VIM Executive Coaching, strives to give executive leaders the tools to enhance their personal development. Our approach is unique, but well-grounded in the idea that each one of us has incredible capabilities of leadership. Our clients, are as varied in their experiences and industries as you can imagine. Every one of them have potentials far beyond their imagination if they remember just one thing. We’ll get to that at the end of this post.
Questions that can’t be answered
Throughout the ages, teachers and philosophers have asked their students impossible to solve riddles. The answer to the impossible to answer question is mainly irrelevant. It is the thought that goes into the argument, the reasoning and the ultimate conclusion of the student. Sometimes, the answer is that there is no answer. Or, the conclusion: there is no answer.
So, if we were to ask you, “Who Would You Be, If You Weren’t You?” what would be your answer? Would you choose to be a movie star, an athlete, neurosurgeon, an importer of spices, a nuclear physicist or boat captain? Despite the profession or even the location of the profession (for example, a chef in Tuscany), you would still be you. If, in any one of the above capacities you were asked to lead others, the flaws, or correctible items, would still be there.
Professions are not built on fantasy. VIM Executive Coaching has worked with hundreds of executive leaders in all professions and none have fallen into their roles. They worked and worked hard to get there.
However, the bigger point is that we must overcome flaws in order to get better. We have known “celebrities” and wealthy entrepreneurs; we have coached those at the top of their professions and those simply seeking to gain a foothold. Every one of them had to work to overcome the obstacles within themselves. The term “natural” is a misnomer.
The mindful executive
If we narrow our scope a bit, away from fantasy professions such as playing second base for the Yankees to executive leadership, we come to some simple truths. The first, is that there are no simple paths. If you buy your 8-year-old daughter an expensive set of golf clubs, she will not automatically become a professional golfer. We know that; it is an obvious fact. Why then, do so many executives believe that listening to a podcast, taking a course or attending a seminar, will magically transform them into leaders?
The same dynamic, the same journey that a professional in any profession should take, also applies to executive leaders. For us, the journey leads to a mindset of greater authenticity and mindfulness; of learning to respond rather than to simply react; of compassionate listening and transforming others. In short, to take the best of yourself and to work with what you have in order to achieve success.
In executive leadership, one approach does not suit all and one method may not work in all situations. Mindfulness does. Being aware does. There are no magic formulae and there are no number of leadership books to be read that will turn faults into understanding into transformation.
Understand that “you will always be you,” and that is not a bad thing. Leaders are never magically transformed. However, the good news is that everyone can learn to effectively lead if they understand that the journey requires a path that must first turn inward.
What would we like you to remember on your journey? Simple. Be yourself, just be the best version of that self. There is nothing magical to that thought, only to be mindful that the answers to the most complex questions are within your self.