Nicole and her two children.
I’m not sure if it’s a good or a bad thing, but I’ve found I often like to pursue new things all at once.
Big life changes have always been a part of my life, from starting my own practice, Western Kids Health while navigating motherhood for the first time, to adapting my business to a precarious COVID-19 reality from my hospital bed while waiting to give birth to my second child.
If there’s anything I’ve learnt when it comes to navigating these challenges, it’s the power of self-reflection.
It’s so important to take a step back and acknowledge the big changes in life and the different emotions you will go through.
The reality is that sometimes the change is completely out of your control. In these situations, understanding that fear and anxiety are not bad emotions and can be helpful in certain circumstances is paramount.
As the leader of an organisation my team is always observing how I react to challenges.
I’ve found being honest and transparent with them and letting them know I care is essential.
It’s often in these crucial conversations where I realise that fear of the unknown can be a fantastic opportunity for growth.
With change comes opportunity. Take a moment to drill down into your core values and ask yourself, what drives you and how might this change affect that.
When COVID-19 hit in March 2020, and all of us were becoming more and more isolated, I decided if I wanted my team to move forward, we needed to work together.
The pandemic forced us to really take stock, go back to our values and determine how we could fit into this new online world while staying true to our mission.
In today’s fast-paced society, when a major obstacle arises there’s often an expectation to have ‘the answer’ immediately, and if we do, we receive more recognition.
However, I think it’s important to realise that with any significant life change, it’s ok to not have the answer right away. Give yourself permission to take the time to reflect and re-evaluate, no one should feel pressured to make a quick decision out of fear.
Before motherhood, I was a little bit ignorant to the personal struggles people have and how that could affect their capacity at work.
Since becoming a parent, I’m more aware that everyone we interact with each day has a personal life that ebbs and flows. As a leader, it’s made me more conscious of prioritising time to check in on my team regularly.
Motherhood has taught me how language can help make us more open to change.
Different words evoke different emotional and psychological responses for everyone.
In my role as a paediatric physiotherapist and parent, language is influential. For example, the way I speak to my kids about COVID-19 is very different to how it’s discussed in the workplace.
I think as a leader, we have a responsibility to use language that inspires those around us to be curious about change. By creating safe spaces for employees to ask questions and communicate their feelings around these challenges helps to build a self-aware and resilient team who are more open to change both professionally and personally.
Written by
Nicole Pates, Managing Director of Western Kids Health & Founder of the Baby & Toddler Play Academies
Graduating from Curtin with a Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy in 2010, as a paediatric physiotherapist Nicole has since excelled in her career as the founder and Managing Director of Western Kids Health and the Baby & Toddler Play Academies which has helped over 1000 families. In 2020, she was named a 40Under40 winner and was Physiotherapist of the Year at the 2022 Allied Health Awards.
