Throughout my career I always looked to change the world. Policies, practices, systems, training, handbooks, organizational structures, collective bargaining agreements, recruiting strategies, employee communications programs… all were fair game for updating and improving. I was full of ideas, energy, and confidence. Today, I spend my time thinking about how to improve myself. And when asked for professional advice, I now often start with how someone can improve what they think they should be and do before we get to how they can change others or their circumstances. That’s the essence of coaching: focusing on the person being coached and helping them discover what’s right and best for them. While it’s sometimes easier to just tell someone what to do, the process of discovering that for themselves is the important first step of their ultimately buying into what’s next. And unless someone buys into something, they can never get passionate about it. As leaders, we must wisely focus on helping others become inspired and passionate about themselves before we encourage them to think about cleverly changing the external aspects of their lives. Be passionate about changing yourself today.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī (1207 – 1273): 13th-century Persian poet, Hanafi faqih, Islamic scholar, Maturidi theologian, and Sufi mystic
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