I have executive coaching clients who come with the desire to find solutions to their issues, to feel better, to be in balance with themselves and those around. Where does this imbalance come from?
From what I have noticed, these people are under great pressure. They have to reach higher targets from one quarter to another, from one year to another; the resources necessary to reach these targets are scarcer and scarcer (the costs have to be kept under control, with performance indicators such as revenue per FTE). At the same time, they are asked to develop themselves, to be innovative, agile, to adopt different thinking styles, to learn how to manage the millennial generation, to think of the Z generation, to manage virtual teams, to be part of international teams, to adopt leadership trends, to implement new systems, to manage 50 major projects at the same time, to represent the company abroad, to always have a smile on their face, to relax, to have work-life balance, to be happy.
Coaching can help and support these executives to reposition themselves. They are containers for all the worries of the organisation, needing, in turn, to be contained as well. Not all the pressures mentioned above are known to the employees in their team. Sometimes people say: ‘my manager has been acting weird lately, as if nothing pleases them, as if we do nothing right, they always want more’. In general, it is the manager’s type of response to the pressures received.
However, what you have to keep in mind is that no matter the intervention, be it executive coaching, psychotherapy, counselling, mentoring, will not have the desired outcomes as long as the individual does not have a job that brings them satisfaction, a meaning, as long as they do not feel informed, respected, as long as, they in turn, do not have a manager who treats them right, as long as they are not recognised, supported or correctly evaluated. In addition, it is essential not to ask the world from them, to limit the demand of doing much more with limited resources and fewer people. It is a utopia to demand better results, higher profits, without investing in people, more efficient processes, and systems.
I often read comments people leave complaining about their managers. They expect the managers to always be in a good mood, to have time, to give them ideas, to see and notice each and every one of them as if they are the centre of the universe, to know everything.
‘The superman’ the employees and some CEOs imagine is, in fact, a human with limited powers, with their own vulnerabilities. To expect everything mentioned above means to be eternally dissatisfied, casting a shadow over any manager.
At the office we have a beautiful plant, with beautiful fuchsia flowers, of the kind you see in summer in Greece. We kept it on the balcony and it lived well. At some point, a well-meaning colleague thought of bringing it into my office, to make it more pleasant. It was placed in a spot where it did not get too much sunlight. After a while all its flowers fell. We put it back on the balcony, however, it took a long time for it to blossom again.
The executive is like this flower. They go to the coaching sessions, they do a repositioning, balancing exercise, seeming to be much better.
Going back to an area where they only have moments of shadows, of pressure, they will fight with themselves to stay afloat, to look as if everything is well. Then another session of coaching starts; they feel a bit better; then back into the shadows.
If we want a human to blossom and show us their best, we should be careful not to put so much pressure that they cannot carry it, we should support them, give them space and time to breathe, to regain their energy. No living organism can function in the long run if it is crushed.