The Art of Reinventing Yourself Without Starting Over
As winter begins to make itself felt, let me take you back to the warmth of summer one last time. This time, to Osaka where I was fascinated by how the city preserved its historical identity while adapting to modern life.
But this is more than a travel story. It's about what Osaka taught me about evolving my professional practice two months later, and what we can all learn about continuing to grow.
How do we grow without leaving behind what made us who we are?
Walking through Osaka, I was struck by the contrasts. Osaka Castle, the nostalgic streets of Shinsekai and the contemporary architecture of Umeda revealed different stages of the city's evolution.
As a former architect, I have always been curious about how places evolve while retaining their identity. This time, I was also thinking about professional growth.
Problem: Experience Doesn't Renew Itself
Over the past two months, I have been revisiting my work as a career, business and leadership coach: the knowledge, methods and programmes I developed over years of practice.
What deserves to remain? What needs refining? What might become possible next?
Experience gives us a foundation, it’s true. But familiar approaches can become so automatic that we stop questioning whether they still serve the people and challenges in front of us.
Insight: Reflection While Doing
Donald Schön, an MIT professor who studied professional practice, called this reflection-in-action: noticing and reconsidering what we are doing while we are doing it.
In his lecture dated 1989, he describes architects sketching and testing designs which was very interesting for me to hear. Unexpected results invite them to rethink the problem and adjust their next move. The design develops through a conversation with the situation.
I recognise this in coaching. We listen, observe, question and adapt as conversations unfold. We learn through the work itself.
And we can bring the same reflective attention to the larger design of our professional lives.
Life continues while we reflect. So does our work.
As I prepare the fourth edition of my New Year’s Resolutions coaching program MOVE FORWARD 27, I am drawing on three years of participant experiences, feedback and learning. I am keeping what works, refining what can work better and exploring what professionals will need next.
The purpose that guided me when I started remains. The way I bring it to life continues to evolve.
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These are 3 questions I've been asking myself lately. I wonder how you would answer them:
💎 What is still valuable in what I have built?
💎 What needs refining for today's challenges?
💎 What new possibilities could emerge from my existing experience?
A Human Performance Architecture Takeaway:
The more I reflect on my own professional journey, the more I realise how important it is to keep examining how we use what we already know. Our experience becomes even more valuable when we continue learning from it.
A Closing Reflection
I loved seeing how Osaka carries its history into the present while continuing to evolve. It made me appreciate how much of our own professional future can grow from what we have already built.
And now I'm curious about you. As 2027 approaches, what part of your professional practice would you most like to revisit, refine or reinvent?
I'll be sharing more about how Move Forward 27 is taking shape. Stay tuned!
Warmly,
Dilek
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Research: Donald A. Schön, The Reflective Practitioner (1983).
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