Part 3 of 3

What Are You Carrying Into 2027?

Turning awareness into practical readiness

There is a particular kind of tiredness that does not come from doing the work.

It comes from knowing more work is still waiting.

The assessment or follow-up that needs to be arranged. The professional learning that has happened but has not yet been documented. The credential renewal or ePortfolio review that remain somewhere on the list. The decision that keeps returning because we have not created enough space to make it.

Each responsibility may be manageable on its own. Together, they can begin to occupy more mental space than their size would suggest.

I have been reminded of this while completing my own professional renewals and specialisations. There is satisfaction in completing the work. There is also relief in no longer carrying it.

That has brought me to the final question in this three-part series:

What could you complete, clarify or consciously schedule now so that you do not have to carry it into 2027?

From Impact to Readiness

This is the final part of Listening to Impact: The Ripples We Create.

In Part 1, The Impact We Cannot Always See, we explored how listening, presence and the use of power affect the living systems around us.

In Part 2, What Change Asks of the People Carrying It, we followed the impact of institutional and organisational change to the people expected to implement it.

Throughout the series, we have been sitting with one central inquiry:

What impact am I actually having, not just intending?

In this final part, the inquiry becomes personal as well as professional.

What impact is unfinished work having on our attention, capacity and ability to contribute well?

The cost of an unfinished responsibility is not limited to the task itself. It may appear in the time spent remembering it, the energy used avoiding it or the repeated uncertainty about where to begin.

This does not mean that every outstanding item is urgent. It means listening carefully enough to distinguish between what can wait, what can be released and what would create meaningful peace of mind if it were completed.

For pharmacy owners, pharmacists and coaches, there are several professional responsibilities worth considering before the year closes.

For Pharmacy Owners: A Fresh Perspective on Governance

Pharmacy governance and quality assurance can occupy a significant amount of mental space.

You may know that your 'pharmacy assessment system' needs attention. You may also be managing staffing, patient care, commercial pressures, documentation and the ordinary demands of running a pharmacy.

When governance work remains unfinished, it can sit quietly in the background, renting space in your head.

An independent pharmacy assessment brings a fresh set of eyes to the business.

It is not intended to become another tick-box exercise. A useful assessment should help you recognise what is working, identify what requires attention and leave with a practical action plan.

It can provide:

• an independent perspective on current practice;

• greater confidence in pharmacy governance;

• recognition of systems that are already working well;

• visibility of issues that may be difficult to see internally;

• a clear plan for areas requiring attention;

• reduced mental load for the owner or supervising pharmacist.

The assessment can generally be completed within one focused working day. Where additional CPD support is needed, we can discuss whether that should be incorporated into the day or arranged separately.

My remaining availability during November and December is limited. I also expect to make a small number of dates available during the first weeks of January.

If you would like to discuss an independent pharmacy assessment, email rachel@racheldungan.com with the subject line Pharmacy Assessment.

For Pharmacists: Learning That Has Happened but Has Not Yet Been Captured

Pharmacists undertake considerable professional learning throughout the year.

Some of it is formal. Much of it happens through practice: responding to a clinical question, introducing a service, reviewing an incident, supporting a colleague or changing an established process after recognising a better way.

The learning has happened. The challenge is often capturing it in the required structure and on the appropriate platform.

As pharmacists prepare for annual CPD ePortfolio review, leaving the documentation until the submission period opens can create avoidable pressure.

In principle, this should not require a sudden burst of new learning. In practice, life happens.

The work has been completed, but the cycle has not been written up. The blank screen appears. You begin to question which example to use or whether you have captured it correctly.

A manageable task becomes increasingly difficult to start alone.

This is why I offer peer-to-peer CPD support.

The purpose is not to complete another pharmacist’s professional work. It is to create protected time in which you can focus, organise your evidence, work through questions and prepare your portfolio with greater confidence.

Some people describe this as body doubling. Another person is present, the appointment is protected and the work moves from intention to completion.

Support can be provided online through Zoom. The peer-to-peer CPD support session is €300.

Pharmacists should consult current PSI/IIOP guidance for confirmed requirements and submission dates.

If you would like support preparing your ePortfolio, email rachel@racheldungan.com with the subject line CPD Support.

The aim is to have the work organised and ready rather than allowing it to follow you through Christmas and into the submission period in Jan.

For Coaches: Preparing for Changing Professional Expectations

Pharmacists are not the only professionals preparing for change.

The coaching profession continues to develop its standards around credentialling, mentor coaching, coaching supervision and team coaching.

Coaches intending to apply for, renew or upgrade an ICF credential in 2027 should review the current guidance and establish which requirements apply to their circumstances.

This is an area I have been particularly close to over recent months.

Alongside renewing my ICF and EMCC credentials, I have been awarded ICF’s Specialized Mentor Coach designation at ACC, PCC and MCC levels, together with the Specialized Coach Supervisor designation.

The resulting collection of professional letters may look impressive, or possibly like a rather elaborate bowl of alphabet soup. What matters is the learning and responsibility behind them.

Mentor coaching and coaching super-vision serve different purposes.

Mentor coaching focuses on developing coaching competence against relevant professional standards & is a requirement of ICF coach credential application & a great CCE option for credential renewal.

Coaching supervision provides a broader reflective space in which coaches can consider their practice, relationships, ethical questions, wellbeing and the systems in which they work.  Ongoing supervision is a requirement of all EMCC credential applications & renewals, ICF ACTC & CSS renewals & a great CCE option for ICF coach credential renewal. 

Both can support professional maturity. Neither should be reduced to collecting hours or meeting a deadline.

If you are preparing for a credential application, renewal or upgrade, consider:

• Which credential or specialisation are you working towards?

• What evidence or development will be required?

• What has changed since your previous application?

• Does your mentor coach or supervisor hold the appropriate qualification?

• How much time should you allow for mentor coaching or reflective practice?

• What could you begin now rather than trying to resolve close to the deadline?

Professional standards should strengthen practice.

The question is not how many letters we can place after our names. It is whether the learning behind those letters changes how we listen, practise and serve.

Coaches should consult current professional body (e.g. ICF, EMCC, AC etc.) guidance before making decisions based on a previous process. If you would like to discuss mentor coaching or coaching supervision, reply to this newsletter or email rachel@racheldungan.com.

Choosing Development That Fits the Destination

Behind the scenes at Lead With Coaching, I am reviewing elements of our programme design as professional standards continue to evolve.

That includes considering how our accredited education remains aligned with emerging expectations and how meaningful development can remain accessible to leaders with different professional goals.

Not every leader needs the same destination.

Some want practical skills that improve conversations within their teams. Others want to complete a full accredited pathway and pursue a professional coaching credential.

Clarity about the destination helps people choose the right level of development.

Our next Lead With Coaching programme begins in February 2027.

Explore the Lead With Coaching programmes

If you are considering the programme for yourself or your organisation, begin with the impact you hope to create. The right learning pathway should serve that purpose rather than becoming another qualification to collect.  If it IS for you, I cannot encourage you strongly enough to confirm your commitment with us at LCI, yourself & your team this week, so that your Feb diary is committed to your future vision today.  Otherwise, what typically happens is that time sneaks up & you'll be putting what is most important on the long finger again.  

Preparation Is Not the Same as Control

There is a wider energy of change as we look towards 2027.

Professional standards are evolving. Businesses are adapting. Artificial intelligence continues to influence how work is organised. Political and economic conditions remain uncertain.

Leaders are being asked to make decisions without having every answer available.

Preparation matters, but preparation is not the same as trying to control every possible outcome.

We can identify what is already known. We can complete what is ours to complete. We can seek guidance where requirements remain unclear. We can strengthen the conversations through which future decisions will be made.

Then we can allow what is not yet known to remain unknown.

That is responsibility without self-flagellation.

It is the ability to take our work seriously without treating every uncertainty as a personal failure.

Revisit the Wheel of Life and Year in Review

Before adding anything else to the final weeks of the year, pause and consider what you are already carrying.

The Wheel of Life can help you notice where your time and energy are currently going. Work is only one part of life, but unfinished professional responsibilities can begin to affect health, rest, family and relationships.

Create one wheel that reflects your life now. Then imagine another showing how you would like life to look in three or twelve months.

The purpose is not to create a perfectly balanced circle. It is to ask:

What is most important to me? Where is my energy going? Is that where I consciously want it to go?

The Year in Review offers a different perspective. It can help you recognise what you have learned, contributed and completed. It may also reveal work that needs to be documented, carried forward or consciously brought to an end.

The coaching work sits in the space between the current and future pictures.

What needs to be true to bridge the gap? What choices are required? What support might help?

Complete the Wheel of Life

Begin your Year in Review

If You Are Not Yet Sure What You Need

You may recognise that something requires attention without knowing which action is appropriate.

My 90-minute Strategic Thinking Session offers confidential one-to-one space to examine what you are carrying and decide what deserves your attention next.

You may be considering a professional transition, a business decision, a leadership challenge or the impact work is having across other areas of your life.

The session is not about receiving a list of instructions. It is an opportunity to think in partnership, hear your own reasoning more clearly and make a decision aligned with your responsibilities, values and present capacity.

Choose the Support That Fits

If you already know what requires attention, the next step can be simple:

• If your pharmacy needs an independent review: enquire about a pharmacy assessment.

• If your CPD documentation remains unfinished: arrange peer-to-peer CPD support.

• If you are preparing for an ICF or EMCC credential application or renewal: discuss mentor coaching or coaching supervision.

• If you want to strengthen leadership conversations across a team: explore Lead With Coaching.

• If the real question is still unclear: reserve a Strategic Thinking Session.

The purpose is not to add more to your list. It is to help you complete, clarify or consciously schedule what is already asking for your attention.

One Question for You

What could you complete now that would give you greater clarity and capacity as you enter 2027?

Reply with a sentence if you would like to share it. I read every response.

You can revisit all three parts of Listening to Impact: The Ripples We Create in the 4Front newsletter archive.

Our Listening Continues

This concludes our three-part exploration of impact, but it does not conclude this year’s listening.

In December, we will return to the journey that began with listening to ourselves and moved through relationships, organisations and professional life.

We will ask what listening has changed, what deserves to be carried forward and what can be left behind as the year closes.

Before then, I invite you to notice one thing:

What are you doing differently because of what you have heard this year?

If someone in your circle would value this series, please forward the newsletter to them. They can subscribe to receive future newsletters here.

Warm regards,

Rachel Dungan
The Pharmacist Coach
MPSI | ICF-MCC | ACTC & ITCA | NBC-HWC | EMCC-SP & ESIA | ICF-MCS & CSS
Director of Education, Lead With Coaching Institute
Founder, 4Front Pharmacy Solutions

P.S. If this newsletter has highlighted something important you would like space to think through, reply to me at rachel@racheldungan.com and tell me what you are carrying. I will point you towards the most appropriate next step, whether that is a Strategic Thinking Session, 1:1 Coaching, the LCI Certificate, or simply a useful resource.