by HELEN TEH
I am sitting here, thinking of what to write. After putting my hand up to say “I will write for MACC!”, now, I am scratching my head ……. What would interest the readers?
I asked my 15 year old son, “What do you think Mummy should write?” He said “All those lives coaching you do”. I say, “The cases? Or what I learned? Or what I do?”. He said, “Any of those, Mummy!”
That got me back to square one but got me thinking, nevertheless. I have realized how much I have learned and grown over the years since I started my coaching journey. It is truly a “deep learning partnership” as defined by the Corporate Coach Academy shared to me by Dr Michael Heah, my “sifu” (master).
Hence, I think I will write about all the learning either from me or my coachees or my colleagues. So this is Page One of Helen’s Learning Journey which I hope can add value and help in your learning journey too.
I have known Julia (not her real name) for a couple of years. She is now an ex-colleague and came to me a couple of months back, to be coached on her next move in her career. Based on my interaction with her, Julia is a very “feely” person (meaning she always considers the feelings of other in all that she does). Julia, however, has always denied it. At work she pride herself as being very logical, practical and “work is work” type of a person. She has often shared with me that she hates managing people and would prefer to work in areas where she does not need to manage people.
Julia also has a very reflective learning style. Last week, I saw a book called “Managing for People who Hates Managing” by Devora Zack. An autographed copy, no less. I thought, this would be perfect for Julia as the book looks like an easy read which can be done whilst she flies between countries.
This is what she texted me when she got back from one of her travels:-
“Hi! I started the book already. It said that I am a FEELER and of course, I put down the book in protest of the result. I am NOT a Feeler, I said to myself. And as I was protesting, I felt like I had to go pee. I was at the window seat. And to my right, the guy was sleeping and to his right, the girl was working furiously on her laptop. Hmm….. I thought, let me try to hold so I don’t disturb them and don’t inconvenience them. BANG….. I realized I AM a Feeler!!!”
Since then, Julia shared that she is now more conscious of her thoughts and emotions. She is also seemingly feeling less stress about managing people and decided to stay where she is today.
Self-Awareness is having clarity of our own personality (strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, beliefs, values, motivation, and emotions). It enables us to understand others, how they perceive us, our attitude and our responses to them in various situations and various moments.
Are you TRULY Self Aware?
