We are DELIGHTED to celebrate TC&A’s,
“A Deeply Rooted Journal for YOU!”
And, we INVITE you to join with us in CELEBRATING!
When writing, “A Deeply Rooted Journal,” we considered the question,
“What will support you and your leadership to:
LEAD Yourself…First?”
There is a sense of freedom and belonging to our own self when we have the ability to stay true to who we are and choose to:
“Lead Our Own Self…FIRST.”
From the beginning of TC&A’s business model, we have sought to coach with the foundational concept to be free and…
“LEAD Our Own Self…FIRST.”
This phrase was birthed when writing, “The Leadership Blueprint – Becoming the Architect of Your Life and Work.” From the very beginning, our “WHY” for writing “The Leadership Blueprint” was to “LEAD Our Own Selves…FIRST.” I know this may sound redundant and yet, this mindset is the catalyst for every facet of my life, my building strong relationships and career. Truly, I was inwardly led to belong, lead and trust my inner being, which in turn has set me free to live and work with greater confidence. It has provided meaningful experiences for our coaching clients, as well.
I am sharing parts of my journey, not to put the focus on me (Tess). I share my personal and professional journey with you with the hope that you will be encouraged in your own inward journey that will influence your life and work. So often, the deeper we go within the coaching context, the greater confidence we need for our life and career, in order to reach the heights of what is most meaningful to us.
My leadership challenge came from an external focus.
For much of my early career, I looked for the external opportunities to affirm “me” in the following:
who I was – I always wanted to “please” others –and ignore staying true to myself
what my skill sets were – I always “compared” myself to others and thought my skill sets were less than the skill sets of others
where I could belong – I always wanted to “fit in”, even when the signs were there that I didn’t fit in
who I should be in relationship with – I had very little boundaries and tried to be friends with everyone
and, I hoped others would be confident in me – I always tried to work above and beyond anyone else, which led me to burning out
All of my external focus led me down a path for me to experience the following inward turmoil:
always needing approval
never feeling good enough
never feeling a true sense of belonging
constantly looking for new relationships
not being confident in who I was
As I mentioned above, all of my external focus lead me to burning out as I was burning the candle at both ends. I needed a deep soul searching time to find me and be true to the person I desired to be. This took several years to intentionally build with every thought and decision to become more self-aware.
Fast forward…during my graduate studies, an opportunity came for me to forge a new leadership path for my career. It was a path I never really considered before, as it was outside of context I had worked. And yet, I found myself curious to know more about the work I would be doing. When the invitation was presented to branch out of my comfort zone, I embraced the entrepreneur journey with some fear and trepidation. There was no safety net of an organization. There was no 401K, insurance or benefits that I would typically experience with an organization. My new role and responsibility would be to support an Executive Leadership Coach and his business. I would provide individual coaching to support leaders within the Tech, Medical, Transportation and Education industries. We had a process for Coaching Leadership and provided Leadership seminars. It was a wonderful experience and proved to build my confidence in Leadership Coaching. This “outside” of my comfort zone journey lead me to new opportunities to travel to New York City, Europe and Singapore, as we worked with teams and built their leadership capacity. I may not have had some of the secure benefits of an organization and yet, I experienced far more than I could have imagined. Ultimately, I found the opportunity – WORTH IT.
When I reflect back on this experience, the freedom to build self-awareness and self-management came when I entered into my internal work years before the opportunity presented itself.
During my time of healing from burnout:
I focused and worked on myself. It required building my confidence in me as a person with a focus on my character. The more I trusted my personal honesty and being trustworthy, I became more confident. The more aware of what was important and meaningful to me - I knew I could trust myself to lead myself well with commitment and dedication.
I focused on my true skill sets. Rather than trying to use skills that were not my greatest strengths, I excelled and gained in confidence when I stayed true to the strengths of my God-given and practiced skills. I became more self-aware that it is “okay” to be a learner with a growth mindset and use my skills where they are best suited.
I focused on having an internal sense of belonging. I became more self-aware of my personal insecurities with others. Rather than trying to “fit in” – I accepted that it was okay to be an outsider looking in and be more interested and curious about others. This lead to more meaningful dialogue with others and connection. My mindset supported me to lead with my best intent. It always works in every situation and with every person.
I focused on building strong and healthy relationships. My relationships flourished and continued to expand when I was more interested in the lives and work of others. My approach took the focus off of me and placed it upon others. Relationships are a number one priority for me. Being curious and genuinely interested about others is key.
I focused on being who I needed to be for my own self, my family, friends and my business. My confidence continued to develop and increase, along with my creativity and willingness to keep trying new and innovative ways to provide Executive Leadership Coaching for individuals, teams, Boards and Businesses. My focus and confidence has led me further down the entrepreneur path and has brought me the greatest of joy and fulfillment.
You may be wondering, “So what does this have to do with “A Deeply Rooted Journal for YOU?” It’s beautifully and intentionally created for YOU, as you desire to embark on an inner journey to build your self-awareness and build your capacity to self-manage your mindset and behaviors. Your increased self-awareness combined with self-managing your behaviors and emotions will lead you to greater Emotional Intelligence. As a “Leader of Your Own Self…FIRST” – YOUR internal work will influence YOUR external outcomes.
You will be encouraged to use your internal listening strengths as you journal. You will be encouraged to have this mindset of truth every day, “all things that are for your well-being, require your collective choices and decisions, which brings you to the place of your true longing and belonging.” For it is within being Deeply Rooted that you will experience your true sense of belonging to your own self…first, as a leader.
From my personal / professional story to your personal / professional story – there is always more and more positive and good to experience in our lives and work. Our TC&A team, along with myself, know this to be true:
“Time spent inquiring within, is time well spent. We can trust our internal being to lead us well towards a brighter hope and a better future.”
- Tess
We would love to hear about your leadership journey as you embrace, “A Deeply Rooted Journal for YOU.” The journal is available on Amazon.com
We always want the BEST for YOU,
Our TC&A TEAM