So Let’s Actually Talk About It
Until about 5 years ago I tried to minimize the effect my kids had on my professional life.
I would joke about leaving them to fend for themselves during calls. I wouldn’t talk about being a mom at work.
This started to feel terrible. For a million reasons, but particularly because parenting has made me a better leader.
Now I often use examples of how we parent children when I’m coaching leaders.
Real Life Example….
One of my clients told me that he didn’t feel connected to his team. He said he didn’t know how to interact with them. It always felt awkward.
We started to talk about how he felt close to his kids when they were just sitting next to each other. He didn’t feel like he had to talk a lot. They just liked the closeness.
I asked him what would it feel like to do that with his team? Could he literally just ‘be’ with them.
Raised eye brows.
For 2 weeks he tried this whenever he could.
He started sitting in an empty desk space in the middle of the team. He would just hang out while they were working through a planning session. He would linger at lunch without feeling like he had to lead a conversation. He showed up a few minutes early to every call and just held space for whatever happened.
After 2 weeks he said “it felt easy.’’ And people talked to me more. I don’t feel like a have an agenda now.
Well that’s kinda magical.
And we learned this by drawing on our experiences with our children. I love this.
Now I do this all the time with my clients. I find that people really open up and take the walls down.
These conversations also normalize bringing our personal experiences to work. And that’s good for everyone.
This is how we integrate life coaching into leadership training.
Schedule a call with me to learn how I can help you feel more grounded and happier at work.
I Help Leaders in Businesses, Families, & Communities
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