After an interesting day organised by Coaching Connect I am reflecting on what it means to be mindful both personally and in my role as a leadership coach. The short exercise we all participated in involved being quiet for just five minutes with our eyes open with the simple instruction to just notice and be aware of our experience. It was strangely re-assuring to be told that it was not about getting it right or wrong it was well just what it was!
So what was it you ask?
Just taking the time to notice incidental and everyday noises, pictures, happenings, surroundings and thoughts without feeling the need to pursue any particular thought or come to any particular conclusion. It was in fact re-learning the art of doing nothing and realising how peaceful that can be and how liberating!
What difference does this make to me as a coach?
One of the great challenges for any coach is the ability to get out of your own way in order to be fully present for your client. What does this mean? To be fully present requires an ability to let go of your own theories, pre-occupations, opinions, beliefs and judgements so that you can give unhindered exquisite attention to your client. For me the practice of "mindfully doing nothing" allows me to stop and become an observer of my own experience so that I can notice and acknowledge and then gently lay aside in order to more fully engage with the experiences of another.
I'm really interested to hear how other coaches "get out of their own way" in order to be fully present for their clients- as for me, I think that "mindfully doing nothing" could really catch on!
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