Mar 4

Stick With It: Week 2- Setbacks and Self-Coaching

What is the 'Stick with It' Challenge all about? 

Our Director Natalie Savery, has taken on a challenge which will help us to explore what we know about learning, leadership and all things related. 

She's chosen a song to learn from scratch, and from now until the end of March, she’ll be documenting her progress each week and reflecting on what helps us learn and grow. 

If you want to know more about the challenge, check out Natalie's Linked In post here 

View the video for week two opposite! 
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Last week, I started the week a bit like Bambi on the ice - slow and clumsy, but I felt the improvements come fairly quickly.  This week felt different—progress was happening, but not in a straight line.

I had moments of frustration, unexpected setbacks, and surprising breakthroughs. Here’s what I learned about learning this week. 

Unexpected Changes Can Throw You Off—Even When They Shouldn’t

Halfway through the week, I made what I thought was a minor equipment change: I replaced my snare drum head. Turns out, this was a BIG mistake.

The snare now sounds completely different, and now everything feels off. It’s not that my ability changed—but my reference point did. Suddenly, I was second-guessing rhythms I had already started to memorise.

This reminded me how much external changes affect learning and performance. Sometimes, the hardest part of adapting isn’t the skill itself—it’s adjusting to unexpected shifts in the environment.  Whether it’s switching software, restructuring a team, or adopting new ways of working, small external changes can make things feel harder than they actually are. It’s not always about skill—it’s about adjusting to new conditions.

Cue trying to find a video to teach me how to make the snare sound as it should but there is way too many I got completely lost in a YouTube rabbit hole. So I’ll be waiting for my tutor’s help next week. At least it will be something new to learn how to do! 

Breakthrough!

Up until now I have been repeating bars and practicing the transitions between sections, but felt it was time to piece things together. Judging by how I've been playing each of the sections, I wasn't optimistic about my chances! 

I challenged myself to play the first two sections - 28 bars - without stopping, even if I made a mistake and something surprising happened. 

I did it! And with only one minor slip-up, which didn't derail me like it usually would.

Did it sound great? Probably not (especially with the dodgy snare drum!) but I did it. And I felt great afterwards. 

This shows that sometimes you have to let go of it being right and focus on just having a try. 

This ties into the concept of psychological safety in learning (Edmondson, 1999)—when we create an environment where it’s okay to make mistakes, we learn, we grow and we improve.  

When people feel pressure to get things 100% right before they even try, they hold back. But when they’re encouraged to experiment without fear of failure, they often exceed their own expectations.

Self-Coaching Can Be a Powerful Learning Tool

Since I didn’t have a lesson this week, I decided to ask myself three key coaching questions instead. 

  • “What am I looking to get better at this week?” (which kept me focused.)
  • “What is the one thing holding me back?” (Helped me prioritise.)
  • “What would I do if I knew I couldn't fail?” (This one unlocked progress!)

That last question was a game-changer. It shifted my focus from “getting it right” to just trying something. That’s what led to my decision to play through without stopping—because failure wasn’t the point.

Self-coaching is an underused tool in personal development. The best learners aren’t just those who get external feedback—they are the ones who reflect, ask themselves better questions, and take action based on their own insights.

Next time you are working on something, try asking yourself some coaching questions.