OUR BRAIN DOESN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIFE AND WORK!
Daniel Goleman, is a very well-known coach and the father of Emotional and Social Intelligence. He has recently posted an article on LinkedIn advocating for an holistic coaching approach (the very same words I use all the time, moment of pride!) He says that our brain doesn't distinguish between our personal and professional life, in other words your personal development walk side by side with your professional development. And he added : "Conventional executive coaching isn’t always as transformative as we might hope when it only focuses on performance metrics. Coaching that addresses the whole person, including our personal and professional goals, problems at home and at work, and our values and passions, is far more likely to yield productive insights and lasting change" (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/your-brain-home-work-daniel-goleman/)
ME AT HOME = ME AT WORK
I can not agree more with this approach, our personal weaknesses are our professional weaknesses, we may have learnt to hide them better at work, but in tense, stressful situations, it is highly likely that our natural traits will surface back. I loose my self-confidence with exactly the same type of personality at work and at home,
If I can understand what is the underlying belief, disempowering perspective, that crashes my self confidence when I face, in my case, short-tempered/arrogant/dismissive personalities, both my professional and personal lives will benefit from it.
THE CHASE FOR THE QUALITY OF LIFE
There is also a deep trend at the moment which advocates for an holistic approach : life and work are no more compartmented. A few years ago, we could still hear this kind of sentences : " He keeps life and work apart! He's a killer at work and such a sweet personality at home". Maybe (it still need to be proven..), but at what price?
Today :
- The millennials have different expectations career wise : their professional thrive won't be at the cost of their personal life;
- There are more and more dual-careers to deal with;
- People seek for a quality of life, the meaning of being successful has been redefined.
Coaching practice need to adjust to this new realm.
I have never wanted to choose between career and life coaching, marketing pushes you to narrow down your niche and your audience, but actually life can not be kept apart!