Step Out Onto the Bridge for New Perspective

Leadership coach and founder of KGKAssociates shares how a travel experience on a unique bridge shaped her perspective of her coaching style.

The Arouca 516 suspension bridge in Portugal provides a great metaphor for coaching!

In a small group practice session during my coaching training, I was prompted to think of an image, and what immediately came to mind was a bridge. A very specific bridge: the Arouca 516 suspension bridge in the Aveiro region of Portugal, which I visited in 2023. At 516 meters, it is currently the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world.

It is anchored on either side of a river valley; there is no practical reason for the bridge to be there. It doesn’t connect you to any necessary or important place. It was built largely as an engineering feat and a tourist attraction. 

You may be having a reaction to this bridge based on the photo above. But I can tell you that I found this bridge completely thrilling. Others (including my travel companion) find it scary. It is unstable, it sways a little, and it’s easy to feel anxious and uncertain on the bridge. What’s more, it’s a challenge to even get to the bridge – there are two different entrances, both hard to find. You must park and then climb hundreds of stairs to reach the start of the bridge. And then you have to trust that the bridge will hold you and that you are secure, even though you may not feel that way.

I see my coaching as an invitation to step out on to the bridge and to see how one’s perspective may be changed. Once on the bridge, you get new eyes. You can see all around and you can see further than you can on land. You may gain a fresh view of terrain you though you knew. Being on the bridge isn't always easy or comfortable, but it will be worth it for the thrill and the joy of it. And as with most bridges, you can’t stay there. It’s a temporary state, but one that you can revisit if and when you need to. 

In a coaching engagement with me, the approach to the bridge is the beginning. You and I are climbing those stairs I mentioned earlier. We are learning the terrain, setting expectations, putting in some early and necessary effort to ensure a good experience. When we arrive at the bridge, that’s the middle, where I go out onto the bridge first and invite you come on out. Here, we do the difficult and unsettling work of being uncertain, a little wobbly, a little adventurous. We notice feelings, mindsets, and reactions, and how they might shift over time. We get curious about things: what we’re seeing, why we’ve come here, what we might learn.  At the end, we cross back over together, and reflect on the experience and any new perspective you may have gained.

With the image of the Arouca 516 bridge in mind, I invite you to think about what you'd like to see differently. And when you're ready to step out on to the bridge, reach out and let me know - I'll meet you there!