CEO Today - Executive Coaching Awards 2022

CEO Today Execut ive Coaching Award s 2022 - NEW ZEALAND -

perspective at multiple levels of scale. Of course, we must be careful that we do not fall into the trap of the choice paradox — where having too much choice overwhelms the client and they feel confused. I see choicefulness as a superpower. Everything continues to change, ourselves included; being aware of our environment, connections and relationships helps us sense what is changing around us. It allows us to consciously engage in the act of choosing.

• Understand that we are part of a complex adaptive system (CAS) where we are influenced by the environment around us, and that it continues to change – so rapidly or slowly that is hard to see without intention.

• Get a clear sense ‘in the moment’ of what may be most helpful and useful to them.

• Get to know what is happening with multiple senses to enhance their felt sense of what is.

At the end of the day, people make choices about the depth of the transformation that they want to undergo. The people who are drawn to coach with me are leaders who want to change the worlds they live in, not just perform a bit better. This requires a deeper dialogue than ‘the three steps to achieve this quarter’s financial goals’. I support executive leaders in creating conditions for their own innovative thinking breakthroughs so they can shape their future with every step they make. Complexity and uncertainty no longer need to be their enemies but become opportunities for a more engaged life. You have mentioned that you believe in ‘embracing the messiness’ of organisations. What does this entail? A lot of disappointment stems from the idea that the world is like a clock where things follow a precise order, or people should say and do as we say. So we set expectations that are carved in stone and take little notice of how our context or situations are changing. We judge our success by the degree of stability and certainty that this generates. Messiness tries to describe the countless ways in where the future is unknowable. As an example, we may steadily work towards building a successful portfolio of our work and become ready for promotion, and as we are ready to take that big step, our company is sold, our boss is transferred and our promotion is put on hold, the market changes and our skills are no longer needed, and we need to learn something new.

How do you strive to promote this among your clients?

I do this by encouraging my clients to:

• Think about a pattern rather than goals that they want to create. A goal for me is like a single musical note; a pattern is more like a composition that has a richness to it and is more than just the string of a few notes. • See their issues from multiple perspectives, at different levels of scale such as other people, organisations, etc. I set conditions where clients feel deeply listened to and share what is genuine and helpful.

Through these sessions, clients learn how to develop their own capacity to notice, understand and act in

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