An example
When I started coaching Christian (name made up) a couple a years ago, he was a manager working in a global organization. Christian had just turned 40. He stated that his goal was to find out  whether he was a ‘true leader or not’ as he put it. If not, he would focus on specializing what he was good at like developing balanced scorecards and strategy maps. If yes, he would use his talent to climb the leadership ladder in the organization.

In the first session we talked about role models within leadership. After Christian mentioning a few I asked him to think of a leader who had meant the most to him. Christian then told about Oluf, a very wealthy farm estate owner who always paid attention to the lowest raking workers in the hierarchy: the boys, helping the grown up workers. Having been one of the boys, Christian now talked with great passion and admiration about Oluf. Oluf was a success. He was respected, he had ‘made it,’ Christian told me.  The very idea that Oluf could be so rich and powerful and at the same time show true respect to the lowest ranking workers made Christian reflect on the values Oluf was living his life by.

The values Wisdom, Truth and Trust kicked Christians leadership career in the right direction

That made Christian identify his own values and measure to what extend he had lived by these values so far in his professional life. Christians values were Wisdom, Truth and Trust. When measuring the extend of how much he had been living these values, Christian realized that there was a lot to gain both professionally and privately by focusing more on these values.

“I wish I could be like Oluf,” he said. “What would it take?,” I asked. That question sparked an avalanche of actions that Christian wanted to carry out. Suddenly he could see his rather weak communication to his boss and peers on who he was, what he wanted and how he would get it. Now he could see where to start, what to do and how to go about it. That session launched a series of action plans and action points that made the organization respond right away.

To cut the story short, Christian now holds a senior position as a regional sales director in the same company. He got what he wanted. Clarification on his leadership career , motivation to kick start it and a new job serving at a higher level with more satisfaction.

This blog post was inspired by an Christmas email from Christian thanking NDUNA for the help provided some years ago. 30. December 2009. Søren Leth-Nissen

Dorthe is a certified Energy Leadership Coach.  Call Dorthe +45 2870 8110 if you want to hear more on this exiting new approach to leadership coaching in Denmark.

“Energy LeadershipTM is the process that develops a personally effective style of leadership that positively influences and changes not only yourself, but also those with whom you work and interact, as well as your organization as a whole.

Before we explore the rest of what Energy Leadership may have to offer you, let’s define the two key underlined terms above.

Leadership: Leadership is how you interact with everyone, including yourself. Leaders are quite visible within small and large businesses. We tend to think of them as business owners, CEO’s and managers at all levels. Traditionally, leadership also extends into politics and other global affairs. However, parents, therapists and health care providers, solopreneurs, sports coaches, consultants, mentors, partners in relationship, teachers, authors, and others who interact with people on a regular basis are all leaders. EVERYONE is a leader either by choice or default.”
Source: energyleadership.com