The Leader’s Guide to “Different Times”
The Leader’s Guide to “Different Times”
VIM Executive Coaching is often at a generational crossroads. Through the doors of the office of our Denver Victorian home, come Baby Boomers, Gen-Xers and Millennials. They seek business coaching guidance whether executives and entrepreneurs.
At first glance you might be inclined to think they are vastly different, from gray hair in suits, to those wearing flip-flops rather than Italian shoes! They are all on unique journeys and I deeply value each client and their particular work challenge.
It’s Different Times
More often than not, a client will say, “You know, these are different times!”
The three generations alike will point to communication, sales and marketing, finance and management in a free-wheeling digital time. They talk of social media, accounting, purchasing, customer engagement, reviews and vast data exchanges; of remote offices and sometimes in far-flung areas, of virtual assistants and an array of contractors.
Surprisingly, in almost the same sentence, they will talk of these different times as dynamic, exciting, leading-edge and wonderful and then talk of alienation, isolation, miscommunication and uncertainty. The same platforms meant to enhance lives sometimes detract from it. The same digital wonders are also binary nightmares.
They often ask, “What am I missing?”
“What do you mean?” I inquire.
They express dissatisfaction with their co-workers, managers, leaders and organizations. They say no one talks, there are conflicts, sniping, rampant politics, digital email wars, angry texts, tempers and reaction to most anything.
They repeat, “These are different times.” Then many add, “What has happened to my company?”
Grim Findings
It is easy to find the studies. Oddly, they are all over the internet. Social media, from Facebook to Instagram, has divided us and not connected us. The use of outside contractors has often created a wariness within us. Empathy has deteriorated and rather than talk face to face, co-workers far prefer to text than meet eye-to-eye. Authenticity has faded, and yielded to expediency, reaction and detachment. It is no wonder that whether private or government, profit or nonprofit, employee satisfaction has plummeted.
Are these really different times than, let’s say, the early 1950s when hard-charging, cigar chomping CEOs ordered around managers as though they were in a WWII combat unit? Take away the technology and it is hard to see the difference except, perhaps, that instead of one CEO reacting “because that’s the way I want it!” there could be many.
The antidote to the dissatisfaction of the workplace where everyone talks and no one relates, where few are authentic but everyone says they want to keep things real, is mindfulness. Mindfulness requires the executive leader or entrepreneur to respond to issues and not just react to them. In modern terms, it is the difference between a well thought-out, heart-felt, handwritten letter, and a digital, 280 keystroke lash-out on Twitter.
In these “Different Times,” we could all use a little more mindfulness, treating each other with an authentic response, and solving problems in a true-to-the-heart manner. VIM Executive Coaching teaches techniques in mindfulness and mindfulness meditation.
Instead of executives feeling as though the workplaces they are in are “missing things,” our unique business coaching techniques ultimately teach that within each one of us, we have all of the authentic tools we need. Mindfulness brings our work lives in to sharper focus and greater satisfaction.
Want to learn more about VIM Executive Coaching and our dynamic, highly effective coaching programs for executives and entrepreneurs? We would be happy to offer you a FREE, NO OBLIGATION coaching consultation! Please click on the link below.