Notes from Outside the Comfort Zone

There are many things I love about my job as an executive coach: I have a front row seat to clients’ A-ha! moments. I get daily doses of autonomy, purpose, and mastery. I do meaningful work with bright clients and collaborators. The pandemic hasn’t taken away any of these joys, it has merely shifted where and how they happen.
 
There’s also been loss since this all began. I miss whiteboard action in windowless corporate conference rooms with clients. I also miss shaking their hands and pausing to catch our breath before we check in and tackle goals. But this virus doesn’t stop growth or delete epiphanies or inhibit ideas. Sure, it fucks with our thinking and distorts brain functions, but it hasn't stopped us from experiencing fresh perspectives or considering different options. 
 
The autonomy of running my own business remains; and the risks of doing so have never been more obvious. I have colleagues who were crushed by this economic tragedy; the nature of my work and business model have spared me, but not because of brilliant strategy or merit. The primary markets I work in—technology, healthcare, and construction—are either essential or nimble industries that allow my continuous employment. I remain independent, while acutely feeling our interdependence. 

The purpose of my work—to help good leaders be great ones—and to embed emotional intelligence through self-awareness and co-regulation, is unaltered. Building trust and fighting fuckery is as important as it has ever been. Teaching communication skills and grounding leaders in their strengths is valuable on a good day and required in crisis. I have never been more connected to my why.

Stepping outside the comfort zone

Everyone—regardless of their title or expertise—has a “zone of genius”, that place where either 10,000 hours of experience or innate talent or a little of both come together masterfully. Put another way, mastery is your zone of genius. It’s your A-game, your superpower—that thing you do like nobody else.

My super-skills? Empathy, intuition, and change management—walking folks through major transitions. Though it may be considered a “soft skill”, in times of upheaval, empathy maintains connection across fear and uncertainty. When empathy is paired with intuition and the finely-honed hard-skills that go into change management, great things happen.

For example, let’s say all your plans went to shit. No problem—I’ll help you devise new ones. I might show up in my sweats or access my expertise while weeding, but my mastery didn’t go anywhere. It’s just playing catch up, shifting to phone calls and WebEx and other forms of communication.

Your mastery is woven into who you are. Nothing shuts it down. Even when you’re forced outside of your comfort zone.

Of course, staying connected while also being isolated is taking a toll on all of us—genius notwithstanding. That's why it’s critical to look for and share inspiration and tap into the collective wisdom and energy of your scenius. It's what prompted me to start this series of thought-leader interviews with the people who inspire me. 

It’s also what inspired me to begin working on a series of videos, called Fuckery 101. This ongoing series walks you through the bad habits that undermine our leadership and stifle belonging. While it’s no substitute for one-to-one coaching, this series is a “booster shot” of self-awareness.

Working on this series has been a poignant personal opportunity for me to face my own fuckery. Hello Imposter Syndrome! Nice to see you again, Perfectionism. Producing these videos put my discomfort front and center. These are more cinema verité than crisply edited and produced pay-per-view webinars. They’re just me sharing my zone of genius with you and yours in the time of coronavirus. They’re rough and raw and real—as this pandemic is forcing us all to adapt.

And if I can get over my intense dislike of being in front of a camera, what can YOU do by stepping outside your comfort zone?

Click on over to the Radius ECD YouTube channel and give it a spin. And as always, if you find yourself stuck on a particularly sticky piece of fuckery, drop me a line and let’s chat. Name That Fuckery is a favorite game.