We all have some stories that mark us professionally, either because of the surprise they provoke or the curiosity they arouse, and the one I’m going to tell you today is no different.
I had scheduled a diagnosis with a potential client, the result of a referral, and would be given Executive Coaching as part of a career that was already a few years old and, as far as I could tell, successful and even fairly linear; going up step by step.
The professional story was very nice, with a lot of consistency and success, but my interlocutor didn’t quite know how to frame what he wanted, insofar as personal development was something that only related to the individual and professional development only to the profession and career… And this almost took me back to the late 80s and early 90s, when this dichotomy was insisted upon: the person and the professional.
The conversation during the diagnosis was fluid, clear and open, with nothing hidden, apart from the discomfort in admitting that he needs to change the way he sees himself; how he reflects on his identity, in order to evolve. We are one, indivisible and united, and the pursuit of professional success is intrinsically linked to personal growth and development. Without it, it’s difficult to achieve the desired change.
My intervention, explaining that professional development encompasses the acquisition of skills, knowledge and experiences relevant to one’s career or occupation, was accepted with a complacent smile. I reiterated that this professional development involves improving technical knowledge, mastering specific skills, along with emerging trends and best practices. However, the basis of professional growth lies in personal development: the continuous process of self-awareness, self-discovery and self-improvement/learning.
At the same time, I pointed out that, recognizing this symbiotic relationship, individuals and organizations are increasingly using various tools and strategies to improve both their professional skills and the personal well-being of people in organizations. Among these, I mentioned Executive Coaching, Team Coaching and Business Coaching, as well as Mentoring, as powerful tools for promoting growth, leadership effectiveness and organizational success. And here I felt a sigh of relief. Things were starting to make sense, even without having to go into detail about the so-called soft skills, which I prefer to call power skills, generally recognized as the basis of personal development and individual growth.
This diagnosis made me think even more than usual, as I recalled a question that is often asked of children or even teenagers:
what do you want to be when you grow up?
Is this the question we want to see answered or do we have to rephrase it to
what do you want to do when you grow up?
what profession do you choose?
Words have power, they inform and form us, and culturally the discourse conditions our feelings and our position, how we see and reflect ourselves, which doesn’t help to clarify that our identity is not what we do, but what we do. we are! And this brings me back to a statement I’ve heard time and time again when someone is fired or retires: i used to be an engineer, but now i’m nothing….
The conversation continued in the direction of discovering the main reason for starting a process of Executive Coaching and my surprise increased again when my interlocutor told me that he had already done half a dozen sessions, which he hadn’t followed up on at the time, and that he had a clear idea of the main benefits of a process of coaching, namely clarity, focus, development of strategic planning, development of leadership skills and performance improvement…. not to mention reflecting on their identity.
Finally, the question arose: what are you looking for now?
Dissatisfaction is an extraordinary motivator, which grows almost uncontrollably as our vision of a different future also grows, and this is the specific case I’m telling you about. My potential client wanted to change his career path, feeling good about who he is, true to his values, which in no way invalidates working on his self-awareness and continuous learning to ensure the success of the next steps.
Does it make sense to you? Leave me your comments or you can contact me at emilia@emiliaalves.com. I am at your disposal.
