The Challenge

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Using Pattern Theory, I coached a senior professional serving on the Senior Leadership Team of a multimillion-pound healthcare organisation.

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My client was struggling to assert his view that an external business client, representing a new and lucrative stream of revenue, needed stricter boundary setting. He believed this external client held unrealistic expectations about what could be delivered within a reasonable timeframe, and that the project required clear terms of engagement around accountability and responsibility.

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Informal discussions he had initiated with individual SLT members revealed a shared prediction: that the CEO, whose approval would be required, would resist any new approach. The prevailing view was that workarounds would be more practical.

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Uncovering the Pattern

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My client was adamant that this would be an error. The impact of accommodating the external client was already creating burnout across the SLT and the teams below. His intention was clear: to protect his organisation by establishing boundaries that were honest, fair, and sustainable. And yet he recognised that he was avoiding the necessary conversation with his CEO. He came to Pattern Theory coaching wanting to understand that avoidance.

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Working together, I helped him see that he had an unconscious pattern of withdrawing from high-stakes moments rather than asserting his view. His intention and his behaviour were in conflict, and the gap between them was not accidental. The avoidance was an unconscious strategy, rooted in a series of early experiences, that had become a deeply embedded pattern. The prospect of acting against it was producing significant anxiety.

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"His intention was clear: to protect his organisation by establishing boundaries. And yet he knew that he was avoiding the necessary conversation."

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The Resolution

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Applying Pattern Theory, I worked with my client not simply to manage that anxiety but to eradicate the pattern driving it. With that work done, he was able to develop a clear plan to act in alignment with what he genuinely believed needed to happen:

• Prepared for the critical conversation with his CEO
• Secured a positive outcome for the organisation and for the external client
• Strengthened the working relationship with his CEO.

The change has proved durable. My client no longer withdraws from high-stakes moments, and the change has carried into all areas of his working life.

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Jon McAteer, UKCP Registered Psychotherapist & EMCC-accredited Executive Coach