It’s like a flower blossomed.
These are the 360 feedback snapshots of a client at the beginning and end of our journey. (A 360 exercise enables one to receive feedback from stakeholders around them.)
🔆 The Results – All self-reported (in red) and observer-reported scores improved. Her innate, POWERFUL, deeper self emerged. Extraordinary to witness.
🔆 The Client – Head of a non-profit who was highly motivated towards self-transformation. Extremely courageous in stepping on new ground, facing her shadows, speaking up for what she believed in.
🔆 A Few Touchpoints
– One-to-one work. The client called it “heart coaching”. I call it “catalysing”. https://innerwealth.global/catalysing/
– Deep therapeutic work through a collaborator. She worked on her trauma and inner blocks. Such deep work unleashes pure gold buried at our core.
– We supported her and her staff to use a meeting approach which research has shown to reduce burnout and increase morale, collaboration, trust, productivity and goal accomplishment. This was a game-changer. 85% of her staff said this enabled them and the manager to make progress on work together.
🔆 The Tool – The i360 by the iOpener Institute for People and Performance. It’s based on the science of happiness at work. So the leader’s growth supports employee happiness, which in itself is meaningful for employees and also enables excellence in work.
🔆 Client Feedback – Excerpts
Q: What have you discovered about yourself that has been most valuable?
A: That I can choose and experience happiness at work, without feeling guilty of not being enough and enjoy watching my team members grow too. The freedom of choice seemed unreachable before as we are bound by templates of functioning a certain way where personal joy and fulfillment is secondary and suffering is a norm, until I consciously started choosing what me and my team wants to experience while serving…
How was your experience of leadership before and how is it now?
Before this journey, my experience of leadership was to be strong externally, instinctive, often lacking clarity on boundaries, when to apply values or what even are our values or lean on to a long-term strategy. Now, I would say it is more intentional. There is self-awareness and confidence with grounding. I have always held myself accountable for all failures, due to lack of delegation, empowerment – now with tools, I not only empower my team members, but also aware of when to hold someone accountable, and for both outcomes.
In addition to the pointers above on managing the team members and their resignations, the tools taught during this journey have shaped the recruitment process too. Laying down the values, work culture, expectations and identifying and understanding their strengths allowed me to make informed decisions to hire a person into the team, or not confirming probation.
During the organisational action planning process, we had consciously and collectively taken effort as a team, to be mindful of doing projects that we can implement, learn from it, drive a deeper and longer lasting impact and not just continue to do everything that was done in the past. I have also started to appreciate the importance and strengths of my team members, which I was blind to before. This allowed me to introduce two rounds of feedback from the staff during the action planning process, with guiding questions on values alignment, resource availability and impact quality. Grateful to a very responsive team, who have also grown alongside me, being open, honest and responsive. To me, this shed light on the fact that leadership is actually a shared journey.
The Personal Management Interviews (PMI) training for the team members and myself was one of my most memorable lessons. It not only provided the tools such as a template and reminders, but opened up a beautiful process of commitment to allocate time, preparation and holding ourselves accountable for follow-ups. We committed to this, making monthly 1-1 chats very productive. This led to the emergence of something very crucial for humans – TRUST….
They were absolutely wonderful sessions, to hear from them, witness them being prepared, eager to share, eager to trouble-shoot and collaborate, sharing positive remarks about other staff and more…That mutual trust we have built is precious in an organisation, not only for a positive team dynamic but also for the humans of the organisation to form a rhythm of connection, to be heard, to connect and create a healthy space to support each other.
What feels more possible now? How have your inner capacities and potential been impacted?
Working with people even though this sounds like a basic thing for a leader to be capable of, but societal definitions of “managing or working” with people was very different before – it did not include active listening, understanding their needs or navigating conflict situations mindfully. I was terrified of having to do these before, because it “takes” away time from actually serving the animals, the “purpose”. Now, I strongly believe in working with humans, not only to serve the animals, but inspire change, kindness to each other and create a breathing, feeling team that is more than being functional or efficient.
You have used the word “liberation” to describe an outcome of this journey. In what ways have you liberated yourself?
This journey allowed me to understand myself to say no to those that are preventing me from saying yes to others that are important for the organisation, the cause and to myself. This is a form of liberation of my energy, space and time to do things that are more impactful, things that allow people around me to grow too, and to feel fulfilled.
What is the most significant change you have experienced during this journey?
It is the ability to transform and access my compassion and wisdom to communicate feedback to my team members constructively & mindfully and to listen to them actively and take action.
What have been your key takeaways and insights from this journey?
This project was an invitation to understand my strengths, my team members’ strengths and with openness receive information about areas to improve and potentials to tap on, which was done through the strengths assessment, the two 360 reports, monthly 1-1 sessions with the staff and monthly 1-1 coaching sessions. It was not immediately visible, but the final 360 spotlighted the areas of growth. The takeaway for me from that was to (i) To take time for growth in a charity which is often caught in a typical rat race and deliver, deliver, deliver only; (ii) to take a step back to reflect, but continue showing up and consciously put in efforts and trust the process.
What were three common feelings you experienced before this journey started and now?
Before: Appreciative, depleted and lost; After: Empowered, encouraged and clear headed/equanimity (during crisis)
Which part of you has grown that has been especially surprising and enriching for you?
Welcoming positivity by speaking and choosing the truth and moral courage, and facing the outcomes with moral courage.
What have you discovered about yourself that has been most valuable?
That I can choose and experience happiness at work, without feeling guilty of not being enough and enjoy watching my team members grow too. The freedom of choice seemed unreachable before as we are bound by templates of functioning a certain way where personal joy and fulfillment is secondary and suffering is a norm, until I consciously started choosing what me and my team wants to experience while serving the animals.
What have you let go that has been supportive to you?
Being busy made me feel useful before; Tolerating behaviours made me feel kind before. I have let go of both of my behaviours.
What is your relationship with discomfort now?
I have just started having a relationship with discomfort, so much that I am willing to “sit” with our dear discomfort. I visualise discomfort as a mirror, who I can look at, ask questions and find the answers. It blows my mind that we are not taught to do what sounds simple and straightforward. Now that I have begun, it feels like coming home to my true self.
In what ways do you find yourself engaging with life more fully or differently?
I have also made space and time to express how I feel, through art, music, spending time in nature and being still. I will take effort to continue doing these, because it resets my system allowing me to return to work re-charged with more space, clarity and compassion to hold things and people whom I am responsible for.
My understanding and perception of life, in particular a fulfilling life, has also shifted. It is now less of striving, and more about being. Recently, when playing a deck of cards with a close friend, I was asked to describe myself in three words: I said “gentle, kind and integrity”. My friend responded with, “Present, courage and kind”. She pointed out to me that I am always present at the moment. That was a beautiful compliment, a petal to add to my definition of life as a flower. Being present, being aligned/in tune matters to me the most. Slowness and depth are the most appealing aspects of experiencing life to me now, versus in the past when I had measured fulfilment on how useful I can be or how much I can serve. Now I realise usefulness/worth will automatically follow a “being” life.
So, these changes (some in progress) have strengthened the way I respond to stress, by checking within. The depleting and draining feeling has left my system, and I feel more resourced, and look forward to continuing accessing them in the future.
How has your ability to reflect on complex issues evolved? In what ways have you noticed a change in your critical thinking or problem-solving skills?
My intention has always been to zoom out and address the root cause in the past. Many distractions and draining problems that I chose to shoulder in the past were my blinders. The coaching and practices allowed me to drop those blinders, sit straight and have a view with clarity that I had yearned for years. Tools and practices allowed me to navigate work-related challenges objectively and mindfully, and even take action.
What value do you see in our work especially for the farmed animal movement given its goals and challenges?
The movement faces burnouts amidst the urgency, because of the scale of the issue and massive suffering. This is on top of having to confront systemic cruelty on a daily basis. We have no space for grounding, reflecting or healing. We have no time for check-ins and clarity, because we will get eaten by guilt. Your contribution is so invaluable, because of the inner work it catalyses. Basically, you help us to reconnect with the “why” and why “how”s matter too.
This transformation is exactly what we want to see in the animals – we rescue a chicken caught in the productivity race in crammed conditions – barely living, and definitely not thriving. Then she transforms with sunlight, love, company, space and soft grass to walk on. She lives longer, she gives love and has a full life.
We are the chickens in a factory farm, needing that transformation, waking our inner power. Your regenerative approach asking us to ‘water our garden’ proves that that inner work is a required detour, and has a beautiful impact on humans, and will have an amazing effect on the movement.
What’s the Impact on Change-Making for Animals?
Heartivism is a concept that I was introduced to, by the coach during this journey. Even though I understood the principles in the beginning, only by practice did I learn to unlearn a lot of old beliefs on activism – which is very results-driven and only the outcomes mattered. Now, the approach and the journey matter too. I now have a deeper understanding of how to hold difficult conversations, or even build relationships with the most unlikely allies, and growing conscious on when to stop. I approach this work not as a moral battle, but invite people to collaborate, reimagine our relationship with animals and connection with nature.
What makes our work unique based on your experience?
Experience and understanding of animal advocacy landscape, values alignment for the animals. (By default, the charity/organisation feels seen, feels heard, to other consultants, we have to explain ourselves a lot about our work, the landscape, the funding and team dynamics)
What three qualities did we bring that supported you most? Authenticity, Clarity and the coaching skills itself. Vadivu was like a lighthouse…
PS: As we witness global chaos, we can stay empowered by being and making the change we wish to see in our own sphere of influence. The cause this leader served and her conscious leadership contribute to the more loving, just and wiser world I wish to be part of nurturing.
PPS: This transformation was made possible by a sponsor. If there’s a nonprofit leader you’d like to support in this way, book a call to explore. More here.