Executive leadership coaching clients first arrive at VIM Executive Coaching with all sorts of “opening lines.”
We completely understand it.
If everything had been perfectly fine on the executive journey, chances are they wouldn’t have asked for a sounding board and coaching guidance of us in the first place. But as we all know, as the executive leader moves to higher levels, the waves can sometimes get rougher, the head-winds a little stronger – make that, a lot stronger.
Not surprising, when we encounter many of our fine clients for the first time, a standard refrain goes something like this: “I recently received a promotion and suddenly everything got more difficult. Things were much better five years ago (or whenever). I wish I were back there.”
Clarification, Please
In asking for clarification, we might inquire: “You mean you wish you were demoted back to assistant marketing manager of the production company or the towel counter?”
“Oh no,” they laugh. “To the old days when things were easier.”
Truth be told, the old days were never easier when most of us were living through them. The assistant marketing manager, clawing for respect and to prove herself worthy of the new job or the eager intern for the professional football team, who was indeed responsible for towels or printing tickets or arranging hotel bookings, both had high-stress, limited respect and miserable pay.
Things were not easier. Less complicated perhaps, but never easy.
However, the goal of VIM Executive Coaching is not to adjust who we are to the situation, but to bring our authentic selves into each situation. The same person who began her career as assistant marketing manager for the software organization should be the same person who is one day elevated to senior vice president of marketing – or even CEO.
We all get older, of course, it’s the human condition. However, in a career sense the same compassion, mindfulness and authenticity we develop as marketing manager or junior accountant or assistant branch manager should be consistently brought forward as we move up in responsibility.
Yearning for Last Year
Another way of viewing authenticity is to make sure we avoid pining away for how things were, and to fully accept how things are now.
The mindful executive realizes that as she gains in status in the organization, she will encounter greater pressures, responsibilities and more impactful decisions. These outcomes are part of growth within an executive leadership position. Nevertheless, having compassion and being authentic are unchanging.
The junior executive who authentically tries to ease a human resources issue within his department will be the same executive who resolves a “border war” between departments on a roll-out or media relations issue. The lessons learned from last year, or last week, should be as applicable in spirit tomorrow as they were today.
At the core of all of it, is mindfulness. How you mindfully respond to an issue today, might very well determine how management or shareholders or board members view your ability to respond to issues in a higher title tomorrow.
However, if there is a lack of mindfulness in how an executive reacts to a situation today, chances are the same leader didn’t do such a hot job of it “yesterday.” Maybe wishing for yesteryear isn’t such a great idea if there has been a lack of awareness.
Mindfulness, compassion and authenticity are remarkably stable from year to year.
We may long for the music we loved or the movies we viewed; the baseball team we followed or even the foods we once enjoyed. However, the executives we are today should be more mindful than we were back in the day. There should be no turning back; far better to make every day we go forward to be a more mindful and authentic day.