“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you don’t stop”. This Confucius quote was shared in a video-conference on leadership coaching that I attended today; “how to be a successful leader in turbulent times”. It was organized by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) of which I am a member. The speaker shared many matrixes and theories, and talked about the necessity of balancing short- and long-term goals. It reminded me of my days as an employee in a large international company, remembering the quarterly result reports, charts and performance ratings. That didn’t trigger a motivational feeling with me personally, but I do believe in what he said that the leader in turbulent times can broaden his/her perspectives by looking inward, outward, forward and around. If you don’t know the basics like what you stand for and where you are going, it is rather hard to manage an ever-moving environment.
There was also a local ICF event this week, on “live leadership”, where the speaker brought attention to the cycles of nature and the necessity of the leader being aware that “everything evolves” and “everything is connected”. When coaching leaders, she teaches the importance of connecting head, heart and body to motivate staff and to get solid results. The “results”, rather being harvesting the grain that the leader planted. She also mentioned the roots of the plant; “what should we not change and leave as is?”
These two workshops have made me reflect on various questions;
- If we consider the various cycles of nature, don’t we tend to stay in summer? (Production and growth.)
- How much do the charts and ratings produce of value? (Some of course, but from my point of view, don’t we tend to go overboard on the charts and reports?)
- When do we value walking slowly in business? Does that exist today?
- If we could appreciate that we are indeed in movement, not stopping, would we be more comfortable with our current results?
- How often do we let things mature, so that they are just ripe for picking?
- If we were to consider our business as a garden, would we see it differently? Would we treat it differently?
I don’t know about you, but for me these are questions to ponder on for my own business. I think I would appreciate the help of a coach to review my garden..
