Tess and I met when I was a fellow in the California Ag Leadership Program. The program had just started on the path of using coaching to support leadership from within. I still remember our first session in San Luis Obispo, where she talked about the Johari window and how our stories contribute to our actions and reactions and make up who we are. I didn’t realize it then, but I now know why each of our stories matters and how we can use them to empower ourselves to fuel growth, well-being, and prosperity in our lives. She taught me that our stories have power and matter because, as Maya Angelou always said- When you know better, you do better.
Highlight three key areas where you have found that leadership coaching has supported a positive mindset, positive energy, and positive outcomes.
The first is that I am an extrovert and an outward processor. Coaching allows me to process and look at areas of my life, especially my career, behaviors, and relationships, professionally and objectively.
The second is leading teams and developing people. Each team member has different needs, mindsets, behaviors, and skills. A leader’s job is to meet them where they are, bring them along, and help them grow. One of the fundamental things I lean on today is a quadrant of leadership styles/needs Tess taught me. It was one of my most significant “ ah-ha” moments. She said that as a leader, you need to discern when your team needs you to be in a telling, participation, coaching, or collaboration style. No matter how seasoned an individual is, they will end up in one of these quadrants, and it is your job as a leader to meet them there and bring them along to support the whole and outcomes. You should never expect that just because they are a certain age or position, they will not need support in one of these ways.
Third, so much of business and other people’s actions or behaviors are not personal. The minute you can look at those things objectively and let go of your emotions, the quicker you will spend your energy on gaining results for the business rather than on how you feel.
When have you found it difficult to keep trusting your energy throughout your growth and development in your career and life?
When things get tough and you keep running into walls. I’ve always had the ability to read what is ahead. What has been challenging with that is just because I can see it doesn’t mean everyone else can. I used to think that if I could communicate differently, present the correct data, or provide my credentials and experience, I could get others on board. I have learned that a lot has to do with the readiness levels of the others and the team. I have worked on projects repeatedly that took years to achieve due to the readiness levels of others. I used to get extremely frustrated and would want to give up. Now I give it space and stay prepared. I trust my intuition and expertise in what needs to be done. I say that humbly and with a knowing due to many years and trials. This process can be cumbersome, frustrating, and challenging. In these moments, I will take my own space to get my mind and energy right to keep leading effectively and stay resilient.
How has your energy or intuition supported the direction of your life?
My intuition is everything to me. It guides all that I do and has never let me know. There have been so many moves and decisions I’ve made where people thought I was crazy, or how will she do that or that can’t work, yet I let my intuition guide me, leaned in, trusted, and took each next right step toward that knowing. It is a process. Even though your intuition might tell you something, timing is still involved, and sometimes that timing dictates the outcome. Our job is to hold it all loosely, show up with the timing right, and trust. It is not always one big step but a few steps forward.
