I wonder: Been thinking about this next idea for many years of executive coaching and organizational development. It is how, when & if leaders made a significant change in their organizations. Now I understand this from a neurobiological lens. What was their primary “state of being”? How was their autonomic nervous system functioning? How did their physiology create their bodily sense of being “safe & social”?
As an executive coach, I now understand when & if leaders are ready to ” go deep”, where leaders become “coherent”; it starts with the body, then the effect, emotions, thinking, and then the behaviour.
This creates a level of comfort to look “inward”, to be open & honest with themselves, to recognize their blind spots, to hear & respect the voices of others, a desire to learn, & accept many ideas, not of their own making. Often, we operate on autopilot & we are unaware of the habitual ways that protect us. I have observed leaders in a state of “threat, and fear”, and are completely unaware. I have found that they listen, speak, engage, & make decisions based on their “fight or flight” mode; their thinking might be unclear, unfocused and their decisions might be weak. My goal is to serve my client to assist them to return with their staff to be “safe and social”.
