offer many case studies of our individuals and organizations creating social change — each chapter offering a wealth of perspectives. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the day-to-day actions and relationships, and how they are as much about the ways we work as they are about the outcome we pursue. Centering the collective identity within groups — to explore new ways of seeing the current situation with new awareness to shift to a new perspective.

What will you be reading this winter? Love to hear from you. Share this with me on LinkedIn and let’s start a conversation.

 

… starting off on the right foot

During this time of the year, there is a tendency to make a resolution that leverages behavior in the coming year. The practice of making resolutions first caught on among the ancient Babylonians some 5,000 years ago, when individuals made promises in order to earn the favor of the gods and start the year off on the right foot. 

Whether or not you make a resolution, I invite you to consider, “how would you like to step into this new year physically and metaphorically?” As the adage goes, if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there, so being intentional about what you desire to be is paramount. For many of us, we are still weathering the impact of a global pandemic which has shaken up who we thought we were and has opened an opportunity to redefine what we value.

Sometimes you have to figure out who you’re not before you can become who you are writes, Chenjerai Kumanyika. Whom have you become since COVID? Global pandemic? Racial unrest? War? Recession? Quiet Quit. A call to care for our mental health? The passing of family members and friends? And since there is no single formula, having a clear foundation grounded in our values is foundational in weathering the storms of life. For me, the new year signals a recalibration, becoming clearer about evolving values, and what it means to dynamically live into my well-being.

As you imagine what becomes possible in 2023, what is your heart calling for?

I have been gifted the opportunity to coach more than 1,000 individuals. This uniquely positions me to understand the individual–interpersonal–organization change management evolutions. Organizations that encourage their employee’s prosocial behavior promote positive social relationships by welcoming, helping, and reassuring others through these moments of adjustment.   

Dr. Murthy, Surgeon General of the United States, noted that organizations have an opportunity to reinvest in the nation’s workforce well-being, by showing that workers matter, their work matters, and they will be supported to flourish. Well-being is not only personal and subjective but also universally relevant. Although environmental factors – such as a person’s workplace – affects how they experience their well-being, such as their relationships with themselves, their interpersonal relationships with colleagues, the decisions they make, and the tools and resources they have access to – that play a role in how they might select to engage.

Fostering inclusive strategies starts with being intentional, trustworthy, listening deeply,  making collaborative interactions a priority, and enhancing individuals and organizational well-being. 

The strategy states that a holistic approach takes into consideration the individual – the interpersonal relationships – the organization – and the change management plan. 

We have a golden opportunity to curate inclusive initiatives – by unleashing the magic that will amplify individuals’ well-being by providing them with opportunities to identify and engage in habits to live their best life.

Life is a process and, as complex multiple-dimensional beings, we live in systems, and learn to adapt to their ebbs and flows. Every day is a new beginning to choose how we will thrive. Share what you’re adding to your ecosystem of well-being in 2023 and how we might be of service to you and your journey. 

One of my favorite activities is reading – for pleasure! I have a personal goal to read two books per month – on a great month four books.  Inspired to be a better storyteller, the final read of 2022, “How To Tell A Story.”

When you say something out loud, change is being shaped, expectations meet reality. A shift of perspective happens.  Although I may not be on The Moth stage sharing a story, the principles shared in this book will allow me to hone the art of storytelling. Whether I am talking about BETA Coaching & Consulting or about a loved one or an event that touched my heart it is essential to connect bringing the past and the present in this living moment.

It is not often that we are listened to without being interrupted. Storytelling is a lovely opportunity to share our vulnerability in that way, breaking down barriers, and increasing both understanding and human connections.  

As winter is in its full glory – and the earth is resting in preparation for the birth of spring – it is a wonderful time to curl up with a great book. This can be a time to reflect and nourish the mind and heart. On my nightstand are these books, which are in the queue to explore this winter!

What will you be reading this winter? Love to hear from you.  Share this with me on LinkedIn and let’s start a conversation.


Committed to transformative partnerships, BETA Coaching & Consulting YouTube Channel videos offer timely and insightful approaches to guide you and your organization on your well-being journey.

We believe that a well individual is integral to the well-being of society.

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