ACTIV in Action: Aneesh’s Coaching Journey

Part 1 – ACCESS: From Anger to Clarity

When the Ground Beneath You Shifts

Aneesh had spent five years with the company — three of them remote. He had believed in the mission, trusted the leadership, and saw himself reflected in the culture. He felt respected. Aligned. Valued.

Then came the restructure.

The company had taken on new capital and brought in new leadership. With that came a sweeping shift in direction, including a mandate for in-person work. Headquarters were relocated from a progressive, temperate city to a place with a dramatically different climate and culture. Employees weren’t consulted or given options. The choice was simple: relocate or leave.

There were no exceptions. No dialogue. And for Aneesh, no place left to belong.

At first, Aneesh felt angry — and justifiably so. But in coaching, we didn’t try to suppress or solve that anger.

We paused.

We explored.

Because underneath the anger was something deeper.

✨ The Emotional Undercurrent of Workplace Transition

ACCESS helps reveal what lies beneath.

Transitions don’t always show up as a single, clear emotion. Sometimes it’s anger. Other times it’s fatigue, confusion, sadness, or even numbness. What they all have in common is that something is happening beneath the surface. Most people don’t have the space or language to understand it.

That was true for Aneesh. He didn’t call it grief. What he felt was anger — sharp, persistent, and justified. As we began our work together, that anger began to evolve. What emerged through Guided Exploration was a fuller picture:

✔️ Grief for the version of the company he had once loved

✔️ Sadness over the loss of community, purpose, and stability

✔️ Disappointment in leadership that no longer reflected his values

Like many professionals, Aneesh had never taken time to define what mattered most in a work setting.

In ACCESS, that changed.

What is ACTIV?

The ACTIV framework is a five-phase coaching process designed to guide individuals, leaders, and organizations through workplace transitions with clarity and confidence:

• ACCESS – Reconnect with your values, motivations, and deeper goals

• CHOOSE – Make decisions that reflect who you are and where you want to go

• TAILOR – Shape a path that fits your unique strengths and circumstances

• IMPLEMENT – Move forward with intention and confidence

• VALIDATE – Reflect, assess, and realign as needed

  
  

Each phase builds on the last. But it always begins with ACCESS.

ACCESS isn’t about rushing to move on. It’s about naming what matters — to you.

Aneesh wasn’t just grieving a company. He was grieving a version of himself that once felt aligned and energized at work, and now felt lost.

Through ACCESS, he began to explore something he had never paused to consider: What do I truly value in my professional life?

He realized that while he knew what mattered in his personal life, he had never defined what he needed from leadership or work culture. When those values were quietly violated, it led to confusion, discouragement, and disillusionment. Aneesh didn’t initially understand why.

In coaching, he named the disconnect. And then, he named the values:

✅ Integrity

✅ Trust

✅ Transparency

These values hadn’t just been missing from the new environment; they had never been clearly defined by Aneesh until now. And that made this moment powerful. He wasn’t just grieving the past, he was discovering the lens through which he could evaluate every future opportunity.

That clarity also allowed him to revisit the company before the restructuring. Not through the lens of nostalgia, but with honesty. Often in times of change, we forget the things that weren’t working and idealize the past out of frustration with the present. But Aneesh was able to see the past for what it was: a mix of meaningful growth and missed opportunities to be recognized and advanced for his contributions. That balanced reflection helped him move past the anger and remember the experience with truth, not just emotion.

Most importantly, it gave him a healthy outlook toward the future. His outlook was no longer clouded by resentment but grounded in understanding.

💡 ACCESS created clarity — and from clarity, direction began to emerge.

By the time Aneesh completed ACCESS, his anger had quieted. The grief had been acknowledged. The fog had lifted.

He could now name what mattered, not just in hindsight, but with anticipation.

He wasn’t just reacting to loss. He was preparing to CHOOSE what would come next. He could CHOOSE with purpose and clarity.

🟢 Insight

ACCESS helps clarify the emotions stirred by transition and reveals the values and motivations underneath. That clarity becomes the foundation for making aligned, intentional choices.

📌 What’s Next

With clarity about his values and emotions, Aneesh was no longer stuck in the past. He was ready to consider the future. He was able to consider what was available and what was right for him.

In the next part of this series, we’ll explore what it looks like to make decisions from that place of alignment — not pressure or fear.

➡️ Part 2: CHOOSE – The Power of Choice Coming soon.

📍 Curious about what values might be guiding (or blocking) your own next move?

Schedule a free 15-minute consultation and take the first step toward a workplace transition that actually fits.