The picture above is NOT what I currently look like. What my hair currently looks like is Mary-Lou Retton circa 1984. She pulled it off. It… was… 1984. She was also an Olympian. And her gymnastics leotard with the stars and stripes was incredible. I loved Mary-Lou Retton. I wanted to be just like her.
Her hairstyle is a look that I’m not pulling off.
On the bright side, a bad haircut is a good teacher. It teaches us not to take ourselves too seriously. Hair grows, after all. My 9 year old daughter is being incredible. She reminded me that she’s proud of me because our family tries new things. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. It all comes down to communication.
How do you know when you are on the same page as someone?
How do you ensure you aren’t making any assumptions?
How do you lay your expectations out in a clear way?
How do you know you’ve gained agreement?
How will you handle it when things aren’t working out?
These questions aren’t just powerful in a salon. They are powerful in ANY relationship. In a coaching relationship we take time to lay the ground rules for each other in the beginning. We decide how we’ll show up, what we expect of each other, and how to be together. This is called designing an alliance. And a really important part of the alliance is that it is a work in progress. As we learn more about each other, we will learn even more about how we want to be together. And so there is always permission on both sides to revisit the alliance and make it even stronger.
This week I invite you to look at the close relationships in your life. Do you feel like there is clear and open communication? And if not, could you use the questions above to form a stronger alliance?
I’m going back to the salon in the morning for a redo. According to my friend Adrienne, it can’t get any worse. (She didn’t know me when I made the mistake of cutting bangs. Otherwise she would know it actually CAN get worse.) Wish me luck!
