I’m literally laughing as I type this. I’m imagining an office full of angry toddlers acting out their insecure attachments.
Yes. I’m this weird.
But seriously, if you’ve ever dabbled in therapy the inner child is a very real thing.
Without getting too clinical, the inner child is the part of EVERY PERSON that experienced an unmet need or trauma as a child. We all have an inner child wound of some degree. It's unavoidable.
Most inner child wounds are related to our innate need to be:
Seen
Heard
Accepted
I think we can all agree that the inner child can show up to challenge a romantic relationship, but guess what?????
Yep. You Know It…. It shows up at work. Every. Single. Day.
Not trusting others, micromanaging, lack of accountability…to name a few behaviors that are rooted in the inner child wound.
These behaviors can derail teams, slow progress, and kill culture.
But as a {frustrated} leader, can you reach out to someone's inner child? It's very tricky. It might be weird and it may cross a line. At best, you can teach and redirect behavior.
Coaches can reach out in this way. Coaches can see this type of behavior for what it really is. And while we don’t practice therapy we can leverage our knowledge and training to find a more meaningful approach to change. We can hold safe pace for people to talk about things that normally would not come up in an employee/employer relationship.
Just thinking about the power of this holds blows my mind.
1:1 Coaching for leaders and managers is the most effective way to develop and invest in your people.
We teach people how to recognize and reframe their behaviors to make space for real leadership. We combine deep internal work with education on communication, accountability, executive presence, delegation and all the critical elements of high performance.
To design a coaching plan for your leaders, email me at Elizabeth@bauerhousecoaching.com
