True Grit: Passion-Persistence-Perseverance

Last November I attended my first International Coach Federation (ICF) conference along with my foray into the world of live event blogging.

On day two Cheryl Richardson, one of my fave coaches, delivered the keynote address. Part motivational, part practical advice to the over 1,200 coaches who packed the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, she shared her sometimes bumpy path to success.

Intended for coaches in various stages of business development, Cheryl’s key learning could just as easily apply to corporate engineers, marketeers, finance analysts, entrepreneurs, as well as college students.

• Set realistic expectations
• Continue to educate yourself
• Courage to reinvent yourself
• Ability to persevere and rebound
• Choose something your heart feels
• Bold pursuit of your passions

Set realistic expectations

One of my clients, a senior manager in her late forties, was antsy about leaving the corporate nest to start-up her own business.

Expecting to do this within three months of engaging me as her coach, we explored her current role and responsibilities with the skills and experience required to operate her own business. She realized that the gaps between the two were more like chasms than ditches. 

She decided to spend a year building out her entrepreneurial skills within the company. This would not only provide her with a solid foundation for launching a business, but could also position her as a potential supplier for her current employer.

Communicating your expectations of others and an ability to negotiate the expectations that others have of you is part of setting realistic expectations.

Continue to educate yourself

"Our credibility as a coach always lies in the success of our clients." Thomas Leonard

The late, great Thomas Leonard could just as easily have been speaking about a manager coach whose ‘clients’ represent direct reports and extended teams. 

Today’s complex, challenging work environments require leaders and knowledge professionals to continue their learning through both formal and informal channels. Creativity, innovation, and reinvention are directly linked to continuous education.

"If you’re not getting smarter, you’re getting dumber." Doug Hall

Courage to reinvent yourself

"Our greatest opportunities come from challenges we’ve faced," Cheryl Richardson reminded conference attendees.

Of course, when we’re in the midst of a challenging situation it’s difficult to gain enough perspective to see the opportunities. We get too close to our own pain.

A few years back I coached a man stuck in playback mode. In the doldrums, but emotionally ready for something different, he believed that his only option was to search for a similar senior engineering position like the one he held two years previously. He believed that his age, qualifications, and salary requirements were conspiring against him in a tight employment market.

I suggested we go for dissimilar instead. Reframing his situation gave him both a new perspective and permission to reinvent something different for himself. We designed a successful solution around the skills, strengths, and life experiences that he brought to the table. 

Ability to persevere and rebound

"The ability to persevere is more important than intelligence."
Cheryl Richardson

Persistence is the art of discipline – what Cheryl Richardson referred to as stick-to-it-tiveness. Perseverance is the act of resiliency and the ability to rebound in the face of setbacks and failed attempts. Fear repels creativity and innovative thinking, causing us to either take no action or to take limited, controlled action.

Embracing fear is really about releasing the power we give to it. By stepping into our fear we attract the right energy, the right ideas, the right people, and the right situations to help us work through it.

Choose something your heart feels

Ask yourself what you would do if money wasn’t part of the equation. Would you do what you’re doing now?

Tapping into what makes our hearts hum kicks in a higher level of energy and enthusiasm for whatever we’re doing.

Choose something your heart feels and build a business or career from the inside out.

Be bold in pursuit of your passions

Responsible risktaking is about taking smart, bold action in pursuing your passions. Too often we separate ourselves from what we love outside of work with what we deal with inside the workplace.

We act like two different people – a workplace face and the “real” us. Authenticity is about integrating our different selves, where titles don’t matter, as much as the values we bring to the table.    

Stepping up and out is a personal contract. No one can judge your contract’s value and your personal worth if you choose not to give someone that power. Your word needs to mean something to you first before it means something to others.

That’s true grit.

© 2006 DA McCrorey

Comments

[Dee McCrorey]

Thanks Terry--glad you enjoyed my share. Speaking of sharing...thanks for the pointer on your site regarding the robust discussion on talent management!

[Terrence Seamon]

That's a great success formula, Dee. Thanks for sharing.

Terry