The brain drain
When I taught neuroanatomy to medical students, the limbus was my favourite part of the dissected brain. It’s about as close as you get to touching the human mind. However, in seven years of psychiatry and now as a coach, I have tuned into others’ emotions and accessed that “self”. You can do this only if you access your own inner self.
I agree that this process cannot be governed by reason or logic, but it does involve some reliance on gut instinct. We were all cavemen and women once, after all, and the “fright, fight and flight” impulses still serve a purpose. These physical sensations can all be used to enhance our coaching. As your report points out (“Coaching: can limbic resonance save the day?” it is a “felt” process.
The bottom line, however, is that we need to show evidence of the link between personal and organisational benefit, even extrapolating to cost. One of our greatest challenges may be a way of demonstrating this – accessing the inner self of the alpha characters and role-modelling the enormous value of it.
Meanwhile, your article “Feel the burn” reminds me of the importance of a clear definition of burnout. It is one of those terms, like nervous breakdown, that means different things to different people. Burnout, however, is a process similar to that on a change curve with different elements to it, some negative and some, as the article suggests, that could be linked in a more positive way to personal identity, meaning and purpose, which also connects back to the issue of limbic resonance.
Tara Swart
Executive Coach for Change,
tara@executivecoachforchange.com
Whatever next?
John Lees’ excellent article on career coaching (“The theory of flight”) combined very helpfully with Stephen Palmer’s article about health psychology and the need to take an holistic view of a client when coaching (“Scale model”). In my own career coaching practice, working with clients who are experiencing feelings of self-doubt, low self-esteem, procrastination and sometimes depression and anxiety, I find it an essential part of the process to discuss with them the importance of looking after themselves during this demanding period of upheaval and behavioural change.
It is essential to focus on career paths and opportunities, but it is also worth spending time in each session looking at transition skills, the impact on mind and body of these feelings, and how to incorporate self- management into daily life. This can often lead to a wide-ranging and enlightening discussion on exercise, diet, relaxation, unhelpful habits and the incorporation of small, healthy rewards into routines.
Of course, it is important to be careful of boundaries and know when and where to refer, say, to nutritional experts, but asking “lifestyle questions” (along with a little humorous self-disclosure about not being a paragon of virtue oneself) can be a way of gaining wider information and developing trust. Although this is especially essential, in my view, in the context of career coaching, I have also found it to be of help in the broader coaching process.
Encouraging the more rounded person could be an appropriate link into a third article or campaign, such as Coaching at Work’s Coaching the Community campaign. Shouldn’t making a difference at micro as well as macro level be an aspiration for us all?
Lynne Spencer
Occupational psychologist and trainer CIPD
Gaining a reputation for getting things done well and quickly are characteristics that smooth the path to promotion (“The theory of flight”). But is it necessary to have a specific next role in mind? Ten years of coaching and mentoring senior executives across commercial sectors indicates that most approach their own career development pragmatically, creating opportunities as they arise. Indeed, a feature of career success is often the willingness to take a chance.
The excitement of the challenge and the chance to add the skills and experience provided by a new role is often as motivating as more money or a seat at the top table. Does this mean that planning career progression, both personally or indeed through corporate succession routes, is a waste of time and effort?
Clearly, having a real understanding of strengths, skill sets, gaps, aspirations and development areas is vital both for the individual and the executive cadre, but all too often the exercise becomes one of limiting options rather than a springboard for identifying development opportunities. Being prepared to take risks with appointments, selecting internal candidates who may not tick all the boxes, is more likely to deliver results than a structured succession plan. The reality is that most senior and successful executives do not have a clear view of their next steps and are constantly reviewing their options.
David Williams
Chairman
Omnis Consulting and visiting tutor in executive coaching, Henley Management School
Volume 3, Issue 5