For coaches building agency
Ask what the person believes the chain is attached to. Then look for evidence together. The next move should create agency, not dependency on the coach.
The BRITER Note · September 19, 2026
The Invisible Chain.
Sometimes the strongest barrier is the one we still believe exists. This newsletter pairs one human story with the lion presentation and a practical development plan.
01Some limits outlive their evidence
The lion does not need more strength. The chain is no longer attached. What holds the lion in place is the belief that the old boundary still exists.
Leaders and coaches meet this pattern every day. Past failure becomes a rule. Imposter feelings become proof. An outdated assumption becomes a wall. Advice alone rarely changes that. Good coaching helps a person examine the boundary, notice current evidence, and take one honest step.
02Change has a human underside
Organizations can plan the objective, evaluate the software, install safeguards, train users, and still watch adoption stall. The technical work may be sound. The human experience may still be full of uncertainty, exclusion, fear of failure, and a loss of confidence.
When people return to an old process, leaders often call it resistance. That label is convenient and usually incomplete. People may be protecting competence, status, belonging, or their ability to succeed. The visible behavior is only the surface.
The story may need to change. The system may need to change. Wisdom means diagnosing which one is holding people in place.
For leaders guiding change
Ask what people may lose, what remains unclear, and whose experience was absent from the design. Go-live marks a technical milestone. Adoption begins much earlier.
A Fictional Composite
The meeting after the meeting
This story is fictional. It combines common leadership patterns and does not describe one person or organization.
Mara had led a department for six years. People described her as steady, prepared, and thoughtful. In the senior leadership meeting, she noticed the implementation timeline assumed her team could absorb new work without giving anything up. She opened her notebook and wrote the concern down.
Then she stayed quiet.
A year earlier, Mara had questioned a different rollout. Her leader answered quickly, explained why the decision had already been made, and moved to the next agenda item. No one punished her. No one needed to. She learned that speaking carried a cost and changed very little.
After the meeting, two peers found her in the hallway. They had noticed the same problem. The concern was now moving sideways because none of them believed it could move upward.
Her coach did not tell her to be braver. Instead, the coach asked, “What evidence says the chain is still attached, and what evidence would you need before taking one step?” Mara prepared one observation, one likely impact, and one question. At the next meeting, she spoke before certainty could talk her out of it.
The room did not collapse. Her leader paused, asked for the workload data, and changed part of the rollout. The larger shift came later: Mara stopped treating one old response as a permanent rule.
Sometimes growth begins when new evidence becomes stronger than an old lesson.
The Visual Story
The Invisible Chain
Watch the complete lion story here on the page.
Play the full story ↗Preserved BRITER 4.0 deck
Use the slide version.
This keeps the downloadable 17-slide Invisible Chain presentation from BRITER 4.0 available inside 3.0, alongside the Canva story and development plan.
THE SCRIBBLY-LINE EDITION · COACHING & CHANGE
The Invisible Chain
The visual story that begins with complexity, follows the lion, and connects awareness to the human experience of change.
Lindy PfingstenSlide 1 of 17
Download the presentationPut the story into practice
A 40·30·20·10 development plan.
If someone is standing where the old chain used to be, more instruction alone may not help. Name an experience, make sense of it, invite support, and learn a focused skill. Use these four parts together; the percentages are a design guide, not a score for a person.
Real experience
What meaningful work would let the person test a new possibility with appropriate support?
Example moveGive Mara ownership of one rollout-risk conversation, with permission to name operational concerns before the timeline is final.
Making sense
What did the experience show about the person's assumptions and the conditions around them?
Example questionWhat changed when the concern was raised in the room instead of after the meeting?
Coaching and connection
Who can listen, offer perspective, and help the person notice what is different?
Example supportA coach or trusted peer helps Mara compare the old lesson with current evidence before the next high-stakes meeting.
Focused learning
What small piece of knowledge or practice would strengthen the next attempt?
Example skillPractice a concise risk statement: observation, likely impact, and one question for decision-makers.
Return to the lion story after trying the plan: what was the chain attached to, and what changed when you tested it?
Continue the reflection
What are you carrying into the next conversation?
Explore what identity carries into the room, then connect your insight to a practical development cycle.
Explore What Are You Carrying? →One Question to Carry
What is the chain attached to?
Before changing the person, inspect the system. Before rebuilding the system, listen to the people living inside it. Then decide whether the next move requires redesign, coaching, or both.
Explore the Reflective Coaching Method →