If you are an executive involved in any aspect of leadership, and you are considering a business coaching advisor such as VIM Executive Coaching, we would ask you to approach the process with “eyes wide open.”
What sets VIM Executive Coaching apart, and we are quite proud of this, is that we never stress that there is only one way to lead, or that you must lead with only one approach despite your personality or experience. When an executive or entrepreneurial coach says that you must do it her or his way, “or the highway,” it is a sure sign that you may be headed for rough waters.
Being Mindful
VIM Executive Coaching works with a diverse population of executives and entrepreneurs in virtually any industry or for any type of association you can imagine. However, before going on, let us say that to us, to our way of thinking, “diversity” implies an entirely different concept than is normally associated with the word.
To us, diversity implies leadership style, your approach to problem solving, the way you are the most comfortable leading. We accept that you may not feel entirely comfortable in your approach, but we are not in the business of trying to take an introvert and force her into being an extrovert, or to take a jokester and happy-go-lucky personality and channel him into being a serious, stern person. It is not a matter of trying to get a leopard to change its spots, but for the leopard to be comfortable with its spots and to celebrate and reinforce them.
The key to being an effective leader is mindfulness. Who are you when you lead? Is that person (you) really coming from an authentic place, or are you grasping in the dark for any solution, any way you can figure in the moment, any thing you can think of to placate someone else in the moment?
Some might say, “Well, the key to leading the best way, each and every time, is to read such and such book, or to follow my path, or to learn the following five, basic principles.”
It doesn’t work that way.
You Know What Makes You Feel
VIM Executive Coaching guides executive leadership clients to honestly seek themselves out in a spirit of authenticity and mindfulness. It is that calm, settled place where you are consistent, compassionate and responsive.
In truth, there is no single book applicable to everyone in every situation. There is no single path to follow except your own, there are no set of principles applicable to every situation.
There is only authenticity. To that end, an introvert cannot be made into an extrovert – nor should she; an over-the-top extrovert or hard-charger, cannot be forced into a submissive, overly quiet personality – nor should he. However, both personality types can be guided to being more mindful, more responsive in the moment, and always being authentic.
It leads us to revisiting the title of this VIM Executive Coaching post, “Choose More than One Teacher.” We can guide most every executive or entrepreneurial leader to a place of mindfulness, but it should never mean that you should not exclude the wisdom of others. For example, on the topic of “authenticity,” we note that Mother Teresa, Oprah Winfrey, Diana Ross, Deepak Chopra and Henry David Thoreau all have heartfelt, honest, observations on how they reached authenticity. We would also be remiss if we did not say that each one of those personalities most probably discovered their mindfulness with the guidance of others. Each one, as well, were/are successful leaders in their own way.
We guide executive leaders to a place of authenticity in how they respond to everyday challenges. Once there, they recognize authenticity in others whether the others are most famous of executives, or those who push brooms and unload delivery trucks. For mindfulness will always lead to respect, and that is a good place to be.