I had another business coaching leader tell me again that “working with me is like being in therapy.” As I do with the many others who have made that comment to me, I go onto explain to them that “working with me may be therapeutic, but it is not therapy.”
The first time I heard that from someone, I was a bit concerned that I had somehow transformed our business relationship into a clinical relationship, but I came to see that my superpower of empathy allows me to help my clients find a deeper understanding and meaning about their own work and how it impacts their lives.
I presented at the 3rd Annual Corporate Startup Lab Forum at Carnegie Mellon University this past week on how the Covid Pandemic Impacted Employee Engagement along with Dr. Debra Gilboa and Lou Musante from Echo Strategies. This Forum is all about innovation and how startups and established companies can build and sustain inventive thinking.
As is often the case when the conversation comes around to innovation, many companies and individuals assume that they do not have pioneering ideas within their organization (or self) and must look outside because “those folks are smarter” than us. Thinking inside the box creates the recognition that our capacity for innovation is inherent and that we can tap into that skill to help improve our lives and businesses.
Recognizing and honoring our own strengths affords us the opportunity to know ourselves better and to apply that skill more fully. For me, it is about empathy and helping my clients to better understand themselves and to find more satisfaction and success in their work. For the leader I describe above, it is his facility with financial data, and his unique ability to bring that information to his colleagues in a way that helps them make better business decisions.
We all have our superpowers and I hope you know what you do with ease and success. If not, email me and we can have a chat about it and I promise you it won’t be therapy.
© Richard Citrin 2021
