(STILL) Thinking About Making a

Change? Here’s 5 Guiding Questions to

Help

Do you feel in your gut that you need to make a change?

Perhaps it’s a change in your personal life, your professional situation, or the
organization or business you lead.

And…

Are you taking action?

If not, why?

Why do we hold back, resist, or even stay in denial when we know that a change
is needed? This resistance often shows up as “assessing” or “researching,” or
“getting our ducks in a row,” but no matter what we call it, it’s still resistance.

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Why is it so hard for us to create change, even when we have compelling data and
excellent training?

The dynamics of change and transition have many layers, and there’s quite a bit
of research on both the organizational and psychological components.

As an interim CEO, transition strategist and leadership coach, I witness first hand
how much time and resources are spent to create new “shiny” plans, processes,
structures, technology, and even new relationships – and the change that is really
needed isn’t addressed.

I see smart, successful leaders staying in place or running in circles.

I watch individuals and organizations hire excellent coaches or consultants to

focus on specific leadership skills or marketing, fundraising, operational or
financial initiatives.

And yet – no real change or transformation happens.

In my own journey and that of my clients, I’ve found that feeling “stuck” is the
result of many complex factors. Perhaps it’s a fear of failure, a lack of clarity on
what we really want, or it’s those “voices in our head” telling us that what we
want to achieve isn’t actually possible.

Here’s the key…

All we need to get the ball rolling is a shift in mind-set.

While the process of transformation certainly doesn’t happen overnight, here are
5 Guiding Questions to get things percolating as you think about the change
you or your organization want to create.

1. What are the ways in which you will benefit when the change is successful?
2. What are the ways in which you will NOT benefit when the change is
successful? Think carefully here. Go deep. Will it mean more work for you?
Will you need to be more responsible/accountable? Visible? What emotions
do you notice coming up?
3. What will the positive impact be to others when the change is successful?
Why is that important to you? (I really mean important to you. Not to your
organization, community, family.)
4. Why do you believe this change may not be possible?

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 5. Now, find some real evidence to refute each of the barriers you listed in #4.

As you take a moment to think about what may be keeping you from creating the
change you envision, I invite you to challenge your own assumptions and push
beyond your intellectual and emotional comfort zone.

Look beyond the norm of your industry standards and best practices.

Choose the thoughts that will create more possibilities for your success, and seek
out the concrete evidence to support those thoughts so that you believe them, and
are inspired to take action.

It’s so important for us as leaders to observe and understand our own

motivations, and then reframe our thoughts about change to a focus on others.

Move forward, take a leap, ask for help along the way, and have the impact you
are meant to achieve!

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ABOUT KATHRYN

Named “Top Leadership Coach of the Year” in 2018 by the International Association of Top
Professionals, Kathryn R. Martin coaches non-profit boards, founders and purpose-driven executives to
create empowered momentum and leverage moments of change into opportunities for growth,
revenue-generation, engagement and meaningful success.

Kathryn’s hands-on and intuitive approach reveals a client’s purpose, impact and true value, which
causes transformational breakthroughs and big shifts. She is known for helping clients at a crossroads
quickly get unstuck and create the mindset, language and strategies to move from their “Point A” into
their extraordinary “Point B.”

As one of the top non-profit Interim Leaders and Transition Strategists in the United States, Kathryn has
consulted with over 150 arts and culture organizations, and has supervised, trained and coached
professional Interim leaders placed in organizations throughout the country. Additionally, she has led
nine arts and culture organizations through transition as a professional interim Executive Director –
most recently serving as Interim Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Symphony, Interim President &
CEO of the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Milwaukee, and Executive Director of the Linda
Pace Foundation in San Antonio.

Kathryn’s leadership coaching clients are following their passion in theaters, symphony orchestras,
operas, dance companies, foundations, arts and culture departments, corporations and businesses,
universities and social service agencies around the world. Kathryn’s clients experience
an integrated hands-on consulting approach with intuitive transformational leadership coaching, in
a unique format that creates the possibilities for results – quickly. For some that means making big
decisions on career trajectory and leadership strategies, launching a new business, catapulting (and
monetizing) existing talents.

Before launching her business in 2016, Kathryn served as Vice President at Arts Consulting Group (ACG)
for 12 years, Managing Director and SummerFest General Manager at the La Jolla Music Society from
1998 to 2003, increasing contributed income by 160% and earned income by 103% over the four years,
and oversaw capital improvement projects and more than 250 events annually as the Production and
Facilities Manager at the Department of Music, University of California San Diego.

Helping individuals and organizations have the impact they are meant to have, makes Kathryn’s heart
sing, and she facilitates board and staff visioning summits, is a frequent guest speaker, and works with
successful leaders in 1:1 coaching, small group leadership Masterminds, and in her signature program:
the “Create Your Dream Career (Life!) Impact Intensive” TM. Kathryn is partnering with the City of San
Antonio and launched a six-month multi-organization Arts Leadership Development & Strategy
Mastermind for Board Presidents and Executive Directors.

Kathryn serves on the Boards of the Association of California Symphony Orchestras and Santa Barbara
Symphony.