The New Crop: Issue #68
what 5-year-olds can teach us about transitions + "what actually builds trust"
What’s in this issue:
💭 Thought: What 5-year-olds can teach us about transitions
📚 Read: What Actually Builds Trust: An Interview with Frances Frei
😆 Today’s Laugh
This isn’t really a laugh, but this Quick Change act on America’s Got Talent is beyond impressive!
💭 Today’s Thought
Transitions are messy.
Take my 5-year-old son as an example…
He recently graduated pre-school and is heading to Kindergarten (aka “big kid school”) in a couple of months.
Almost immediately after his graduation ceremony, my husband and I started observing some changes in his behavior:
Whatever listening skills he had pre-graduation seemed to get worse. 😂
When I drop him off at summer camp in the mornings, he now requires 10 hugs before going into the classroom instead of just one.
He’s much quicker to yell and hit when things don’t go his way (read: when his sisters annoy him or when Mom says “no”).
My intuition tells me that this is my son’s way of processing the transition that’s happening for him. And he feels free to act like this because the world hasn’t yet taught him any other way to be (by way of social consequences for this behavior).
If you’re currently facing a transition, my son’s experience can be a reminder that it’s the most natural thing in the world to feel overwhelmed, confused, anxious, or stressed in the face of change. 💜
And perhaps he knows in his heart what we come to unlearn as adults: the best way to deal with these feelings isn’t to talk yourself out of them, but to allow yourself to fully experience them.
🖊️ Today’s Reflection
If you’re new to journaling, I highly encourage you to read Nancy Adler’s article: Want to be an outstanding leader? Keep a journal.
This week, find a quiet place and gift yourself 10 minutes to reflect on any of these prompts (or invent your own!):
What’s your “footprint” when confronted with change? How do you typically react internally and externally?
What would you like to give yourself permission for when it comes to navigating a current or future transition?
📚 Today’s Read
What Actually Builds Trust: An Interview with Frances Frei
Every leader is weak in at least one of these three areas — authenticity, logic, or empathy. We call that your “wobble.” To identify your wobble, think back on a time when you didn’t build as much trust as you were aiming to — whether at home or work. Then ask yourself: Did the skeptic person not trust you because they doubted your authenticity? Did they doubt your rigor and the transparency of your logic? Or did they doubt your empathy? It's going to be one of the three.
After reflecting on Frances’s questions quoted above, click here for her guidance on how to correct your “wobble” and get better at building trust.
See you next week!
xo,
Anne