Will you act or react?
How do you find your inner calm?
How do you want to show up as a leader?
If you’re a leader who steps back and looks at the wider picture, you’re making decisions from a calm and thoughtful foundation. Your decisions are inclusive and future focused. You’ll communicate more clearly, enabling your teams to better collaborate, create, and find solutions. Your teams will align with your organisation’s objectives and culture.
So many of today’s organisations are defined by scarce time and resources, and high expectations from senior leadership. When pressured and stressed, especially over long periods, leaders tend to react, showing the flip side of otherwise good characters.
Jakob (not his real name) was highly regarded because he won new clients and served them well. But Jakob’s Financial Services company referred him because he couldn’t manage his temper under stress. His communication would become highly transactional, driven, and focused on short-term successes. His work relationships were being damaged.
Within a few sessions we identified and labelled the root cause of Jakob’s reactions as an internal need to perform so as to feel worthy. By reflecting on his negative behaviours, he could see (with an initial sense of shame) how such behaviours didn’t represent his values. This process let him get clear on what needed to change, and motivated to do something about it.
Jakob started to notice sensory indicators that warned him of rising stress levels: his increased heartbeat, his clenched jaw. Further reflection enabled him to reframe his inner narrative and be kind to himself. His new insights led to finding practical steps that meant he could stay calm and centred:
deep breaths whenever he noticed he was reacting to external pressures
stepping back and adjust his mental lens to look at the bigger picture
asking himself, how else can I chose to respond here?
After 12 months of coaching, Jakob was not only more self-aware; he also had greater self-belief. He could now lead under pressure. This enhanced his work relationships, rather than damaging them. The shift in his leadership was recognised when Jakob received a promotion with a much broader mandate.
Reactive, narrow leadership can result in a chain reaction of insecurity. Teams feel unheard, disrespected, excluded, put upon, not recognised or valued, and more. Such negative sentiments translate into demotivation, underproduction, ‘otherness’, absenteeism and retention problems. Ultimately, the bottom line suffers.
The digital revolution is bringing huge opportunities and enormous challenges to all leaders. Employing an experienced executive coach to help your leaders maintain confidence and calm while tackling challenges is an effective use of your organisation’s time, money, and energy. While developing inner awareness can take time, work, and dedication, the long-term impact on teams and businesses is immense.
If you are interested in finding out more about how you can gain a wider perspective and calmer approach in service of your leadership and your organisation, do get in touch.
