Submitted by Selin Istanbullu Ozcagli, PCC

The first lockdown in the United Kingdom in March 2020, brought extreme ambiguity and shook all the ‘normals’ known to us, our families, and our communities. Selin Istanbullu Ozcagli extended an invitation (through social media) to any individuals who may benefit from an international online gathering with the aim of supporting individual and collective resilience. 

What started as an intention without attachment to an outcome, turned out to be a fantastic community embracing group coaching and facilitation methodologies, with an absolutely free of charge and also no-commitment nature. For the first 42 days, the group met every single morning; then moved on to three times a week, then two, and then in 2021 once a week. The group impacted more than 80 indivduals’ lives. While many were ‘audience/participant,’ a great number of them also engaged in active roles, leading or co-leading sessions. The initiative was not meant for coaches, but at any given time we had at least 2-3 professional coaches, some with MCC and PCC Credentials.

Through the #ResilienceOnline initiative, 100+ hours of group coaching and facilitation were delivered to individuals. This was a zero-commitment initiative, no one other than Selin (and anyone delivering content or leading/co-leading a session) was ‘expected’ to show up; nevertheless, a great majority of the participants frequented devotedly, especially as our community supported them crossing thresholds. Since March 2020, the participants had to endure some common challenges of the pandemic: anxiety, fear, frustration, loneliness, boredom, idleness, feeling lost. Participants also endured: fighting severe cases of COVID themselves or in their families; facing losses and griefs; handling divorce/separation; and managing homeschooling challenges. During this time they experienced being furloughed, dismissed, repatriated, career change, and re-skilling. Additionally, they were drawing courage to launch companies, work on projects, go (back) to school, and engage in further studies. 

This community also saw individuals who did not know each other before (and never saw each other in person) go into business collaborations and coming out of the pandemic with a defined sense of purpose in life.