Inauguration Day! ~ Authentic Leadership
01/20/2009
What a truly historical moment it was! Never in our history have we seen a black man voted president of the United States of America. Never before had I witnessed and felt a surge of HOPE in the world of politics, direction, leadership, and possibility.
At least 50 neighbors gathered in our friend Kid Beyond’s living room in Noe Valley, San Francisco, to witness this historic moment LIVE. There was a big-screen TV, lox, bagels, and shmears, pineapple mimosas (he’s from Hawaii), and so much anticipation of this moment that there was a buzz in the air that had nothing to do with the mimosas.
The two biggest cheers occurred when 1) Obama was inaugurated and 2) when George W. Bush flew away in a helicopter back to Texas. Hey, this is San Francisco. It should be no surprise who the locals here stood behind. And beyond political party, there was something else coming to the forefront. A bursting of the bubble of the old paradigm of what is possible and attainable in this great country. We all sung the star-spangled banner and there was truly a feeling of COMMUNITY and UNITY as we all were proud and hopeful of the shift in leadership.
We have not had many leaders in my lifetime that inspire and embody what it means to be a role-model. This is true especially in the world of politics. I recently attended a seminar that had to do with leadership and training in LA. Part of the course was to watch and model famous past leaders, such as JFK, MLK, and Gandhi. We dissected and paid attention to how those leaders stood out from the crowd and truly embodied the vision that they articulated.
This is what I strive for in my own life and in those that I coach: Seeing where what we say is actually congruent in how we hold ourselves. A big part of coaching is being able to help a client get how their old habits and patterns in their way of being actually shows up somatically, or, in the body. For example: If I believe that I don’t have anything valuable to share, then my voice may soften, my posture may slouch, and I may literally be holding back. If I am not in my integrity from where I am speaking from (if I pretend to know about a subject or can’t fully stand behind what I am saying) then this will also show up physically in the body in distinct ways.
A big part of the coaching that I am trained in is to spot anywhere where we are incongruent in saying what we mean and meaning what we say. Clients find this incredibly valuable as they want to be more impactful presenters and speakers. Most psychological studies rank the fear of public speaking higher than the fear of death. Can you imagine the benefits on getting customized coaching on how you hold yourself and how this reflects or contrasts your way of being? And furthermore, how this impacts your audience?
If you are interested in learning more about how coaching can impact your communication with your employees, colleagues, intimate partners or friends, then send me an email and see what is possible with the experience of customized coaching. Thanks for tuning into my blog! Stay tuned for tips, explorations, and research in living into our FULLNESS in all that we do!
