Welcome to the world of Lightsmith
A very soft launch, but one that I am none the less excited about.
Five months ago I was looking forward to a month long trip to Spain, cycling, and for a reunion of old friends from 30 years ago living in France. I was also reflecting on the place that we had arrived at in NZC HP Coaching – with a collaborative and aligned HP Coaching group of around 25 key coaches and excited about what the next 4 to 5 years would bring in terms of performance.
Today as I write, the trip to Spain has been transferred to the Port Hills of Christchurch and I am now embarking into the world of performance consultancy!
Having my previous role disestablished due to budget implications as a result of COVID-19 was unsettling to say the least and made me examine a whole lot of things.
It would have been easy to say I was a ‘COVID Casualty’ and fall into the victim mentality. But for me it was about putting into real time practice the sort of things I have spent the last 20 years working on with coaches. Time to walk the talk!
The world of Positive Psychology and Learned Optimism – the P’s of Personalisation, Permanence and Pervasiveness helped shape my thinking; The notion of ‘control the controllable’ came to life – I could not control a global pandemic nor what had just happened to me professionally – but I could control how I responded and progressed; understand where I was on the Emotion Energy Supply Chain; and ensure my health and wellbeing was in place – exercise, mindfulness, engaging with key people and getting out and doing some fishing!
With all that in mind I have committed to the adventure of growing LightSmith Performance Consultants after 5 years of bubbling away just doing pieces of work with key organisations. I am clear on what it will look like into the future, but as for the road map that gets me there – well that is the adventure! Exciting – yes, scary – a bit yes, unknown’s – yes many? But we live in the new normal and the uncertainty is something everyone is experiencing. A good friend said to me the other day that I may not get this opportunity again to chart my own path – so embrace it.
I know the skills, knowledge and experience I have can add value to people and organisations. I have had that validated by the work I am currently doing and by the testimonials that have been given to me by some of the fantastic people I have had the privilege to work with over the years – you can check them out on the website testimonial tab.
On the subject of fantastic people, it is at times like this that you are humbled, grateful and at times moved by the quality of people I have in my life. In the movie “Starman’ from 1984, there is a quote from Jeff Bridge’s character (Star Man) about the human race – ‘Shall I tell you what I find beautiful about you? You are at your very best when things are worst.’ In the last 2 months that has been my experience and my faith in humanity is reinforced.
So if you have a performance need, query, challenge or opportunity to improve yourself or your organisation, get in touch and we will begin. The need for leadership, helping each other, personal growth and connection has never been more apparent and can equip us for what comes next.
Welcome to Lightsmith.
Ngā mihi nui
RJ