{"id":21062,"date":"2025-07-16T22:55:47","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T22:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/?p=21062"},"modified":"2026-02-21T00:25:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T00:25:41","slug":"buwtdaawtlatcns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/2025\/07\/16\/buwtdaawtlatcns\/","title":{"rendered":"Balconies – understanding when to dream and when to look at the current step"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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A Moment Worth Pausing For: Reflections on Growth, Mentorship, and Trust<\/h3><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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LinkedIn and any platform seeking value capture can feel a bit noisy sometimes\u2014full of reposts and surface-level updates\u2014so I wanted to share something more personal and meaningful from my week.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A Balcony Moment: Witnessing Growth Come Full Circle<\/h3><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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I recently had one of those unexpected \u201con the balcony\u201d moments\u2014the kind that catches you off guard and lingers in your thoughts long after. It\u2019s had me reflecting deeply. Without diving too far into the details, one of the roles I\u2019ve carried throughout my career is mentoring and coaching emerging leaders\u2014both within my organization and among our partners.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Years ago, I was part of a team driving transformative change within an educational business unit. I wasn\u2019t the only one planting seeds, but I had the privilege of helping nurture them\u2014guiding people through uncertainty, growth, and the messy middle of change. One of those seeds, in particular, recently reminded me just how powerful that journey can be.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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1. Growth Takes Time \u2014 and a Willingness to Stretch<\/span><\/h3>

Working within Higher Education’s business units during times of transformation, I often find myself stepping into the role of mentor. These moments aren\u2019t scripted\u2014they emerge in the middle of change, uncertainty, and opportunity. The path is rarely smooth. There are honest conversations, uncomfortable stretches, and plenty of learning\u2014for both of us. But when trust takes root, something powerful happens. That trust becomes the launchpad for real growth\u2014growth that\u2019s not just professional, but deeply human.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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2.\u00a0Mentorship Isn\u2019t Always Linear &\u00a0<\/strong>Growth Isn\u2019t Always a Straight Line<\/span><\/h3>\n

At first, this person didn\u2019t fully lean into the mentoring process. There were hesitations, pauses, and moments of resistance. But they never completely shut the door. They stayed just open enough to wrestle with feedback, reflect honestly, and push their own boundaries. And that\u2019s where the real transformation began\u2014not in perfection, but in the willingness to keep showing up and stretching.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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3.\u00a0Transformation Is Powerful to Witness<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Recently, I had the chance to observe this individual in a professional setting\u2014and what I saw was extraordinary. They showed up with confidence, clarity, and a presence that was unmistakably their own. It was a full-circle moment that genuinely moved me. I asked for their permission to share what I saw and offered heartfelt compliments. It felt important to acknowledge how far they\u2019d come.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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4.\u00a0Human Moments Matter<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

In a world that often celebrates loud wins and fast results, this experience reminded me of the quiet power of human growth. The kind that happens over time, through trust, reflection, and resilience. These are the moments that matter most\u2014the ones that remind us why we lead, why we mentor, and why we keep showing up.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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A Moment Worth Pausing For: Reflections on Growth, Mentorship, and Trust LinkedIn and any platform seeking value capture can feel a bit noisy sometimes\u2014full of reposts and surface-level updates\u2014so I wanted to share something more personal and meaningful from my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","_eb_attr":"","pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","rs_blank_template":"","rs_page_bg_color":"","slide_template_v7":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[674,817],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2025-check-ins","category-prnci"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21062"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24162,"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21062\/revisions\/24162"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyinthehills.com\/zentriathlete\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}