Ignite Your Fire

72 Executive Coaching Ignite your fire What could Hozier and executive coaching possibly have in common? More than you might think… BY IAN MITCHELL & SÎAN LUMSDEN here’s a lot of talk about world, particularly if our people are the man phrases his extraordinary ‘employee empowerment’ in used to working in a more traditionally contribution to the world of leadership Torganisations these days. Broadly institutionalised environment? And development. We’re building an entire defined as “giving employees a certain how can executive coaches help the development programme for middle degree of autonomy and responsibility required change come about? For us, managers on the concept but to really for decision-making regarding their it begins with Hozier. Yes, Hozier the get the idea, you must first understand specific organisational tasks”, it often singer. He of Take Me to Church fame some terms. sounds more radical in theory than it and Ireland’s latest contribution to the According to the Urban Dictionary, transpires in practice. But according world of exceptional singer-songwriter “being woke” is to “get a sudden to Limeade, the employee engagement talent. understanding of what’s really going specialists, “empowered employees are In mid-September of this year, on and find out you were wrong about loyal, committed and potentially more Hozier released an astonishingly much of what you understood to be productive” and they “successfully insightful collection of songs in his EP, truth”. Those of us with a less hip manage or lead their own projects, Nina Cried Power. The title track should turn of phrase might refer to it as work toward their goals and drive their be mandatory listening for all executive the moment when the penny drops. own career”. The benefits, according to coaches everywhere. Actually, the first Some executive coaches describe it as Limeade, are “endless”. sentence ought to be enough. “It’s not a client having an ‘aha’ moment and But how does this work in the real the waking, it’s the rising.” That’s how get somewhat excited if the moment ACCOUNTANCY IRELAND OCTOBER 2018 Executive Coaching 73 happens in the coaching room during emancipation is the ideological stuff that our word-count precludes us a live coaching session. Hozier is pretty position that… should become central from going into. dismissive of people simply “being to coaching. Focusing on improving The participants have had loads woke”. It is, he sings, “the heat that performance is necessary in any of highly charged ‘aha’ moments, and drives the light... the fire it ignites” that organisation, yet it cannot be the only that’s great for them. But we contracted makes a difference in the world. Or, as focus. Strategy and emergence are with them to do two things around we put it, executive coaching isn’t about also important; companies now work those moments – two things that will achieving ‘aha’ moments with clients; towards corporate social responsibility turn those moments into building it’s about co-creating the impetus to and coaches can support and lead blocks towards their living ‘aha’ lives. inspire ‘aha’ lives. initiatives to challenge a status quo First, we asked them to re-focus their Sometimes, however, facilitating that has left the world in a precarious note-taking. The magnificent Parker an individual towards the road to place”. Put another way, it’s not the J. Palmer once said: “at these (‘aha’) empowerment involves helping that waking – it’s the rising. It’s facilitating moments, we need to listen to what our person deal with the fallout from the the emergence of ‘aha’ lives. lives are saying and take notes on it, lest internal and external soundtrack that This creates a dilemma for a we forget our own truth or deny that has disempowered her or him in the coaching sector that has made a big we ever heard it”. A stunning thought, first place. We’re all victims of the thing of those ‘aha’ moments. And isn’t it? inner critic and sometimes colleagues, why wouldn’t we? We coaches need So we asked them to take less bosses and clients can externalise and personal validation as much as anyone notes on what their ‘wise’ colleagues amplify its voice by how they interact else and, as we tend not to be hanging might contribute and focus more on with us. Criticism, blame and faint praise couched as ‘developmental feedback’ can, and will, intensify our Criticism, blame and faint praise couched sense of being disempowered. This creates an unhelpful cacophony of as ‘developmental feedback’ can intensify our sense noise that drowns out the still, small, of being disempowered. This creates an unhelpful almost apologetic voice that wants to tell us that we’re okay; that we can cacophony of noise that drowns out the small, almost do this; that we’re capable of rising to the challenges of being entrusted apologetic voice that wants to tell us that we’re okay. with a certain degree of autonomy and responsibility for decision-making regarding our specific organisational around our clients for the rest of their the stuff that comes out of their own tasks, and capable of delivering an potentially ‘aha’ lives, sometimes the mouths – particularly when they share “endless” suite of benefits to our moment is the place where we can most something that feels like a biggie to employer and our wider organisation. easily satisfy that validation need. But, them. Take notes on their own truths, if And so, we need to become broadly speaking, we need to find a you will, lest they deny. emancipated. This is where good different measure. Second, we asked them to – at very executive coaching can provide So in our work with leaders, we’re regular intervals, say every two hours organisations with quantifiable returns majoring on the notion of ongoing – get together with a colleague on the on investment in current and future peer accountability – albeit in bite- programme and agree to hold each leaders and their teams because, in sized chunks. For instance, this week other accountable for the turning of simple terms, emancipated people we worked with a group of leaders, all these inner revelations into actions that respond eagerly and positively to of whom worked at a level just under will drive them and their part of the organisational invitations to manage the C-suite. Over a two-day period, we organisation forwards. They won’t do it or lead their own projects, work toward asked them to dig deep into their levels in a soft and fluffy ‘huggy-moment’ sort their goals and drive their own career. of self-awareness; to understand the of way, they’ll do it for real by putting Plus, those individuals frequently life events that have authored them; a process around it and agreeing some take most responsibility both for to explore the extent to which they are milestones and voluntary KPIs. delivering on the bottom line while, building hope, optimism and efficacy Because, you see, it’s not the waking perhaps paradoxically, ensuring that in themselves, their peer groups and that matters – it’s the rising. Because the organisation makes an increasing their teams; to honestly acknowledge this week, these leaders are signing up contribution to making the world a the armour they need to don simply to to live ‘aha’ lives. better place. function effectively in a very stressful Our friend and colleague, Dr Simon sector; and, perhaps more importantly, Western, is perhaps the leading thinker to acknowledge the armour their direct IAN MITCHELL AND SÎAN LUMSDEN in Ireland when it comes to executive reports need to don simply to work with Ian and Sîan are co-founders of Eighty20 Focus, a real-time executive coaching coaching. In his view, “creating them – plus a whole other bunch of organisation. www.accountancyireland.ie.

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