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Welcome to another TrimTabs Tuesday and this week, we’re going rather abstract. Although I promise that we won’t go too far off piste!

To reward our deep thought and to nourish our minds, we have the option of a guided meditation further down.

Sound good? Let’s get reading.

I didn’t enjoy physics at school. But I can now see that patterns, relational dynamics and symbiotic loops show up not just in science and nature, but also in the way we live, lead and relate. So it makes sense that geometry (once just abstract angles and diagrams), now feels relevant and alive in my coaching and strategy work.

Don’t worry, I won’t take us too far into the maths of it all. But if this week feels a little more geometric than usual, bear with me, I’ll return to familiar ground soon enough.

Let’s begin where we left off, with last week’s prompt:
“What happens when I observe the pattern, rather than react to it?”

That question unlocks something interesting, the shift from being inside a system to becoming conscious of it.

In both personal and professional life, many of us end up caught in repeating roles. We cycle through familiar relational patterns like the Empowerment Triangle (or its shadow, the Drama Triangle). Whether we bounce between roles or stay stuck in one, it’s often exhausting and limiting.

But there was something hidden in last week’s diagram, did you spot it? It was a fourth point in the middle of the triangle and was placed but unnamed. This week, we reveal it as an apex point that lifts the triangle into 3D.

Because when we introduce a fourth point, we step into the role of observer. And in doing so, the triangle becomes a ‘tetrahedron’, no longer a flat loop, but a spacious, dynamic system. We gain depth and most importantly, we gain choice.

It’s why I’ve started shifting from the Empowerment Triangle to what I’m now calling the Empowerment Pyramid...

The tetrahedron is seen as a foundational building block of the universe, symbolising balance, stability, and transformation.

It’s one of 5 ‘Platonic solid’ which Plato identified and then attributed each solid to an element.

Tetrahedrons are associated with ‘fire’ which might be why in ancient traditions they also represent willpower, conscious choice and the solar plexus chakra (linked to personal transformation and power).

So maybe it’s no suprise that they also feature heavily in the work of my hero, Buckminster Fuller. Tetrahedral design was one of Bucky’s core philosophies, (that helped him invent the geodesic dome, like the ones at The Eden Project) and he loved the strength and magic of this simple shape. With just four points, it holds a dynamic balance of tension with integrity, that’s strong and resilient.

So why does the fourth point matter?

In a triangle, each point is in reactive relationship with the others, caught in a flat, repeating loop. Like actors stuck on a stage, there’s no space to step back and no perspective.

But when we add the fourth point, the shape lifts into three dimensions. Suddenly, there’s depth and with that depth, a new kind of clarity. The fourth point is the observer, the part of us that can step outside the roles we’re cast in and witness the whole system.

From here, we stop getting pulled around by old dynamics. We begin to notice, to choose and to hold the tension without collapsing into it.

It’s why in business, people sometimes refer to the ‘helicopter mode’ where we pull up to see everything rather than being ‘caught in the weeds’. (People love analogies in the business world!)

Here’s how to practise that shift:

• Feel the Space Around You
  Take a breath. Imagine more room inside the pattern - not distance, but perspective.

• Notice When You’re Flattened
  If things feel tight or repetitive, ask yourself, Am I stuck in 2D?

• Name the Structure
  Try, “I’m caught between fixing and pleasing,” instead of just, “I feel overwhelmed.”

• Return to Your Centre
  In a tetrahedron, every point holds its own. Your power comes from staying in yours.

• Ask: “What does the system want me to see?”
  Witnessing reveals what’s really being asked of you, not from urgency but awareness.

The fourth point isn’t outside the system, it’s the space within it that brings everything into balance.

Sometimes, I picture myself at the top of a mountain, looking down at what once felt overwhelming. I can breathe again and I can see the whole landscape.

That’s the space I love to hold for my coaching clients, not detached, but wide enough to see the truth of the whole.

I’m doing something a little different this week. For the first time ever, I’m spotlighting a member of this brilliant community!

This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while and when my wonderful friends Tom and Vineeta Greenwood reached out with a special request, the timing felt perfect.

Since this is an invitation for your participation, it felt right to place it in the ‘Doing’ section.

Tom is currently writing his second book and is inviting reflections from others to shape and enrich the process. He’s shared a short meditation as part of his beautifully thoughtful ‘Oxymoron’ newsletter and he’d love to hear your insights afterwards.

If you’ve got a few quiet minutes to listen in and respond, I know he’d be deeply grateful.

You can find the meditation here or by clicking the image below.

🥐 Also, a quick reminder that People, Planet, Pastry is next Thursday! If you haven’t grabbed your ticket yet, you can do that here.

When we start to see the pattern rather than be ruled by it, something profound begins to shift.

We stop reacting out of habit and we notice our roles and reflexes we’ve been carrying, often to keep the peace in toxic systems. And with that awareness, space opens and we remember that we have a choice.

But not everyone will welcome your shift.

When we begin stepping out of familiar roles, especially those that have kept things smooth on the surface, it can feel unsettling to us and to others. That discomfort is part of the untangling. It means something old is loosening its grip.

And from that space, something else becomes possible, a new kind of truth-telling.

So here’s our prompt for the week:

“What shifts when I speak from my perspective and listen like someone else’s could also be true?”

Next time, we’ll explore the idea of perspective further and how two truths can live side by side. I believe the way we speak and listen matters more than ever.

As always, with compassion and curiosity,

Nick