Approach
The idea behind Adaptivity Monk
In a world that keeps telling us to move faster and do more, sometimes the wiser move is to pay deeper attention to how we adapt.
The monk has long represented a different posture toward life.
To listen before speaking.
To notice what others rush past.
To discern before acting.
To let go of what no longer serves.
To practice what matters.
To become before simply doing more.
I bring that posture into the realities of leadership, work, transformation, transition, faith and life. Not by escaping the world, but by learning to navigate it without losing our deeper centre.
Leadership requires the perspective to step back—and the courage to step in.
From the balcony, we gain perspective, discern what is happening and notice the wider patterns. On the field, we engage people, relationships and action.
The coach asks, “What will you do?” The monk asks, “Who are you becoming?”
My approach holds both questions together.
Because meaningful change is rarely only about strategy, skills, goals or performance. Sometimes the deeper questions are:
- Who are you being called to become in this season?
- What are you being invited to notice?
- What needs to change?
- What needs to remain?
- What are you holding too tightly?
- What would the next faithful step look like?
A different posture toward coaching
Much of coaching begins with goals.
My approach begins with a belief in your potential — and with attention.
Attention to what is happening within you.
Attention to your circumstances.
Attention to the people around you.
Attention to patterns and tensions that may be easy to overlook.
Attention to what is changing.
And, where faith is part of the journey, attention to God.
From attention can come greater awareness. From awareness, discernment. From discernment, more intentional action.
The posture of the monk
Listen deeply
Not simply for the problem to solve, but for what may be underneath it.
Notice carefully
Patterns. Assumptions. Resistance. Desire. Fear. Possibility. What may be emerging.
Discern wisely
Not every opportunity should be pursued.
Not every obstacle should be overcome.
Not everything old should be discarded.
Let go
Sometimes transformation requires releasing an identity, habit, ambition, expectation or way of working that belongs to another season.
Practice what matters
Insight alone rarely transforms us.
Change becomes real through practices, experiments, relationships, conversations and repeated choices.
Take the next faithful step
You may not need the whole map. You may simply need enough clarity for the next step.
Adaptivity is more than adaptability
Adaptability asks:
How do I adjust to what is changing?
Adaptivity asks:
Who do I need to become for the journey and season ahead?
That may involve learning something new. But it may also involve:
Unlearning.
Releasing.
Reframing.
Recovering something that has been lost.
Becoming more deeply rooted in what should not change.
Where coaching and the monk meet
Coaching
Questions that create awareness, ownership, possibility and movement.
Discernment
Making sense of what is happening before deciding what to do.
Formation
Paying attention not only to what we achieve, but to who we are becoming.
Adaptivity
Transforming for the season ahead while staying anchored in what matters.
A simple rhythm
Notice
What is actually happening?
What are you experiencing?
What might you be missing?
Discern
What matters most?
What needs to change?
What should remain?
Who are you being invited to become?
Practice
What could you try?
What conversation, rhythm, experiment or decision might help you move forward?
Walk
What is the next faithful step?
Not necessarily the biggest one. Just the next one.
Not always more answers. Sometimes better attention.
There are moments when another framework, strategy or piece of advice is exactly what we need. And there are moments when we first need space.
Space to listen. Space to question. Space to notice. Space to discern. Space to become.
That is the posture behind Adaptivity Monk.