Santiago learned how to embrace uncertainty and transform business chaos into focused clarity through understanding his natural way of working

Santiago is a Project and Communication coach and founder of Ivory Embassy. When Santiago started the coaching program, he already had years of writing and scientific experience and wanted to transition into advising or coaching. On the verge of starting a new business, he felt overwhelmed by a jumble of business ideas and possibilities and the lack of coherent direction led to overthinking. 

Through a coaching program focused on utilizing his Natural Advantage® as an introvert, he moved from feeling lost in chaos to confidently embracing uncertainty - a transformation that manifested in his ability to organize his thoughts, make clearer decisions, and take focused action in his career.

The initial challenge

I had reached a point in my career where I wanted to switch lanes... at the moment I didn't really know how to approach it, how to assemble the things around my business into one coherent or a more simple coherent approach.

Like many professionals transitioning into entrepreneurship, Santiago faced several challenges:

• Finding a coherence between different (related) business ideas.

• Wanting to understand how to help others solve their problems, in his case through coaching

• Uncertainty about how to move forward effectively

Embracing authentic work approaches

For Santiago, a key realization was understanding that the approach to projects can be adapted depending on your personality:

I have a chaotic approach to my work, and Mariella destigmatized it, giving me comfort in this. She even showed me it could be a strength. She also made me realize that the business approaches we see on social media are for one type of personality. Those like you and me don't necessarily have to approach everything through social media and 'extrovert' processes

The transformation journey

It was extremely insightful... I didn't expect many of the findings. I thought we were maybe going one direction, but actually, I figured out things that needed to be figured out somewhere else. And that was positively surprising.

Through the coaching program, Santiago experienced several significant shifts:

• Comfort with uncertainty: He progressed from being "a little bit lost in all these concepts and processes" to becoming "comfortable in an uncomfortable environment"

• Focus improvement: He went from having "unnecessary background noise" to being able to "focus and concentrate on the true path"

• Organization: He went from feeling his ideas were "in such a mess" to becoming " more organized"

Connecting business visions

Santiago was able to bridge two business ideas and to find comfort in his natural working process:

I could not bridge two business ideas: SciEmbassy (scientific and science writing) and Ivory Embassy (critical and scientific thinking and problem solving). Mariella helped me structure these thoughts and provided a lot of support and comfort in my work. This was important considering the contradictions that appear when you start a new business. She also organized some thoughts and gave me ideas or mental images that I use: lemonade stand, types of helpers, and inner critic insights

A new approach to uncertainty

Even though it's not 100% clear yet, I've had so much support from Mariella and so much good vibe and clarity into the different mental processes and practical processes that can happen.

It's become more organized. I've been embracing failure and doubts much more constructively. And somehow I'm more comfortable in an uncomfortable situation.

Practical implementation

The program provided both practical tools and deeper insights:

• Tools for managing the inner critic

• Techniques for self-coaching

• Methods for embracing uncertainty

• Strategies for organizing business ideas

I've been implementing a lot of things that I might have known a little bit, but not explicitly or things that I was unaware of. I've been implementing these tools that Mariella has been giving me - the inner critic or questioning certain things or using yourself as a coach. And they have helped me a lot.

Working with Mariella

Santiago particularly appreciated Mariella's adaptable and supportive approach:

Mariella has a very comforting kind of aura. Since she’s a bit further in the process than I am, she has explored that territory and can share her experience with me without actually telling me that this is the way it's going to be.

He valued her ability to adjust to his needs:

She doesn’t already have an aim in mind. She adapts as it goes. And she’s careful and very aware of the other person's wants and needs. She nicely and smoothly adapts towards that.

Lasting impact

After our sessions, I've been feeling this kind of true motivation, but that has lasted... I've been able to use these tools in my everyday life and also professionally.

It feels so much more relaxing. Even though I still have a lot of things to figure out, which is normal, just the fact that I've been able to organize and categorize certain things and narrow things down has helped me to focus. It takes away the unnecessary background noise and allows me to concentrate on the true path that I want to achieve.

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About the author

Mariella Franker, PhD is a former molecular biologist, scientific writer and editor. She co-founded the Scientific & Medical Writers Network in Benelux.

In 2022, she became a certified Natural Advantage® coach. She now teaches introverts how to use Personal Pillar Habits to get more energy and fulfillment from their career without overwhelm, exhaustion, or pretending to be someone they're not. 

She's an associate coach at De Succesvolle Introvert and founder of The Franker Message. She's been featured in places such as Quiet and Strong podcast, Quietly Influential Summit, and MarieTV.

Mariella describes herself as a happy introvert. A first generation immigrant from South America, she now lives in the Netherlands with her husband and son. On most days, you'll find her working in her home office or puttering around her garden.

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