Diamond in the Rough

Occasionally in life we meet someone who’s effervescing with enthusiasm for their chosen work. In them, aptitude and skill meet with passion and energy. They work in a Flow state (Csikzentmihalyi) and achieve great results. Moreover, they engender enthusiasm and confidence in others. Often they’re not aware of their gifts nor of how best to nourish and protect them. Life challenges everyone however, and in time their mettel will be tested. How can they be supported as they develop the depth of experience that will best serve them and their communities? How can such ‘diamonds in the rough’ best become the polished jewels so highly prized in their professions?

All the professional bodies run mentor programmes that pair learners with more experienced colleagues so that knowledge can be transferred and work related issues explored in their wider context.  Such mentoring relationships commonly grow well beyond ‘know-how’ focused dialogue to address wider issues of management and ethical development. The pairings inevitably prove valuable to both parties as the experienced partner is challenged to examine the basis of their ideas and so remains fresh.

Professional coaching and mentoring offer the opportunity for individuals to examine their lives in the round and, where appropriate, set directions for development. They can do so within a structured, experiential framework in which their learning becomes personalised. Such an environment emphasises their personal responsibility and control. The sky may be the limit but the coachee is responsible for navigating their journey and for providing the fuel to take them there. The coach acts as a trusted co-pilot constantly raising their awareness of themselves and the world around them so as to minimise ‘navigation instrument error’. Coaches love the challenge of working with such individuals whose typically rapid development is highly rewarding. Here it is relatively easy to polish the diamond, but elsewhere the task is much more difficult.

Every one of us has something about which we’re excited or enthusiastic. Every one of us responds to others who show a genuine interest in us. In our own way we’re each a diamond in the rough. Our communities are challenged to aid the ‘harder to help’ individuals struggling to meet the expectations of society. Their diamonds go unrecognised. Perhaps their diamonds don’t want to be discovered? Perhaps the layers of indifference, disinterest and segregation are so deeply ingrained that such individuals cannot be helped to meet society’s expectations? Might it be that such individuals contribute to society through their obstinacy? Are we are so infuriated by their seeming intransigence that we are uncomfortably confronted with our own intolerance? Could it be that these people are the mirror in which we see our own conditioning, privilege and deep intransigence?

Life seeks itself. As long as we draw breath we have life and are challenged to grow. At all levels of engagement there is an ability to improve, limited only by the latent talent and drive of the individual. In this sense the coach is a catalyst for life itself – urging, praising and reflecting progress wherever it occurs. It is very privileged work – as handling precious stones always is.

What diamond in your character remains unpolished?