She impatiently waited in the seating area of VIM Executive Coaching, fidgeting with her smart phone and gazing at her smart watch. The consultation started pleasantly enough, as she announced she had heard nice things about us. Who doesn’t like to hear that?
However, her second statement brought us out of our warm mood:
“I don’t have a lot of time to waste. I’m 37 and I’m a woman in a hurry.”
Fair enough.
“I am looking for a business coach who will be my right-hand person. In my corner at all times, but I don’t want a lot of fluff (not quite the word she used, friends!). I want you to distill it down for me, two-points, maybe three.”
So, kind of executive leadership in three easy steps? Three, easy-peasy steps?
“Yes, precisely.”
We explained that the path to executive leadership could be reduced to but one “step,” however it was a journey. A journey of self-discovery and thoroughly, mindfully knowing oneself. So that the executive becomes more aware, more compassionate, more in-the-moment and watchful.
“So, a lot of mumbo-jumbo and folk-dancing,” she said flatly – and clearly disappointed with the answer.
We told her, as gently as we could be, that none of it was a strange language filled with acronyms and feel-good messages. And, as for the folk dancing, we have neither a fiddler nor a tambourine player on staff.
After an additional vague pleasantry or two, she rose from the chair and wished us good-luck.
Easy answers are rarely easy
There are, we must admit, people who are closed down to any journeys that are inward, or that require technology without understanding. This is surprisingly not age-related. We coach Millennial executive leaders as successfully as Gen-X and even Boomer clients and on the other hand, there are executive leaders (or potential leaders) so closed off to coaching they won’t consider any other ideas or direction except their own.
We are, all of us, entitled to our own opinions. We don’t know what happened to our consulting “guest,” after she returned to her organization. We wished her well. Our guess is that she chose to “study” any number of online resources, podcasts or available information she can glean from gazing at her phone, watch or computer. She will continue to look for the easiest answers, incorporate them all, and most likely stumble.
For, easy answers are rarely easy. We could have summarized the entirely of VIM Executive Coaching in one sentence: “We teach executive leaders to truly know themselves and to be that person in all things,” or we could have brought out books and tons of information going back to ancient times.
To be mindful
The mindful executive leader is self-aware and aware. They see their executive world without blinders, bias or other forms of pre-judgment. They understand who they are, what hasn’t worked for them in the past, and what pitfalls they might fall into in the future.
The mindful executive leader operates on what she or he actually sees in front of them, and does so with compassion, understanding, presence and response. To that end, the mindful executive at any level of management, is the same person who is explaining something to a manufacturing worker as to the CEO of the organization. It is so beautiful a feeling to be in the moment, every moment, who you are.
VIM Executive Coaching has worked with executive leaders at all levels of leadership. It is an honor for us to work with so many absolutely fantastic people. We have been successful not due to a magic app or amazing software, but because we appreciate every executive individually and help them toward greater awareness of their full potential.