Looking back at 2022, a new career path
Another year has passed, leaving behind many memories and occurrences that we went through with events and people, such as friends, customers, coworkers, etc. These could be moments of triumph, like the successful completion of a challenging project, or challenges we faced, such as navigating a complex work relationship. For instance, I recall a difficult project where we had to overcome numerous obstacles or a complex work relationship that tested our patience and communication skills. Therefore, people might need advice concerning what to take out of these memories and what to drop out. In other words, e.g., negative memories truly affect us and even hurdle the wheel of progress for some people who lack tackling strategies. However, the negativity of these memories can be a good lesson applicable in the contexts in which we have gone through fruitless or unpleasant experiences. Thus, success will be the destiny of the subsequent experiences if the lesson is applied optimally.
Everything, whether constructive or not, is a supporting asset for the following phases because every stride we pass through teaches us new things that can be capitalized on in the future. Furthermore, considering mistakes and learning from them is more than just a solid strategy for successfully avoiding them and overcoming potential obstacles afterward. It's a profound way to feel enlightened and prepared for what's to come. By learning from our mistakes, we avoid repeating them and gain valuable insights that can guide us in the future. This process of learning from mistakes is not just a strategy but a powerful tool that can equip us with the knowledge and understanding to face future challenges with confidence and resilience.
Archiving these memories in whatever available tools, like photography, digital documentation, or manual writing, accumulates them with memories of previous years. Thus, the incredible usefulness of this documentation comes out when assessing life's experiences and challenges, leading to an in-depth understanding of reality. Moreover, it accentuates our character and its interaction with the various components in the surrounding realm, i.e., it gives reflections on how the character is constructively accomplished and in which methods. It pushes us to consider the required characteristics, like communication, intercultural competency, etc., for proficiency. Working in such a realm helps us explore various perspectives and views of the world and indicates our strengths and weaknesses, where we can develop and where we can't. We can assess our character and proficiency in various contexts with many more components.
These memories might have taken a foothold within black, grey, and white zones, which means life doesn't run in the way we anticipate it to be. The 'black' zone represents the challenging and difficult times, the 'grey' zone symbolizes the uncertain and transitional periods, and the 'white' zone signifies the peaceful and stable phases. I can't claim that life's circumstances are inevitably stationed in one of the three zones mentioned earlier, like the ancient black-and-white cinema. It's believable that this might occur in these three zones simultaneously since the reality runs as such; we encounter the point of how we lead a myriad of changeable circumstances to create a better-off life, achieve our goals, or build up a lucrative project. Indeed, it drives us to think of that wisely, set up the right plan, and implement rules wisely. Above all, being hard-working and perseverant is the giant asset for the success of your project, no matter how long it takes or how many failed attempts you have gone through, because climbing up the summit isn't necessarily a flatty green meadow, but worth putting into account that it might be an excruciating path full of hurdles. In the face of adversity, this perseverance inspires and motivates us to keep going and serves as a beacon of hope, showing that success is possible, no matter the challenges.
From these introductory paragraphs, I capture one of my still-running professional, first-hand transformative career experiences as a coach with the private sector in Germany during the second half of 2022, which will be a memory sooner or later. At the coaching sessions, many topics were highlighted, especially the ones that aim to integrate into the labor market. Still, the issue of intercultural competency through cultural exchange to mitigate misconceptions among multi-ethnic groups also noticeably took a foothold. This track of coaching with customers from Germany and abroad pushed me to think of the significance of strengthening the tendency of learning this competence in a diverse society like the German in socio-professional milieus. It was an informative opportunity to encounter different perspectives that triggered the discussions, sometimes turning the roundtable into conflicting arguments amongst proponents and opponents once the thoughts around the issue arose and each raised an idea.
The target group with whom I led group coaching is socio-psychologically affected. The affected group generally couldn't handle their life's affairs due to family separation, alcohol, unemployment, family violence, drug addiction, etc. So, the challenging task is retrieving the typical situation that it used to be for those people. Encountering the target group wasn't daunting regarding managing conversations with them. Still, some other issues that are highly recommended to be considered are their level of education, comprehension, background, harrowing experiences, and the methods they already applied to escape the harsh circumstances.
As a coach, it's helpful to conduct a first assessment for each case so that treating the case would go smoothly, considering that each individual has different needs. Such people need to listen to them carefully and attentively so that it could be easier to understand their feelings, perspectives, needs, goals, obstacles, and plans if given. With this stride, the coach shows them the right path and walks alongside them, providing support and understanding. The coach's role is to guide them through their challenges and be a pillar of strength, providing unwavering support and understanding. The coach is responsible for returning them to the job market again. Returning to the job market again and starting a new job would be a great success. It means the affected person had fought a magnificent battle to overcome the hardships in daily life. But how can one overcome these hardships? Where is the tipping point? Which tools are to be capitalized on?
It's a supporting process that the coach is supposed to follow. It can be structurally through well-prepared training topics revolving around socio-cultural or professional issues to develop the highly required skills to advance in their lives, i.e., communication, etc. Based on my experiences with clients, topics like conflict management, communication methods, intercultural competency, problem-solving, getting rid of negative thoughts, and thinking positively, STAR/TIPP Methods were requested. The STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) is a structured way to respond to behavioral interview questions, and the TIPP method (Technique for Identifying Points of Power) is a tool for identifying and leveraging your strengths. After presenting these issues, I got an indication of where the clients moved on, where they stayed, and how they stepped back—their experiences in the roundtable discussion referred to their motivation and where I could follow improvement steps.
Leading coaching with affected people isn't a matter of training them on a particular topic; once it ends, the goal still needs to be achieved. However, it's a matter of how these people could build on later, how they grow up in the field of interest, and how they implement the methods they learned through coaching. Above all, it's eventually a matter of continuation until the need for success and overcoming the obstacles is garnered. In other words, as a coach, I conceive the strenuous efforts for overcoming barriers resulting in the abovementioned circumstances as a great success since some clients think it's hopeless to start over and achieve something pleasant after being socially and psychologically devastated. In addition, it's essential to stimulate clients to change their daily routine and replace it with healthy and valuable activities, which is the strategy of perseverance towards the optimum goals. For example, if being involved in a language exchange club doesn't work out in terms of changing your thoughts, try out something else; don't hang in there without giving it another try because the path is still long.
Indeed, my experience with the affected social category showed me that grappling with socio-psychological issues -without overestimating and not generalizing- is a long journey. It's a journey that might accompany a diagnosed disease followed by a lengthy treatment. Therefore, when a person finds himself under such circumstances, the following ramifications are expected: isolation, losing the desire to carry on, losing the mood to carry out whatever constructive activities, distrusting the entire surrounding people, obsession with negative thoughts, panic attack, etc. The challenge is rebuilding trust so the affected person can interact freely with the coach in different contexts and environments. Thus, I had to bridge understanding with the clients to make them feel that they were still accepted in the surrounding society.
Thinking back on the occurrences of 2022 and touching upon hopes that I had been striving for, it turned out that hopes gave me the strength to retrieve the already frozen track. Ambitions would slip out of the way if no hard-working people were behind them, no matter if the efforts went as a mirage. But they will come out again if we persevere. Through my observations, the desirable result is once the clients are exposed to inspiring stories and fruitful experiences, including mine, presented at the coaching sessions. Moreover, through intercultural competency coaching, an essential aspect of coaching that focuses on building skills in communicating with people from different cultures after exploring their socio-cultural and religious values and orientations, including respecting them, the clients went out of their comfort zone to think critically about what's happening behind the wall. Although I touched upon the need for this competency, it turned out that diversifying coaching topics impinge clients to the track and cultivate the fact that there is always an exit for the long, undesirable journey.
The assessment indicated that some clients expect a lot from the coaching sessions, believing their goals would be easily attainable after attending the motivating sessions and learning the educational elements. That would be gorgeous if easily attained! However, considering the target psychologically affected group encountering difficulties in their lives, which might deteriorate their situation and coaching might not work out. Still, they have to find the right path by using motivating tools according to their individual needs; sometimes, finding the right direction takes a long time after passing through multiple ways without avail. In this regard, the coach plays a crucial role in showing this path, guiding the clients through their journey.
So, it will come to fruition with a critical understanding of the coaching and its impact on the clients. On the other hand, once managed perfectly, coaching will stir up inner feelings towards positivity, open up horizons, and, more importantly, stir up stagnant positive thoughts that had been collected through previous experiences but vanished due to psychological trauma or depression. During the coaching session, the feeling of reminiscence comes out, showing the clients the significance of these thoughts and their applicability, which are still valuable for projects or professions. In this sense, it poses a compass guiding the right track, highlighting inspiring instances and success stories that play an instrumental role.
However, there is something else to pay attention to: coaching isn't necessarily the fastest way of fulfilling dreams or goals unless it's followed by continuous and intensive efforts to overcome the current obstacles, build up skills, and keep applying the rules, as previously demonstrated. For instance, an engineer can't be successful by only capitalizing on theoretical frameworks without realistic frameworks in various contexts. To avoid slipping into that, the coach must keep assessing his methodologies by getting client feedback, including personal conversations, which enhances the success of the coaching path.
The bottom line is that coaching has the transformative power to resolve many issues when effectively structured and directed. It also diversifies and attracts the target group's attention, bringing them out of the frustrating circles. By this token, intercultural competency in the coaching thread presents new conceptions and meanings to different living conditions, and more importantly, it enhances socio-professional ties among all groups from various socio-cultural and religious groups in the diverse hosting society of Germany. It's been a worthwhile experience that will be archived for the upcoming New Year 2023 so that I can develop new methods.
Happy New Year!
