I love how a single line of prose or poetry can offer comfort, a reminder that someone else has walked a similar path and that another way forward exists.
Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is a powerful metaphor for how change rarely follows a S-curve. Instead, it feels more like wandering through snowy woods pausing, questioning, adjusting, and pressing on, even when the destination remains unclear.
In the poem, Frost lingers in the quiet, snow-filled woods, caught between the serenity of stillness and the pull of responsibility. We, too, often find ourselves in unfamiliar territory, hesitating at a crossroads, uncertain of where we’re headed, yet unable to stay where we are. As one of my clients put it, feeling “trapped in a prison.”
This moment of reflection, of wrestling with change, is natural. But like Frost, we must eventually move forward one step at a time. And the key is to hold it lightly, to approach change with a sense of experimentation rather than pressure.
CHANGE IS MESSY AND THAT’S OKAY
Herminia Ibarra challenges the traditional notion that change begins with deep introspection. Instead, she argues that true transformation happens through action by stepping into new roles, experimenting with different behaviors, and learning by doing.
Change is rarely a smooth, upward trajectory. It’s jagged, unpredictable, and full of stops and starts. That’s why holding it lightly approaching it with curiosity rather than pressure can make all the difference. When we see change as something to play with rather than work on, we release the weight of expectation and the heaviness. We create space to explore, adapt, and uncover new possibilities, allowing transformation to unfold naturally.
THE PLAYFUL MINDSET: EXPERIMENTING OUR WAY FORWARD
Taking a more playful approach to change allows us to navigate uncertainty with curiosity and greater ease. It frees us to experiment, adapt, and discover what feels right without having all the answers.
Embracing Inconsistency: Growth is rarely a straight path. Some days, we move two steps forward; other days, we stumble back. A playful mindset gives us permission to fail, learn, and get up and try again.
The Tension Between Comfort and Growth: Growth isn’t about reinforcing who we’ve always been it’s about stepping into who we could become. In Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, the traveler lingers in the quiet beauty of the woods, tempted by stillness. But he ultimately acknowledges his journey isn’t over, just as personal and professional reinvention requires us to keep moving, even when it feels uncomfortable and when staying where we are feels easier.
Accepting Nonlinear Progress: Change is dynamic. Clarity doesn’t come all at once but through trial, feedback, and course corrections. It’s not an S-curve; it’s a series of shifts, pauses, and course corrections.
Like the traveler in Frost’s poem, we may hesitate at times, but growth calls us forward. The journey isn’t predictable, but it’s in pressing on through uncertainty and through experimentation that transformation truly happens.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THRIVING THROUGH CHANGE
For my client who felt “in a prison,” this poem offered a new perspective. He entered our coaching session with a sense of freedom, inspiration, and hope. By releasing the heavy expectations he had placed on himself, he approached his career transition with a lighter, more open mindset allowing himself to explore new possibilities without the pressure of immediate certainty.
To navigate change and transformation whether personal, organizational, or cultural this shift in perspective is freeing. It means we don’t need a fully formed vision before taking action. Instead, we learn by doing.
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- In personal growth, we don’t need to have all the answers before we begin action itself creates clarity. I often use the analogy with clients about how we learned as children, like taking our first steps. When my daughter learned how to walk, she stood up, took a few steps, and fell. She cried, brushed herself off, and repeated those steps with fierce determination until she found her balance and walked toward me, all smiles. The same is true for us as adults. We forget how unsettling and sometimes terrifying those firsts can feel e.g. riding a bike, learning to swim, skiing. But we moved through it.
- In career transitions, we don’t wake up one day with a new leadership identity we craft it through small, sometimes awkward experiments.
- In mergers and acquisitions, organizational change, or a new strategy, transformation doesn’t take hold in one sweeping motion it unfolds through trial, feedback, and adaptation. Each time the playbook shifts, we need to adjust and respond accordingly.
Change is something to be navigated. When we approach it as something to experiment with rather than fear, we can hold it lightly and allow ourselves the freedom to grow.
Are you or your team navigating change, stress, or transition? Let’s connect and explore how I can support you with coaching, workshops, or leadership development.
You Don’t Rise in Crisis-You Fall to Your Preparation