Edges of Growth Part I: Transforming 2024 Insights into 2025 Action
The End of 2024 Edge Collection – All through December: Reflections, Insights, and Practices to Shape the Year Ahead.
what lessons are you carrying forward as you powerfully step into 2025?
welcome to integrating growth: the end of 2024 edge collection.
integrating Growth: The end of 2024 edge collection is covering topics ranging from, the benefits of silent retreat, to relational edges that name the invisible and transform entire teams and companies. this collection is designed to help you powerfully and intentionally carry forward the lessons of 2024. to get access to the collection that will continue to be dropping over the next month:
one way wide open spaces stepped into bold edges this year was at a month-long pop-up city called edge esmeralda. this experience was a transformative playground for growth, and I’m excited to share some of the sparks of wisdom I gained—tools and reflections you can try out in your own life as you prepare for the new year ahead.
TL;DR Insights from a 2024 exploration, shared in detail below:
KEY: you can go straight to the ones that interest you or indulge in them all, all pretty juicy :)
risk taking attracts risk-takers.
make BOLD requests.
asking a powerful question can change the game.
get it out of your head. trust your system’s intelligence.
The below four with come out in next week’s substack!
take note of relational impact.
transitions take time.
invite people into your mess.
create rituals for cohesion.
I hope this post inspires and supports you - please reach out if you think wide open spaces might be the right fit to support your own edges &/or your team’s growth to begin 2025 with a powerful foundation.
Nasya
a bit more of the story behind one of my 2024 edges:
// INSIGHT #1: risk taking attracts risk-takers \
it all begins with a big leap…
the clients that I love to work with are people who want to find out what’s on the other side of their edge. edges are the tip between where you are and where you want to go. ‘edges’ are the feeling of change, knowing there is somewhere you want or something beyond where you are now and not there yet.
if you want to dive deeper into your own edges, here is a simple EDGE GUIDE framework.
while at edge esmeralda, I stepped right up to my edge. I took the first step of a dream I’ve had for a few years of melding an experience of theater and live coaching, and created my first live show.
imagine a dimly lit room, a sense of anticipation hanging in the air. soft murmurs ripple through the audience.seated in a plush chair at the center of a small stage, I invite the audience into the unknown, an experiment with me. I guide them through an imaginative process in their seats and then I invite volunteers to step into their own scene of their life, exploring a hidden facet of themselves they wish to bring to life.
the scene is played out, me as coach and director, seamlessly blending theater and real-life coaching discovery process. the energy in the room is palpable, you can sense the shift that is taking place all around us. tears and wide grins. the volunteers on stage and those in the audience leave thoroughly entertained with a new piece of themselves, revealed and ready to bring into their lives.
a few lessons from the live show:
naming the edge creates the container we need: in the invite for the show, I told people this was edgy and that I was looking for supportive people to trial this with. I shared that I would rather fail fast in a supportive environment - I created the container to support my risk taking.
modeling gives permission to others: many people shared how my modeling of trusting my intuition on stage, holding the space of this mix, and taking a risk toward my dream inspired them the next day in their respective work edges and lives.
people reflected that they said yes to coming because they could feel their own desire to take a risk, to explore. and after seeing me, after joining me in my own experiment, it made them want to get to know me more, because of the way I took a risk. risk taking attracts risk takers.
trying new things unleashes hidden pieces of ourselves: when I was younger I always wanted to be an actress, and I didn’t realize until I was there how much that invited my inner actress to slowly get back on stage.
I have many years of practicing holding space through my roles as facilitator, experiential educator and coach - practicing how to create a container for others to be brave and transform. in my moment of risk taking, people reflected back to me how they trusted me, were awed by how I held the room and felt my safety, confidence, and certainty so they could let their fears in the space go. sometimes trying new things creates space for our best skills to shine in new environments.
EDGE QUESTION #1: what’s one risk you’ve been wanting to take? how can you take that next step and invite others to join you to create together?
// INSIGHT #2: make BOLD requests \
i was at a coffee work meet-up with someone new, and toward the end of our meeting he asked me “how can I support you?” and in that moment, I had a few choices, I could say nothing or something irrelevant and stay safe, or lean into a bold request and have this meeting make a difference. I chose the bold request, and the reason I can lean into making bold requests is because of the way I request them, allowing the other person to feel fully free to say yes or no powerfully, without being attached to an outcome. this is the framework I use!
an empowering way to make requests is by offering from the very beginning these three options:
you can say, yes, no or counter offer (they can offer a new possibility back that you hadn’t put out.)
it immediately lowers people’s guard because you have given permission for it all and aren’t assuming a certain answer. It opens the system (relationship between the two of you) up to more possibilities instead of usual “background apps” that run as the receiver of a bold request: defense or fear of hurting others, “is that what I want?”, people-pleasing tendencies, fear of sharing truth.
bold requests are the way to be in your truth while inviting others to be in theirs, they are how I have opened up innumerable new possibilities, opportunities and connections.
EDGE QUESTION #2: what is one bold request you can make to end 2024 powerfully? How will you frame it by offering permission from the start?
// INSIGHT #3: asking a powerful question can change the game \
i was coaching the Edge Esmeralda team in a special session on-site, supporting them in learning where their system is healthy and thriving and where it is being challenged and needs support. Working up to it, and knowing this is a system that has enough trust to hold this question, I asked,
“what’s not being said?”
with a strong guide holding the space, this question can create a kind of liberated energy that the system needs. what unfolded led to what one participant described to the system feeling “a big exhale.” one of the leaders went first, modeling incredible vulnerability, and giving permission to the others to also share, making sure that next I invited in someone from a different rank, a different power position within the team, to make sure that all voices were invited and being heard.
with the intentional conditions set up by coaching, the system was strong enough to hold the inquiry. approaching it let the entire team explore untouched territory that shifted them from avoidance to really working together and growing to meet the challenge, thus leading the team to more effective, connected and efficient execution for the rest of the month long intensive experience instead of disparate energy that keeps building with the unsaid- we all know what that feels like and it doesn’t have to be that way.
EDGE QUESTION #3: what’s not being said? In your team? In your life?
// INSIGHT #4: get it out of your head. trust your systems intelligence \
i led a few workshops titled relational mapping in the workplace 101. In the workshops I had each person do an exercise where they mapped out a relational system [think: team, family, group community project]. we did both a mapping of how it looks now and how they want it to look - a seemingly simple exercise with “mind-blowing” results. as I guided them to get out of the usual ruminating in their head, and into a state of clarity and visibility on paper, they were able to see things they couldn’t figure out on their own.
relational systems are living organisms. you have each piece, and often can only see one or a few at a time. the pieces create a unique puzzle and when you get it out of your head you can invite in another perspective. suddenly you are working together to complete a puzzle, focusing on the shared system as compared to the individual pieces or personal defenses of them. from this place, the view of the puzzle, immense insight is possible.
this kind of work is relational itself - the kind of transformation we help each other move through. If you think you might benefit from the process and would like to experience one of these guided workshops, please reach out at nasya.miller@gmail.com.
EDGE QUESTION #4: have you considered doing some relational mapping for your own team? What would you hope to make visible, or possible if you did?
If you are ready to read Edges of Growth Part II: Transforming 2024 Insights into 2025 Action here it is!
// summary note:
this was part I, part II releasing next week. I am excited to release this piece as we prepare to step into 2025—a powerful moment to integrate the lessons of this past year and bring them forward with intention. edge esmeralda was a transformative edge for me. It represented a big commitment, one where I explored new directions: doing my first live show, conducting market research while immersing myself with leaders in new industries, guiding teams through direct coaching, and leading newly refined workshops.
the transition into a new year is an incredible opportunity to reflect on what we’ve learned, expand what’s possible, and refine our vision for what’s ahead. if you’ve read this far, I hope you feel a spark of inspiration and encouragement to embrace your own edges and bring your growth into the new year more boldly than before.
when I’m integrating and evolving, I always gather my coaches and community around me, creating a space of courageous expansion together. having the right support as we grow our capacity changes everything.
if being supported and championed through coaching is the right next step for your own edge journey, be in touch at nasya.miller@gmail.com/ and check the multiple avenues we can explore together on my website.