From pixels to people

Why being a designer helped me be a better coach.

Throughout my life, I have delved into the world of arts, graphics, and design. The power of a well-shot frame, the hidden questions in a piece of art, the gutsy illustration, or that cheeky brand. This love for visuals and arts has always pushed me to be a hands-on professional creator of sorts.

Crafting has been my sanctuary, drawing was my first love, it eased my mind, graphic design became a second nature - a voice to express my inner creativity.

Fast forward to the last 10 years, my playground has been digital products and experiences. My design work now revolved not just around forms and shapes but also processes, operations, and, most significantly, people. The craft has moved from hands-on to abstract, from product-oriented to process and eventually people-centric. 

Every step of this journey, every pivot, has provided invaluable lessons and skills that have shaped me into the coach I am today. The transition was not just a career shift but a meaningful metamorphosis of my design journey.

So why has my design experience been so fundamental in my coaching work?

Crate clarity out of chaos

As a designer, my role was always to make sense of specific realities. I had to understand the problems, identify the realms in which they occur, understand who was affected, trace their origins, comprehend the systems they interacted with, and figure out how everything was interwoven. It was up to me to craft clarity out of what often seemed to be a chaotic universe. 

That's what I do as a coach. I'm here to help you gain clarity of the challenges in your reality and clear the fog in your head. We take action only when we understand the problem and identify where we want to go.

Make the abstract tangible and actionable.

Moving forward can be overwhelming. Where to start? How do you think about it? With all its challenges and uncertainties, change often feels like a daunting, abstract concept. It's like standing at the foot of a huge mountain, looking up with vertigo. Your path is shrouded in fog, and you can't see the way ahead. Your mind spins with questions, implications, and fears, leaving you paralyzed, not knowing how to take that crucial first step. 

As a designer, my job was to break down complex problems into smaller, more manageable ones. This involved tackling challenges step by step, turning the abstract into actionable. In essence, it was about deconstructing mountains into manageable hills.

As a coach, my job remains the same: taking complex, overwhelming problems and breaking them down. But now, the problems I'm solving are different from those of clients' designs but of clients themselves. I help you deconstruct your mountains, guiding you to find their path through the fog. The questions, implications, and fears can be faced one step at a time.

Navigate Uncertainty 

Innovation in products or companies can be risky business. There's a lot of uncertainty to it. Moreover, it's rare for meaningful changes to occur without some level of doubt. Knowing how to navigate this uncertainty is an essential skill, integral to the process. There will always be uncertainty When we go through significant changes in our lives. And let me assure you, that's perfectly okay. 

My job as a coach is to help you navigate through this uncertainty.

I partner up with you, bringing in processes and assurance. If you're feeling lost or uncertain about a future career change, take a moment to understand that this is all a part of the journey. As long as we keep moving forward, this feeling of being 'lost' is quite normal and to be expected. 

Feeling uncertain is a sign of growth and change. Being 'lost' can often lead to finding new paths and opportunities. Even when the end goal seems vague, moving forward is the essence of professional growth.

Change can indeed be risky, uncertain, and sometimes downright scary. But remember, risk can also open doors to opportunities and paths we have never considered before. That's where my role as a coach takes precedence: to guide you through the shadows of hesitation into the light of new possibilities.

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