Way Beyond and pur'ple have been together since last October, complementing each other in the creation of solutions and helping to transform people, teams and organizations in a deeper and more transversal way. The two brands now share the same office, but the communication channels and areas of activity remain independent, respecting the path built by each over years of relationships and experience.

At Way Beyond, among countless other gems, I realized the importance of awakening awareness and reflection on what we want and can change, invariably starting from the intention with which we do it. Above all, I relearned that, as in music, we must listen before speaking, controlling the impulse to strike a treble clef. Which is, as they say, the other.

I realize and recognize that there is a before and after I joined Way Beyond. What was left behind I remember as a climb to a mountain peak. The hard trial of life in which, in order to become great, in our eyes, we so often feel small. What came after is like a dip in the ocean.

2020 was a year of losses and gains. Not everything that was lost was bad. Not everything that was gained was good. Much, or almost everything, was called into question. As we are no exception, we decided on an exercise of self-observation, of analysis of our small universe and the wider world around us.

Our purpose was to share ideas, interests, doubts, curiosities with each other, in a moment created specifically for that purpose. At the same time, we contributed to the team members' continuous development in critical aspects for us (critical thinking; capacity to transform information into knowledge; conversation; integrating different points of view; among others).

way-beyond-work: this was the title of the email I sent to the team on the last day I "was with them" (contractually speaking and also in the channels and work platforms that helped us so much in the last months). From that day on, my presence in each of their lives and theirs in mine would officially remain beyond work, above all.

On 2 June 2020, we finished Way Beyond Coaching Class 1, the first edition of our Coaching Programme, entirely designed by us after 11 years of delivering a programme in partnership.

We wanted to have the testimonies of those who participated and ask them to write an article to 5 pairs of hands. But on second thought, it seemed more fun and more dynamic to get together (virtually) to chat which, after all, is what we most like to do!

"The entry of a new person into a team is usually a period of adjustments and finding new balances. What follows is not a "recipe for integrating people", but rather a possible contribution to this exercise that is less simple than it seems."

The original, somewhat crazy idea came about in a team conversation addressing the strategy and purpose of Way Beyond. To challenge our own paradigms regarding 'work', we could reach a plateau where we would set aside one month a year where we would not work 'out'. Work for clients would be suspended during that period.

The partnership with this team was so rich. It was a prototype of the kinds of relationships and work we want to do in our projects. So much so that, even today, we still keep in touch. Who knows, maybe something new will come out of this...