Four Fold Way of Coaching–Part Two: Honor Your Heart
The last entry, “Show Up!”, talked about the first “way” of being when in a coaching relationship and/or leadership situation. Part Two, “Honor Your Heart,” takes us a little deeper into the journey. ”Heart” in this context has to do with “the heart of the matter” or core values. Honoring your heart requires that you know and understand some things about yourself and your core values, and that you be willing to honor them either by word or deed in your interactions.
The ultimate snake-bite kit: When you are clear within yourself about the key values you want to exemplify in your interactions, it is far easier to listen and respond calmly, no matter what the situation. Far too often we get caught up in “what if” scenarios–what if she says this? what if he does that? what if nothing happens at all? I joke with my clients that I sometimes feel they’re asking me for a snake-bite kit with a wide array of anti-venoms for every single species of snake imaginable! When you only respond to the external environment, you’ll never have all the answers. Never. There will always be a new situation for which you can’t prepare–a new snake who will strike without warning.
So what’s the answer? Go to the heart of the matter–inside yourself. Who do you want to BE in these different situations? Decide the answer to that question before you walk in, be willing to act in accordance with those core values, and you possess the anti-venom to anything that comes.
Tags: Coaching, honor your heart
At March 9th, 2010 at 12:49 am
Elizabeth Cottrell said:
This value-based approach is so powerful on so many different levels, both personal and professional. It is the perfect antidote to the frantic defensiveness that we so often see and sometimes feel, the result of which is a downward spiral of paranoia and narrow-mindedness which serves no one…least of all our clients, our customers, and our associates. Thank you for this reminder to stop, breathe, and seek clarity about what we and our businesses are all about and what is non-negotiable. The rest then will fall into the proper perspective.
At April 23rd, 2010 at 7:34 pm
Karen Jo Shapiro said:
What a great metaphor and a powerful teaching.
Thanks!