Helen Li, Data Scientist, Technology Company
In the past, I have tried various techniques to manage my emotions for professional and personal success, for example, positive psychology, non-violent communication, cognitive behavior therapy, meditation, and the philosophy of love. While these ideas are powerful and have indeed shaped my thinking and being, I've been struggling with finding a practical framework to integrate these ideas with my life, in a consistent and measurable way. When I discovered energy leadership coaching, it was immediately clear to me that I have found the framework that can integrate all my past learnings and carry me toward my goal.
Joy and Hope are both excellent coaches. They bring compassion, clarity, humor, and tons of coaching expertise to the room. Their different yet both effective styles have convinced me that there is more than one-correct or one-perfect way of leadership, that perhaps I too can develop my own style, and that I too can fly high with diligent practice, acute self-awareness, and faith in Hope and Joy(pun intended). In the five weeks of time, I learned to recognize various energy levels that showed up in my reactions to different (often stressful) situations.
I learned to ask important questions like: what options do I have? How would I conceivably show up in other levels of energy? These simple and effective exercises (with careful guidance) help hone in on my areas of growth with surgical precision. But most importantly, I come to understand how I operate by default (and often mindlessly), and what opportunities and freedom I could have if I can take control of my energy levels and use them consciously. The degree of freedom that I am beginning to see in stressful situations means that my own stress levels, while still flaring up from time to time, don't last persistently like before. The impact of my learning was almost immediate, both at home and at work.
These learning are foundational. They came to me at a perfect time when I was about to start a new job, it's also a time when I was experiencing personal growth and reorientation towards a path of pursuing life's satisfaction from connecting, helping, and giving, instead of from my own success. Having lived through some of the most divided times in history in the last few years, I am no longer content with being an outsider or an onlooker to communities that I am part of. If I choose, I know I can change the experience of people around me by managing my own energy level and channeling the energies around me for better acknowledgment, understanding, and connection. This is absolutely transformational. Energy leadership allows me to see myself becoming a stabilizer wherever I go, to bring high-level energy to people around me, to lead and to influence, to inspire and to connect. None of which I thought was reachable within my grasp before joining the group coaching.
It's rare in life that you get these opportunities to transcend your perceived abilities, especially in mid-life, and this is one of them. And if you've read this far, you should probably stop reading and sign up now while you still can, before joining the waiting list. It'll be a fantastic journey.