As we approach Christmas and the New Year, we’d like to share with you a round up of what Aziz coaches have experienced whilst working with senior leaders in 2022…
Emma Sedgwick
I appreciate it’s a very corny thing to say, however, 2022 has been another year where it has been an enormous privilege to work with individuals and groups to facilitate them fulfilling their potential. Following the global pandemic, I’ve been struck by how many people are exhausted, and have very little in the tank to manage the increasing demands. As a result, some of my most rewarding work has been helping people appreciate how our brains and bodies react to stress and how we can learn to be more resilient.
Phil Summerfield
Team coaching.
As our view of leadership changes away from command and control it’s maybe obvious that IQ got us where we are and Emotional Intelligence (EI) gets us where we want to be. EI is critical for executive leadership development. A Team also has Emotional Intelligence – is that so obvious? Assessing and discussing our team’s EI opens up greatly increased understanding and communication. This is the first step on our journey to becoming a High Performing Team.
Ian McKechnie
Cross-functional teamwork. I’ve become interested in the impact of home working on leaders and their influence in team communication. People seem to keep in touch successfully online with their immediate team, but cross-team communications suffer; especially when different departments share projects. In the hybrid world there are simply fewer options to walk past other areas and exchange a few words or see people by chance in a shared café area. This can lead to inefficiencies, misunderstandings, lost business opportunities and even conflict. Increasingly, company conferences are more about connecting with remote others in a relaxed setting than acquiring new skills and knowledge. Coaching leaders to explore new ways to interact and develop influence at a broader level is becoming vital.
John Perry
This year I’ve seen an increase in the amount of coaching that has involved clients’ concerns around daily drinking of alcohol. This seems to be a legacy of the lockdown periods when every evening felt like Friday evening as no one had to get up in time for their early morning commute. As a result, many clients who previously restricted their drinking to Fridays and Saturdays fell into the habit of drinking every evening and many have been keen to address this as part of their lifestyle coaching package.
Andy Jones
As I reflect on 2022, probably the most striking thing for me is that the shift to remote coaching that arose as a result of the pandemic has become embedded. My coachees often tell me how they find it amazing that such a strong, impactful connection can be built with someone that, in most cases, they have never met face to face. I also believe that remote coaching enhances psychological safety and enables deeper conversations as clients feel at ease when meeting from the comfort their own home. Finally of course, from a coach’s perspective, it also opens up a whole world of opportunity to work with clients from different backgrounds and cultures which is endlessly fascinating.
Carola Hieker
One trend I noticed this year is about the ‘hustle culture’ There is a leadership generation coming which is talking a lot about the ‘hustle culture’ – a feeling that there is a need to be everywhere and being able to do everything, a feeling of constantly being on the go and not allowed to rest. One can see easily that this is closely connected to burn out and potentially mental illness. However, I also noticed when coaching millennial leaders that there is still an expectation that the previous generation (the gen x and baby boomers) who potentially have created this culture should also change this. …. And this won’t happen. This new leadership generation, especially the millennials have to change this culture as they also suffer most. They are the ‘sandwich’ generation – the generation between gen x and gen z which is still be willing to obey the rules made by earlier generations but are also confronted with the generation z who simple says no to rules if they don’t make sense for them. A hustle culture is clearly not sustainable, but it is the leadership generation now who has to change it.
FURTHER READING:
If you would like a conversation with any of our coaches please contact kate@azizcorp.com or call 01962 774766
