Metaphors are a powerful tool in coaching sessions. I’ve been working with a senior Managing Director client in an international technology consultancy for the past few months as part of an intensive coaching programme.
One of his goals was to feel more confident speaking up and increasing his impact, particularly when in a room with his most senior colleagues and clients.
By most measures, people would see him as a successful leader, with a two-decade-long track record of delivering results, for which he has been recognised with a recent promotion.
Clients love his approach. His team and colleagues love how he works and leads.
And yet, like many successful people, he still had self-doubts and a lack of confidence in certain situations that were holding him back.
He saw himself more as “a steak guy”, while he felt others were more about “the sizzle”.
It struck me how this limiting belief was impacting both his confidence and his potential.
Critically, this was his metaphor, not mine.
I challenged him. “What if you were both a steak AND a sizzle guy?”
We’ve played with this a lot through our #coaching sessions, exploring what it means for him and how he can feel braver and more confident to bring both the presence and impact of “sizzle”, together with the substance of “steak”.
It’s been a disruptive and liberating mindset shift for my client.
His action plan now includes seeking opportunities to share his ideas on innovation and be more disruptive. He is adopting a “Chief Innovation Officer” mindset in everything he does and seeking to prioritise and invest his energy where he can do more of this.
In this week’s session, we worked on measures of success. I asked, “How will you know if you’re being successful?”
He identified three elements to be more innovative: 1) Learning and being up to speed with the latest ideas and trends; 2) Designing and delivering innovative solutions for clients; and 3) Sharing and influencing colleagues and clients with cutting-edge thinking.
He has decided to colour-code his calendar so that he can see at a glance what proportion of his week and month is invested in driving these elements of innovation.
And can you guess what colour he chose?
“Flaming orange.” 
If you too would like to explore ways how I could help you, contact me today at hello@changeoasis.com to set up a call.
