This past summer, I was interviewed by Steve Fisher and Shashi Bellamkonda for their blog, Solutions are Power - part of Network Solutions social media outreach dedicated to small business owners. My interview, entitled The Power of Life Coaching was, as the title suggests, on the topic of life coaching. I consider myself more of a Creative Emergence coach than a life coach, since my coaching is specifically focused on multi-dimensional creative appraches to cultivating "next-level" emergent business structures. For the intro section and original interview on their blog, click here.
Here is the interview:
Steve: How did you get into doing life coaching?
Michelle: Actually, it was a confluence of several
elements coming together at once: my passion to unite the worlds of
business, purpose and creativity (after seeing people completely split
off from their creativity on the job); my previous experience in
marketing, organizational development and various dimensions of creative
process; and business brainstorming/ideating sessions with colleagues
that turned into what I started calling Emergence Sessions because
outcomes would emerge where “the whole was greater than the sum of its
parts.” Referrals started gaining momentum. I began noticing patterns in
the sessions and observing certain universal principles at play when
engaging creative process. I then started consciously shaping and
structuring my work into an accessible format, and Creative Emergence
coaching was born. My coaching practice itself was a creative emergence.
Steve: For those not familiar with this type of service, what is coaching?
Michelle: Coaching is a process that enables learning, creativity and development to occur. The coaching relationships creates the conditions for an entrepreneur to be successful. A good coach has tools and techniques to help his or her a client access the mindset and skill set to become successful in work and
life. Instead of advising a client, a good coach draws information and creative resources form the client. It is a collaborative partnership which involves a series of conversations, often with agreed-upon activities to do
in between sessions. It is different with each client as each client has different needs.
Steve: Why would someone use a coach?
Michelle: For many reasons…
- New work directions and strategies
- Enhanced self-awareness and direction.
- Breakthrough Thinking and Enhanced Performance
- Developing a structured framework of what you have to offer
- Drawing forth the energy, passion, and commitment already within a client
- Generating more creative, immediately applicable options or choices
- Clarity, integration and direction
- Activate your imagination and transform creative blocks
- Overall improvement of your quality of life
Steve: For the uninitiated, could you explain the vision of your business?
Michelle: The short version is that the Center is a creativity
consulting and coaching company. We offer consulting, workshops,
retreats, coaching and special events on all aspects of personal,
business and systems creativity. Our signature is our Emergence Focus,
which uses what is relevant in both problem-focused and outcome-focused
approaches, and includes navigating the unpredictability of emergence
and the use of whole brain methods. The bigger picture vision for the
Center is to support the new paradigm of creative, sustainable,
conscious work that serves the quadruple bottom line: people, profit,
planet and purpose; create experiences that set the stage for new levels
of creativity to emerge and systems to evolve; and engage the whole
person, not just the job title. I believe creativity is the most
significant business resource and driver a business has, and the mission
of CCE is to help people access it and focus it for a purpose. To bring
this mission into the larger DC community, we sponsor the Capitol
Creativity Network with monthly events accessible to anyone.
Steve: Your services seem psychological but also physical as well. Is this a mind-body balance sort of coaching?
Michelle: Good question. I see it as more of a
mind-body integration – the convergence of the mental, psychological and
physical. Not only does the body contain and influence emotional
states, but when you engage the body in non-habitual ways, it’s easier
to engage the mind non-habitually – a big plus for an innovative
entrepreneur. In addition, a vision becomes stronger when you start feel
it in your body – in other words, embodying it. Research shows that
feeling a vision in the body increases the likelihood of taking action
toward it. When I started integrating body-centered practices into my
client work, results were accelerated.
Steve: What do you see for the next five years of
the Center? Will you mentor others on your approach? Will you publish
more so people can learn about your approach?
Michelle: Part of emergent strategy is to hold a
firm purpose with a flexible vision so I can’t foresee exactly what will
emerge between now and then, but I do have a direction and several
specific goals, some subject to change: (1) Finish and publish a book
and workbook on Creative Emergence Principles and Processes – that’s a
“yes” to your publishing question. Once published, the mentoring will
follow. (2) Develop an industrial video series to use with organizations
and communities, along with improv-based “Live Industrials.” (3) Put on
Creativity-In-Business conference here in DC – the first one, in
fact, is in the works as we speak and will be held in 2009 – the
announcements will be going out soon. First local, then international.
(4) I envision the Center becoming a multi-sensory oriented physical
structure with innovative experiential programs and CreaTanks
(creativity-centered version of think tanks) working on larger issues –
both on-site and on-line. Based in DC with a global reach, I’d like to
eventually go into villages and communities of developing countries and
use an emergence focus to help support them in creating what’s next for
them.
I am also excited about the new directions social media provides – a
new world of possibilities opens up that I just beginning to explore.
Steve: Since you are a serial entrepreneur (your
first venture was a marketing firm), what do you find are your greatest
lessons learned from starting two businesses?
Michelle: Well, I learned to see mistakes as what I now call
evolutionary invitations. They afford significant business learnings and
invite opportunities for personal growth. I learned to hear, and then
really value my intuition, as a business resource. And, having a quality
support team is invaluable. Fear-based thinkers experience new ideas
through the lens of fear. I’ve leaned how important it is to seek out
and engage with diverse, generative thinkers on an ongoing basis no
matter what type of business you have.
Steve: What is your philosophy on being an entrepreneur?
Michelle: It is front-row engaging in the real-time
feedback loop with life…like being on the front end of a whitewater raft
– you might have the most risk, but you get the most immediate
experience. More than a job, it’s a way of being, living and creating.
Steve: Sometimes I like to close an interview with a
“Do This List”. So for you, what are the top five things every
entrepreneur should do to create a work-life balance?
Michelle: Only five? OK, well then…first, discover
what bring you to life and build a business around that so when you do
have to work it feels more like play. Second, capitalize and focus on
your strengths for a more efficient use of your energy and therefore
time…and know what is relevant about anything you do. If it is not
relevant to your purpose, let it go. Third, build a vision that includes
both personal and professional goals and revisit – and revise – it
frequently when it starts to get out of balance. Pay attention to the
off-balance signs as they begin. Fourth, commit to a daily practice that
feels good (not arduous) to you that helps you to get centered and
present in the morning. It will help you stay focused and true to your
commitments – both professional and personal – throughout the day.
Finally, establish a network of genuine supporters…maybe even a life
coach with a focus on emergence…
