LEADERS HEARING VOICES: ALL THE TIME!

As a global executive coaching practice we partner with leaders at all levels and disciplines in a wide array of global private and public sector organizations. Part of that coaching with our corporate clients more often than not touches on why they get stuck in certain perspectives and let their ‘Child’ run the show vs. being in ‘Adult’, self-managing and objectively taking care of business.

It typically surfaces as a ‘blinding glimpse of the obvious’ when they discover dichotomy for themselves. It’s typically a life, career and leadership changer when they do make this breakthrough. They learn their ‘Child’ also has a very positive side . . . . playful, laughter, fun, vitality, energy, compassion, caring etc. . . . as well as a negative side . . . judgmental (of themselves and others around them), anger, fear, shame, anxiety, sadness, etc.

We recently caught the following country music video on television that really captured the origins of what the child and what we agree  to early in their lives and becomes programmed when we leave home and create our own lives and careers (in this video more of the positive aspects). To this end, we trust you too will enjoy this music video as much as we. So turn up your sound, listen carefully to a great young country star Chris Young to the lyrics and be prepared to tap your cowboyski toes : ! 

We would love to hear your reactions to these comments and Chris Young’s song. Have a great day!

Tags: adult, anger, anxiety, Bev Benwick, blinding glimpse of the obvious, Bob Benwick, business, care, career. Leadership, change, child, Chris Young, coaching, compassion, country, cowboy, cowboyski, discover, executive, executives, fear, fun, global, judgment, judgmental, laughter, leaders, life, lives, music, negative, objective, objectively, origins, others, perspectives, play, positive, sadness, self, self-managing, shame, stuck, television, time, TV, video, vitality, voices

Posted in: 360 Coaching, Career Transitions, Emotional Intelligence, Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, Leadership Transition, Organization Development, Personal Coaching, Team & Group Coaching

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EXECUTIVE REFERENCES: PREPARING THEM!

“I’m thinking that I need to prep my references now that I’ve started my job search campaign. But I’m not sure who and how many I need should I be asked for them. What do you think?”, asked Fred, a senior financial executive. “So how many do think would work for you?” I asked. “Well, how does about three to five sound?” he responded. “Otherwise, what?” I followed. “Well I feel anymore would be overwhelming to those I’d provide them to.” “No doubt, my friend”, said I. As we continued to discuss the subject of his work references, we brainstormed some of the following that solidly advanced Fred’s job search and raised his confidence considerably.

• Fred needed to pick people he knows well, who can talk with confidence about his professional and personal strengths. 
• Choose those associates that are great fans of his, avoiding those who are not.
• Include former bosses who can speak to Fred’s demonstrated track record of results and contribution
• Preferably those references who are in a position to speak about his recent 3 to 5 years of deliverables . . . not old stuff.
• Include those who themselves are senior managers and executives
• Those selected should be articulate and effective at promoting Fred
• He should also consider other key superiors, team members, peers, subordinates, and quite possibly some clients/customers

 ”So once I’ve identified these folks, then what?” Fred asked. “Well, what pops into your mind?” I quickly retorted. “Questions, questions!” he whined, and then with a smile on his face he said, “Well it would make complete sense to make sure my chosen references know my target job market, my experience, skills, strengths and weaknesses.”, said Fred.

“You think?” I mischievously remarked, then added, “how would you go about doing this?” Fred frowned and then smiled again, speculating “I’m thinking about preparing a one page document covering the points we mutually brainstormed, something that my selected referees could refer to if and when approached for a reference check. Yeah, they would probably welcome the opportunity to be in my corner, be pleased that I’ve saved them valuable time, and be in a strong position to communicate my key points in a clear, positive and credible manner. Yeah, I love it!”

So there you have it, Fred was now in the position to positively and powerfully move forward with this aspect of his job search campaign strategy. What was the gold nugget in this for you? We would love to hear your thoughts and gain your perspective. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Tags: articulate, associates, Bev Benwick, Bob Benwick, boss, bosses, brainstorm, brainstormed, campaign, clear, clients, communicate, confidence, credible, customers, executive, executives, experience, fan, fans, financial executive, job, job market, job search, key points, opportunity, organization contributions, outline, overwhelming, peers, personal, position, positive, positively, powerful, powerfully, professional, promote, promoting, questions, reference, reference check, references, search, senior executive, senior managers, short, skills, strategy, strengths, subordinates, superiors, team members, track record, weaknesses

Posted in: Career Transitions, Executive Coaching, Leadership Transition, Personal Coaching

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LEADERSHIP ADVANTAGE: THE 3 YOUs

 

The following is the first blog Bev and I wrote a few years ago. Because this particular concept is explored with so many of our global executive coaching clients we decided to republish it because of the demand. When the opportunity invites itself to introduce this concept to our executive coaching clients the reaction is initially and understandably skeptical. Then within a very short period of time we typically hear the following feedback: “The 3 Yous’ has literally, substantively and positively changed my professional and personal life! I just wish I had of known this years ago. It would have saved me a lot of personal pain & anguish, not to mention that of my people . . . and my family.” Enjoy the read.

Brad had come a very long way. He had bottomed out as a result of losing his senior leadership position with a large corporation, navigated through a difficult divorce, and depleted most of his hard earned resources. Through shear determination, persistence and hard work throughout our executive coaching, he was able to replenish his burned through assets and reestablish himself in an even more successful and fulfilling career. Brad had achieved the ability to powerfully connect with and truly accept himself. This also contributed dramatically to doing the same with others in his life and in his new leadership role. He discovered his true purpose in life and built the confidence required to address the challenges that will present themselves in the next phase of his personal and professional journey.

In one of our weekly executive coaching calls Brad exclaimed, “You know Bob, I’m now ready to explore a relationship with someone special in my life and I’m not sure what the next steps are. Can we go there now?” What we ended up doing was to work through clarifying what that special lady would be like when she showed up in his life. Having accomplished this, Brad shared that “this was a great exercise to go through, but how and where do I find her?” We discussed this at length, and then I said, “What if you now put this on the backburner for the time being and get on with the life and career you’ve now created.” At first his response was incredulous, and asked “Why did I do all this work to just put it aside.” My instinctive response was, “trust me my friend, that special lady will show up and tap you on the shoulder when you absolutely least expect it.”

I simply trusted my intuition. Because of the deep relationship we had developed during our coaching relationship, he agreed and carried on with his other work and personal priorities. Guess what? Just as you would have expected, he literally bumped into her 3 months later at a social event. In one of our calls at the time, he showed up completely energized, exuberant, over the moon, saying . . . . “She showed up and she’s exactly what I’ve been looking for.”  But! Isn’t there always abut involved? Four months into their relationship Brad showed up on a coaching call and was clearly not his normal upbeat self. With some delicate probing, he shared that “my girlfriend and I had been discussing where they might go out for dinner the previous evening. I asked her where she wanted to go. She then asked me where I wanted to go. I said anywhere where you want to go. Then she blew up at me dumped all over me, accusing me of not ever stating my own preferences.”

He went on to say, “I’m not sure this is going to really work out (between us)!” This was toward the end of our call where I typically leave my clients with an inquiry-a powerful question-for them to explore and write their thoughts down to be shared at our next scheduled coaching session. For Brad the inquiry I left was “What’s in the fear my friend?” I simply trusted my intuition and blurted it out. He found this question viscerally intriguing and agreed to work with it. Our follow up meeting was amazing for both Brad and me (I am constantly learning from my clients). I asked Brad, “So let’s visit the answer to the inquiry I left you.” He very calmly and confidently said that “The inquiry turned my life around.”

Now I was actually taken aback and asked him to go on. Brad said, “Do you remember when we explored the concept of the ‘Three Yous’?”. I asked him to remind me. “Well, 

1. The first you is the Spiritual You. It’s the real you. It’s my spirit engaged in a human experience through me. 
2. The second you is the Adult You. It’s the person on the other end of this phone right now who is very capable of taking care of me, my life and career, and those around me that I care and love. 
3. The third you, is the Child You. It’s my little boy, Bradley, who agreed to so many things so long ago when I was growing up that are both helpful and not so helpful now as an adult.  My Child is constantly telling me that I should do this, I shouldn’t do that, I’m not tall enough, smart enough.

My child is at times anxious about the future, fearful about what is happening in the moment, sad at times, and sometimes in shame. As a result the little boy in me tends to get in the way of my making important changes and tries to keep things the way they are. By the way, my Child also gets excited, is playful, as well as adventurous.

 I love this he said. The thing I’ve learned from my coaching is that only I can take care of him when he gets concerned. By going quickly inside myself when my Child is trying to take over and interfere, I’ve learned how to tell him what he most wants to hear. How much I love him that I’ll protect him, and that he doesn’t have to worry about me. He is encouraged to leave things in my very capable hands and go play and enjoy himself while I take care of business. This seems to quickly reduce much of my anxiousness and stress, and allows me to move powerfully forward with the life or job challenge I might be facing in the moment. Yes, I now make sure that I, my Adult self, manages my relationships, and not my Child.”

“I got it” was my response. But what has that to do with your current relationship?” Brad put it very eloquently by stating, “My Child had taken over my personal relationship because he was afraid of being abandoned again!” Assertively, he then declared, “As of this evening, I’m going to share with my girlfriend what I just discovered about myself and let her know that she will be dealing with my Adult from here on in!” Well the bottom line was that he did just that and they’ve now been happily married for a number of years. He has exceeded all the possibilities he created-personally and professionally! I’ve found variations of the foregoing situation with other clients, particularly those operating within organizations.

These organizational relationships include bosses, peers, subordinates and others inside and outside the organization. It might explain in part why people derail in their organizational and personal relationships. Is this something you’ve run into? What’s been your experience? How has this shown up for you? Do you observe this phenomenon showing up in those around you? We would enjoy hearing what your thoughts and feelings are about this? What are your thoughts? What would you like to do with this insight?

Posted in: 360 Coaching, Business Coaching, Career Transitions, Emotional Intelligence, Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, Leadership Transition, Personal Coaching, Team & Group Coaching

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THE KING’S SPEECH: A VIEW INTO LEADERSHIP!

A dear friend and a leading organization development consultant and senior executive coach, Leslie Osborn, just published the following blog that she has so kindly allowed us to share with you. You will no doubt find her powerful observations on leadership as fascinating and insightful as we. Enjoy!

“If you’re interested in leadership – here’s a suggestion. Run; don’t walk, to The King’s Speech, in theaters now. Colin Firth just won a well-deserved Golden Globe for Best Actor for an amazing performance as King George VI, the film’s protagonist. It’s a powerful film on many levels but extremely eloquent on the topic of leadership. Firth’s Albert has a stammer – a bad one – that’s anything but “kingly”. He can barely get two words out in public without extreme discomfort for himself and his audience. Because of this flaw, he seems precluded from taking a credible role in the family business – i.e. being a leader for a quarter of the world’s population (the span of the British Empire in the 1930s). All speech therapy cures have failed. The condition is mired in early childhood fears – of his overwhelmingly critical father King George V, of his overshadowing brother, of the family legacy. “Bertie” seems resigned to live with his condition – which while it is painful, has its positive side, in that it allows him to live safely below the radar screen of great public responsibility. 

When the king dies, the weight of the throne falls to the elder brother, David, who is not up to the job. He lacks the will to be a role model for his people and is personally weak. In short order, David relinquishes the throne and flees to marry Wallis Simpson and live a life of style and pleasure, rather than one of duty. 

This turn of events brings “Bertie” up against it. You see the leadership dilemma. He never thought he would have to take on this role, but here it is, and there’s no one else to do the job. The country is on the brink of war with Germany – someone’s got to step up. Bertie is remarkably ill equipped on the surface; he can’t even talk to his people. On the other hand, he has the desire. Some part of him wants to lead and he has great determination. When he meets an unusually gifted and determined speech therapist whose methods begin to peel away the layers of fear blocking his voice, Bertie digs deep, to face his demons. His struggle to accept and ask for help is wrenching and is an important step on his quest to find his power.

The classic leadership journey is all here. The potential leader who doesn’t feel adequate and is at some level afraid of the responsibility. The commitment to serve a cause larger than himself. The struggle to find his unique voice. The willingness to be vulnerable and accept support. The hours of practice and dedication to doing the exercises that will free his speech. And finally – just him, a microphone and the moment of truth.

The story is mythic in scope – as is the personal commitment many leaders make to finding their own voice, and taking the leadership role that’s there to be taken. It’s a reminder that leading often requires us to rise to circumstances beyond our control and do what has to be done, in spite of our very human imperfections and limitations. It’s a reminder of the deep internal commitment that can be needed to change and transcend what’s holding you back, regardless of how it came to be there. The Kings Speech reminds us how very personal real leadership is and should be. It doesn’t come cheap. It can’t be faked. It’s not a recipe. It can be grueling, lonely, hard work. But in the end, it’s a path to growth and transcendence. 

The King’s Speech reminds us, that all real change in human systems, is personal change. Someone, who puts his pants on one leg at a time, even a king, decides to do the hard personal work to shift something inside – and create a new future. This is the real work of leadership.”

I trust you’ve enjoyed Leslie’s thoughts and observations as much as we have. We would love to hear your thoughts, feelings and reactions. Take care.

Posted in: Career Transitions, Emotional Intelligence, Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, Leadership Transition, Personal Coaching

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SUCCESS: IT TAKES HUMAN CONTACT!

Two senior associates, Debbie Robbins and Frank Wagner recently published the following superb article in the Huffington Post that I believe you will find both interesting and intriquing titled ‘It Takes Human Contact to Create Success’. Enjoy.

If you made a list today of your top 25 business relationships and asked yourself, “How much full-on human contact have I had with these people this year?” we (Frank Wagner and I — Frank is also a top leadership and executive coach, an expert on leadership behavior) think you’d be shocked to discover that 95 percent of it may be solely digital: e-mail, Facebook, texting or Twitter. Frank and I have stopped tweeting each other the number of times weekly we beg our clients to simply pick up the phone! We recently sat at a business dinner where, despite the opportunity for unimpeded face time, the two executives at the heads of the table were texting one another while we ate!

Up until 1990 the phone was the equivalent of e-mail, and CEOs were always telling their employees to hang up and have meetings. Now it’s a win to get to voice contact. What’s so powerful about full-on human contact is that it engages all aspects of our ability to access information and make informed decisions. Most meet-ups will include writing, reading, seeing, hearing, speaking and doing. 

Yes, technology has expanded our network of relationships. People brag about how many friends they have on Facebook or the size of their network on LinkedIn. Yes, technology has expanded our capacity to communicate in writing. Twitter has made communication almost ubiquitous and omnipresent. Yes, technology allows our thoughts to be transmitted instantaneously at the speed of our wireless networks. It’s easy. It’s seemingly efficient. That is the good news. 

The not-so-good news is that the side effect of all this technology is the loss of genuine connectedness. As humans we have always found in-person interaction meaningful, rich and complex. Face-to-face relationship-building also deflects the possibility for miscommunications and misunderstandings. With less physical data to interpret because of the heavy use of digital communication, more and more problems are arising between colleagues and consumers. 

Psychology Today did a great piece about a social psychologist and Northwestern University law professor named Janice Nadler, who paired Northwestern law students with those from Duke University and asked each pair to agree on the purchase of a car:

Researchers instructed each team to bargain entirely through e-mail, but half the subjects were secretly told to precede the negotiation with a brief getting-to-know-you chat on the phone. The results were dramatic: Negotiators who first chatted by phone were more than four times likelier to reach an agreement than those who used only e-mail. In the study, which appeared in the Harvard Negotiation Law Review, subjects who never spoke were not only more likely to hit an impasse, but they often felt resentful and angry about the negotiation.

Our personal favorite is the famous New Yorker cartoon that shows a dog sitting on a chair in front of a computer. He turns to his doggie friend sitting on the floor and says: “On the internet, no one knows you’re a dog.”

Be honest — electronically, you do not really know who the person is on the other end of your digital exchange. You can’t hear their voice, which is robust with clues. You don’t know how they are receiving your words or even when they are getting your message in physical-time reality. You can’t assess their body language or observe their responses. The sense of professional “intimacy” we depend on is, at best, only utilizing 10 percent of our communication cues, tools and competencies. The more we rely on e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and texting as our primary ways of communicating, the less likely we are to be known by those with whom we are interdependent for our success.

What to do:

1. Assess who is important to you in your professional life, those people with whom you will need a relationship strong enough to weather any storm. 
2. Consciously monitor how much e-mailing, texting or tweeting you rely on for building these relationships.
3. Make sure that at least once a month you either speak with these people by phone or see them in person! The latter is better, even if it entails travel.
4. When you do connect in person, leave enough time to communicate in greater depth so that it really strengthens your relationship. Enjoy yourself when you get this chance to be up close and personal (it is contagious).
5. When you are in human contact, keep any electronic devices far enough removed so that these devices do not interfere with the conversation. Even the slightest eye movement to see who is texting, e-mailing, etc. gives the other person the impression that someone else is more important to you.
6. Find media-free time each week to counter your addiction to staying connected online. You will probably find out you like it.
7. Stay vigilant in your efforts; technology is amazing, but it is also seductive.

When babies aren’t physically touched, they develop severe emotional challenges. E-mail does not qualify as touching, even if your fingers are on your computer or mobile key pad.

We would enjoy hearing your observations and insights. In the meantime, take care!

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Posted in: 360 Coaching, Business Coaching, Emotional Intelligence, Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, Leadership Transition, Organization Development, Personal Coaching, Team & Group Coaching

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