Sawubona, I see you, how these 3 words can change the coaching relationship more powerfully #7/30

Sawubona explained

A few days ago, I was told a story told of a South African greeting custom Sawubona, ‘I see you’ or ‘we see you’ on my ICF accredited PG Cert in Business and Personal Coaching Course. The welcome greeting refers to a tradition of saying I/We see you using my ancestors’ eyes, a powerful greeting indeed tapping into lineage and ideas of shared consciousness.

Sawubona as detailed here in sometimes heartbreaking fashion lets the other person know they are welcomed by the entire tribe for everything they stand for, values, beliefs, and views without any fear or judgment. The greeting allows for the human experience to be at its most vulnerable and pure of heart.

So why has this greeting affected me so much?

When listening to the story, it reminds me of times when I felt I wasn’t seen, an outsider, sometimes a victim of my own story. Not being seen is a lonely place and often an entry into dark thoughts that can spiral.

There are times I have felt excluded by strangers and even friends because of my values, beliefs and history. I can identify what it should feel like to be accepted immediately without hesitation. The feeling must be overwhelmingly freeing of judgement, guilt and anxiety.

In my coaching practice, I have often said ‘I am here for you’ as a way of reassuring the coachee that I am with them all the way, and they can trust me for creating a safe space for us to talk openly. But what I will say also is that ‘I see you’, for what I see is more than good enough, what I see is humanity.

Humanity is where we are all connected as one tribe and we all should see you.