July 16, 2025 • 40 mins
In times of uncertainty there is an impulse to hide or freeze. It's our natural fight or fight instinct kicking in. And yet, these are precisely the moments we are called to lead in all aspects of our life. In this podcast, Executive Coach and business owner Sharon Lipovsky shares with us how we can tap into the power of visioning and unlock the courage, inspiration and hope you need to step forward and go beyond your current perspective. If you are interested in looking ahead with purpose, intention and possibility, this conversation is for you!
If you are interested in looking ahead with purpose, intention and insight, this conversation is for you!
(3:09) What is visioning according to Sharon?
(5:50) Why is visioning important, and why sometimes can it feel impossible to achieve?
(8:04) What does it look like to get started with visioning? What are the steps to start on that path?
(15:20) Sharon shares how she helps leaders get started with visioning.
(18:22) How does Sharon help organizations with the process of visioning?
(21:49) What would be some of the questions that come up when an organization needs direction (similar to what was happening with COVID)?
(28:02) What is Sharon thinking of where most people are and what they are considering in their business cycle?
(37:54) What is Sharon’s message to the visionaries in our audience. What can they consider differently than they were before?
Subscribe: Warriors At Work Podcasts
Website: https://jeaniecoomber.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/986666321719033/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeanie_coomber/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeanie_coomber
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanie-coomber-90973b4/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbMZ2HyNNyPoeCSqKClBC_w
If you are interested in looking ahead with purpose, intention and insight, this conversation is for you!
(3:09) What is visioning according to Sharon?
(5:50) Why is visioning important, and why sometimes can it feel impossible to achieve?
(8:04) What does it look like to get started with visioning? What are the steps to start on that path?
(15:20) Sharon shares how she helps leaders get started with visioning.
(18:22) How does Sharon help organizations with the process of visioning?
(21:49) What would be some of the questions that come up when an organization needs direction (similar to what was happening with COVID)?
(28:02) What is Sharon thinking of where most people are and what they are considering in their business cycle?
(37:54) What is Sharon’s message to the visionaries in our audience. What can they consider differently than they were before?
Subscribe: Warriors At Work Podcasts
Website: https://jeaniecoomber.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/986666321719033/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeanie_coomber/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeanie_coomber
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanie-coomber-90973b4/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbMZ2HyNNyPoeCSqKClBC_w
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Warriors at Work show. This is Genie Koomber,
your guide and host. This is a show for men
and women in the workplace who want to move from
the predictable to the potent. This is your weekly dose
of inspiration with an edge. I talk with CEOs and shamans,
sports marketing executives, and therapists. All of us are like
(00:24):
minded thinkers and doers who tell stories, share wisdom, and
challenge each other to have the best life possible inside
and outside the office.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Welcome to your Warrior Conversation. Hey everybody, it's Gennie.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Thanks so much for joining me here at Warriors at
Work and happy toly. As we reach the halfway point
of the year, it's a natural time to pause, reflect
and realign with ourselves. Within the Warrior community, there have
been three powerful words that have been guiding the journey,
and that's insight, inspiration, and in tuition. These themes have
(01:01):
not only sparked deeper conversations, they've really helped us reconnect
with purpose and presence.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
So over the coming.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Weeks, I will be resharing podcast episodes from Warriors at
Work that speak to these three ideas and the intention
here is to help you to reconnect with yourself, refuel
your energy, and move forward with clarity. Let's make the
rest of the year really count enjoy.
Speaker 4 (01:27):
I am so happy to have Sharon Lapovski back with us.
For those of you who don't remember Sharon, Sharon and
I did podcast a couple of months ago about designing
the life you Want. So we've been thinking about designing
the life we want and looking at the life we're
(01:48):
in and thought, you know what, this is a great
time to have a conversation about visioning. So today we're
going to talk about leading and living with vision because look,
in times of uncertainty, we all have this impulse to hide.
It's a natural inclination fight or flight and sync kicking in.
(02:10):
But really these are the moments that we are called
to lead in all aspects of our life, and visioning
is such a crucial element to that experience. So there
is nobody better to have in this conversation than Sharon Lapowski, who,
if some of you don't recall, as an executive coach herself.
(02:31):
She's a business owner of Point Road Studios. She is very,
very accomplished working with organizations, teams and individuals who are
ready to set a vision and lead with intention and
act on purpose.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
You will find her to be honest.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
Thoughtful, gracious, and so precise and instinctual in her language.
So I feel so privileged to create this with you today, Sharon,
to have this conversation around visioning.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
So thank you so much for being here, thank you
for having me. It is a delight.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
So you and I have been talking a lot about
this idea of visioning.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
So let's take a big, huge step.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Backwards first and look at here we are. We're in
a space where there's no control. It's very difficult to
plan for anything. We're all having to rely upon our
coping skills, our instincts, our sense of being moment to moment.
(03:40):
But yet visioning makes a heck of a lot of
sense because if we've got a clearer sense of ourselves
in the world in which we're operating, we really can
start to manifest and create things pretty powerfully. But I
think what's most important first, let's set the table around
what is visioning? According to Sharon, Hmmm.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
What is visioning?
Speaker 5 (04:02):
Yes, so vision is the ability to set and lead
with what you want. I think that's at its core
is if you can answer the question, what is it
that I, or my team or my organization, What is
it that I really want?
Speaker 2 (04:22):
How you lead and live with that? That's visioning, What
do I really want? Now? Do do most people know that? Okay,
great question.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
If you ask someone in a conversation and immediately expect
them to answer, So if you're in a normal dialogue,
a lot of people will be stumped. If, however, you
take three breaths, ask them not to put any words
to it, and ask them the same question holding love.
So if you're holding judgment or this isn't possible, people
(04:59):
will feel that. But if you give people even a minute,
don't ask them to jump into their thought processes and
speak it. I'm telling you one hundred percent of the
time people are surprised by what they see and that
they can not that it's always like, oh my gosh,
I saw everything. Although that happens, but even in a
(05:20):
very short amount of time, people are surprised by how
much they do know in terms of what The answer
to that question is.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
All right, that's really cool, by the way, So really
what you're saying is what visioning does, and just by
asking that question about what you really want, you're tapping
into your inner knowing.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
That's right, your worrior magic, that's right. I yes, that's why.
Speaker 5 (05:43):
When you introduce this concept of warrior magic.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
I was like, yes, that thing wow, and you need
to tap into it. So let's talk about why visioning? Why? Now, like,
tell us why this is important?
Speaker 5 (05:58):
Yeah, well, let's first run it all the reasons why
it seems impossible and please popcorn in here, Genie, because
I think it feels counterintuitive in a moment of uncertainty
to say, yeah, let's operate with vision, because the feeling
is I can't possibly know what's happening, so I'm so
(06:18):
why bother? Or you know, maybe I have an inspiration,
I have something that I want, but there's so many
things I can't predict, So how can I do it?
Even if I've got the courage to say I want to?
But then we're just perplexed by how. Here's here's why,
(06:40):
and how we need inspiration. We need hope, and we've
needed that even without a global pandemic to invite it
on a on a huge global level. But we need
this hope and we need this inspiration, and vision gives
(07:01):
that to us, and so without it, we are left
to flounder in our fear and our frustration, and we
spin on a hamster wheel. And that's a very unsatisfying
human existence. And so I think what hope and inspiration
can do? What, which is what vision gives us is, Hey,
(07:23):
there's something more.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
And the invitation right.
Speaker 5 (07:26):
Now, which I would pose it is always the invitation,
but right now we all see it a little bit
more is how do I hold that hope and inspiration
for the future and then release it and focus right
now on how I move with that hope and inspiration
because that's what like, that is totally within our power
(07:47):
in this moment when you hit pause on this podcast,
when you move into the next moment in your day,
how do you move with hope and inspiration? And That's
what I'm wishing for people right now. And I think
that's what vision and offers us.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Okay, I love what you just said. Tell me how
to do that? Can I ask you?
Speaker 5 (08:09):
Yeah, what feels hard about that? Like if you imagine Okay,
I'm tracking with what Sharon's saying, like I'm.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Ready to do it. Like, what what resistance, if any,
do you feel to that?
Speaker 5 (08:21):
Genie?
Speaker 4 (08:21):
I immediately think it's an insurmountable mountain. Yeah, and Kennedy,
there's there's levels, there's complexities to it.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
I get it, but.
Speaker 4 (08:33):
It feels really, really hard and too much.
Speaker 5 (08:39):
So I think the so beautiful, thank you, thank you
for going there and naming it. So if your game,
I think a way for us to describe how is
for us to actually talk through what you're feeling?
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Are you getting yeah? Sure, okay, so you're naming Okay,
got it?
Speaker 5 (08:58):
Got it feels really hard and even notice.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
You're that you have these layers of complexity. It feels like.
Speaker 5 (09:04):
A mountain as you were describing it. So let's break
it down. What feels hard, Let's put language to it.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
So what feels hard? Where where do I begin?
Speaker 4 (09:17):
So is vision sitting with a piece of paper and
a pen and start to crystallize. I think what people's
natural inclination is. You know, you want to go to
the why why am I doing this? Where do I
want to go? Right?
Speaker 2 (09:31):
So you you get that in theory, but immediately my
brain goes to tactics. Yeah, logistics, yep, good.
Speaker 5 (09:40):
So let's let's run with that for a moment. And
I want to answer your question how in a very
tactical way. Does that feel okay?
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Yeah? Okay.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
So when I'm guiding through a visioning process, here are
the five access that I guide people through, and I'll
name them out and then I can give some headlines
on them.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
First, we get clear what kind of a vision are
we creating.
Speaker 5 (10:11):
Second, we look back, We tap into the wisdom of
where we're coming from. Third, we focus on the right now,
what's real and what's true because we can't operate except
it within that reality. Four, we step forward, which is
(10:31):
all about finding simple actions we can take in alignment
towards where we want to go. In fifth and final
access point, go beyond, we look to blow up the
way we've always done it. We look to bring in
new perspectives. We really look to expand our perspective when
we go beyond. Those are the five. If I'm breaking
(10:53):
it down in a simple way, we get clear, look back,
right now, step forward, go beyond.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Ye I'm gay, I'm game. I like it.
Speaker 5 (11:03):
Okay, So that's the that's the that's the simple answer.
And of course there's so much within each of those
which within each of those access points. It's even why
I call them access points versus a step you know
you don't. You don't have to go one, two, three,
four five, though you can. And for those who are like,
but I need tactics, I need linear, That's where I
(11:25):
would guide you to, Okay, let's move one, two, three,
four five because that's perfect beautiful. And then as you
get into it, I think you tend to see like
there's ways to return back, to jump around from and
continue to expand expand what you see.
Speaker 4 (11:43):
For your vision are the Do you have to do
those in steps? Can you start at three and work
your way back to one? Or you know, how does
that work?
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Yes?
Speaker 5 (11:52):
So there's only one container that I say is a must,
and it's part of getting clear. There's more to getting
clear and just this, which is to really bottom line,
what is my vision?
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Statement? What?
Speaker 5 (12:08):
And that means you're answering what kind of a vision?
So this would be a good moment to pause if
you're wanting if you're wanting to do this yourself, if
you like Genie or saying, how do I do this? Okay,
so you want to ask yourself what kind of a vision?
Am I looking to create a vision for how I
move through the next month? Maybe that's as far as
(12:28):
you can see. Maybe you're looking for a vision of
your whole life. Maybe it's a quarantine vision, maybe it's
a work vision, maybe it's a home vision. Right, So
what kind of a vision? And then set a time horizon.
So when I was describing for the next month, what
I was holding there is a quarantine vision. So maybe
you're saying, I want to have a vision for while
(12:50):
I'm home with I'm speaking for myself, with my husband
and my three children. What is my vision for this time?
This time we're at home, and my time horizon is
through the end of June, because I know, at least
through the end of June my kids aren't going back
to school in New York State, So what's my vision
for that? You might but you might also say what's
(13:13):
my vision for my career?
Speaker 2 (13:16):
And you might be.
Speaker 5 (13:17):
Saying, I feel bogged down by the time horizon of
the next three months because there's so much uncertainty. But
if I said, what's my vision for my career and
I'm looking out to the end of twenty twenty five,
so I'm looking at almost five years, that that is
(13:38):
a way of setting what's what kind of a vision
are we in? You're getting clear what kind of vision?
What's the time horizon? So that's always the starting point,
and then you layer on top of that the question
you've heard of me ask, which is what do I
really want?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Suspending any judgment or feeling that it's not possible.
Speaker 5 (14:00):
And I think that's the magic I'm always looking to
bring into the work, is like, I really believe in
my core whatever it is that you're really wanting is possible.
So if you don't feel that way, I'm going to
bring that for you, all of the listeners of this podcast, I'm.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Bringing that feeling for you, it is possible.
Speaker 5 (14:21):
Mmm.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
I love that.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
I love that idea of creating a bottom line vision
statement and putting time horizons around it.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
I think that's really important.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
And that also for anybody that might be feeling overwhelmed
and even the word visioning, Yeah, that can give you
some parameters and some boundaries where you could start to
feel a little bit more comfortable with it, like, oh, okay,
I'm really.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Just looking at this rather than looking at it five years.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
So now let's talk about this in terms of so
we talked to you and I on an individual basis.
This applies not only to the individual, but to the team,
to the organization, and to the greater world. So let's
expand our bubble. Like I have my hands in like
a big circle.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
I don't know why.
Speaker 4 (15:13):
So we've just expanded it now. So we talked about
the individual. That's a really helpful way to frame it.
So now I'm a leader of a team income Sharon,
I've hired you for the day to come work with
me and my team around visioning.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Tell me where you begin.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
Mm So the first thing that jumps out for me
is I'm I'm beginning way before I'm showing up in
that room.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
So I am rarely coming on.
Speaker 5 (15:43):
Site to say, hey, here's the the set way of
how you do it. Every time when I when I'm
stepping inside of a system, which is what a team
or an organization is, it's more complex system than the
one to one and it's really and what I'm doing
is through working with the team lead so that or
(16:04):
it could be organization head, I'm partnering with that individual
to really help bring awareness as much for me.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
But also for them.
Speaker 5 (16:16):
You know, there's often we feel like here's my current
understanding of where my team is at, and then I'm
going to get curious. I'm going to do that thing
that we do genius coaches. I'm going to ask questions,
I'm going to share observations. I'm going to look to
help create a shared perspective. And in that process, often
not only am I I mean I'm always coming in
(16:37):
learning because I'm I'm joining the system when I'm coming
on site to teach visioning, and the team lead is
also often finding oh, like god, I'm having a new
way of seeing it. So as we create that shared
understanding of where we're starting from. By the way, you'll
notice this is very similar to visioning. Right, what I'm
(16:59):
doing is create a vision for the time I'm going
to spend with that team. What is you team lead
really want out of me showing up for a day
to talk about this thing called vision, Because I'll tell
you I could talk to ten team leads and they'll
all have a different answer to that. So we drop
in deeper. So what is it that you really want
(17:20):
out of the micro experience of Sharon Laposki's showing up.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
For a day to talk about vision?
Speaker 5 (17:26):
And now let's imagine it's five PM at the end
of that day that you already usually have on your
calendar as a block day for training and development for
your team. At the end of that day, we're high fiving.
We're celebrating that was just what you and your team needed.
What are we celebrating? What's different? What's the result of
(17:49):
this experience?
Speaker 2 (17:52):
I have a huge smile on my face.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
So basically they they think it's well, let's plan for
the day, But really what you're doing is your making
them through a visioning experience. The leader that's going to
provide the space for the day, you've gone through the
visioning experience. So that person now just has worked with
you on this whole idea.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
So you've already.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Begun the visioning day with the team before you walk
through the door. That's right, I love it all right,
So now you've worked with me leader, you've worked with
my team. Now organizationally.
Speaker 5 (18:31):
Yeah, So here's something I want to say when it
comes to moving from the individual kind of thinking about
visioning at an individual, a team, and an organizational level.
I always think of the work I'm doing as like
a spider web.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
So we're going to start.
Speaker 5 (18:51):
Wherever is the most impactful and ease filled place to start,
And sometimes that means I'm coaching a single leader inside
of a system. Other times that means I'm doing really
complex consulting and visioning work at the top, at.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
The c suite level.
Speaker 5 (19:10):
From wherever we start, we spider web out if there
is appetite for that at the organization, and it's not
every place. That's why when you ask the question how
do we go from the team to the organization? It's
not what struck me when you asked me that is, huh,
how often am I with a team and then it
(19:31):
goes out to the organization because usually either the organization
has brought me in and then we're cascading through teams,
or there's some reason that the organization isn't ready for
that yet. They have other priorities there, it's just not
their focus. But there's some team lead who has has
(19:53):
authority and desire to make those kind of changes within
their own sphere of influence, and then I'm brought into
the team. So I want to just name like that's
I can talk about how vision happens at an organizational level,
But when you ask the question, how do you go
from the team to the organization? Kind of the aha
moment for me was, huh, that doesn't happen that often.
(20:15):
It's it's usually I'm doing something on a small scale
or doing.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Let's say it's building.
Speaker 5 (20:23):
Building a culture of team excellence for within a certain team,
and that gets traction at the organization, and then maybe
the organization uh at a more senior level is saying
c suite senior leadership level is saying, oh, like, there's
something really good happening here, can we.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Talk to you about what we do?
Speaker 5 (20:42):
And then maybe I'm popping over there. But that's that's
usually kind of the way I see it expanding out.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
Well, let's let's riff on that for yea one moment.
Here we are in a wild business climate, yep.
Speaker 4 (20:59):
Companies, many companies have identity crisises right now.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
They're not sure who they are, where they're going, what
their future is going to look like.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
What if let's do your use your your uh your
framework for doing some visioning. For companies that may be
asking themselves this question, you know, what what is it
I really want? Now, they may be reimagining what their
infrastructure is going to look like. Obviously, I think the
(21:31):
entire corporate world is going to have to self evaluate
because many people are not going to come back to work,
and those that do, meaning in person, the whole office
setup is going to have to be different. So that's
going to affect operational workflow.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
So the world that we know is not going to
be the same. So if we were.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
Talking to companies who are like, hmm, this is interesting,
this might be a really good time to investigate that.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
What could that look like?
Speaker 4 (22:06):
So what would be some of the questions or thoughts
you would have just based upon what I just said?
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Yes, love this.
Speaker 5 (22:15):
So the first thing I'm thinking about is there is
an opportunity to come back to the individual, but it's
in this instance it's an individual or maybe a team
of individuals.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
I'm thinking of this.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
Let's say in a corporation, the CEO and the C
suite leaders that that person is partnering with ongoing who
are really facing I mean, every business is facing real
questions of what's next, capacity, smart operations, all.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Of those things.
Speaker 5 (22:50):
So to really sit with and bring individual coaching vision
coaching for that C suite team. So you're bringing in
in this instance, I would typically bring in a different
coach for each person and they're guiding them through a
vision process, which usually begins with what about you, like,
(23:11):
what do you really want?
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Leader?
Speaker 5 (23:14):
And now let's place that in what can you contribute
what to this team? And on a team level, there
are some visioning questions that I think you could bring
to the whole team, like not just what do we
want as a team, but what does I'm just going
to call it organization why?
Speaker 2 (23:36):
What does organization why? Want?
Speaker 5 (23:39):
You know, what does Patagonia want? What does Etsy want?
What does Bank of America want?
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Fill in the blank?
Speaker 5 (23:47):
And whatever the organization is, what does the organization want?
Speaker 2 (23:51):
And I've done this with.
Speaker 5 (23:54):
Senior leadership teams before, and I'll tell you that question
of asking not what do we the leadership, the people of.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
The team want, but what does the entity itself?
Speaker 5 (24:04):
So you give a kind of life to the entity
and you start to see it differently. So what does
Bank of America want?
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Right? Fill in the blank? What does your organization you're
working at one?
Speaker 5 (24:15):
You can also start to think about here's a question
a lot of people are grappling with.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
What is it that my customers really want? Because without
them we're not in business?
Speaker 5 (24:31):
Right right or like another, depending on the kind of
business you're in. What is it that our products really want.
What is it so forget mission? What is it that
excuse me vision? What is it that our mission really wants?
What is it that our shareholders really want? Like to
really start like it gives it gives vision different layers
(24:55):
as you bring in those questions.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
So depending on where.
Speaker 5 (25:01):
A leadership team is, I might say, at a minimum,
I've got to start with the team lead.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
So I'm imagining this instance.
Speaker 5 (25:07):
A CEO could be at a nonprofit, could be an
executive director, could be a president of a college. But
what does that team lead really want? What is their
vision inspiration? And we can help shape that for them,
for the organization and for themselves as the leader of
the organization. And then because we don't when we're part
(25:29):
of a system, we don't lead in a in isolation.
And honestly, even if I take it down to when
I'm doing visioning for an individual who's feeling stuck in
their career, they also don't lead an isolation, even if
they've never managed a soul in their life, because they
have relationships with people, they have families, they have colleagues,
(25:52):
they have the person who they can network with. Like,
we don't operate in isolation. So at an at an
organization level, you want to start with the team lead,
because it's very hard to do this effectively if the
team lead's not on board.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
I'll just name that. That would be a readiness qualification
for me of an organization being ready to take on
visioning at an organizational level. So you start with the
team lead.
Speaker 5 (26:18):
You could cascade out and give support to those individual
senior leaders and then think about how you bring them
into community of learning and of how they're visioning together.
And the real thing there is that the more senior
you go within an organization, although I'm always looking for
(26:38):
these opportunities at every level, but the more senior you go,
the more authority they have over the running of the
business the organization. They can make decisions, they can put
budget against it, they can align talent with it or not.
And when you have that authority, you've got to make
(26:58):
sure that the visioning is happening as tied to real
time business decisions.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Now, it can't happen, you know, it's not. We're out
here doing learning on our own and it's a nice.
Speaker 5 (27:09):
Weekend get away and then we come back to real life.
That's not sustainable. What we have to do is really
take Here are key frameworks, here's key learning. But let's
drop in and roll up our sleeves and talk about
how we apply this within your setting.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
It is so everything you just said is so needed,
regardless of industry, regardless of size of company.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
I think and and I believe you know, talking with
a lot of my clients, so they're they're having conversations about, Okay,
here this happened to us, This is happening to us.
Where do we need to be more agile? Where do
we need to be more thoughtful? What kind of planning
(27:58):
can we do? Hearing a lot of visioning, I'm curious
what are you thinking most people are right now or
what they're considering.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
In terms of what kinds of questions?
Speaker 4 (28:12):
Well, just where do you feel they are right now
in this process? Are you finding that people are at
this place of reimagining and visioning.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Or do you feel as though they're still in.
Speaker 4 (28:23):
The How do we build an infrastructure here that can
support or sustain?
Speaker 2 (28:27):
Like, where do you see them in the business cycle? Yeah,
such a good question. I think very few.
Speaker 5 (28:37):
Leaders in humans are saying or asking right now, how
do we reimagine? I think it's there, but it's I
think most people who are asking it are then crumpling
under the weight of it. Are I don't think that's
exactly what you were doing, Genie at the outset.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
But when you said okay, yes, I'm with you, so okay,
but wait.
Speaker 5 (29:00):
A minute, there's a mountain of complexity here, I think
that's actually where people are.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
And so that's that's why I think we have to
I mean, we have to me I said this in
our last podcast.
Speaker 5 (29:14):
We have to meet people, we have to meet teams,
we have to meet organizations right where they are and
then drop into it. And that means, you know, and
I if I think about work that I'm doing this week,
I'm meeting with a team on how they get really
clear and grow their sales strategy in the current environment.
(29:38):
And another organization where we're getting really clear on how
their team is showing up, what the culture of the
team is, and how they shift to a space of
eating greater excellence. They're already doing great, there's an opportunity
to do so much more. It's like those are the
kinds of questions they're asking building a culture of team excellence,
(30:00):
sales strategy and a really tough economy that we expect
to get tougher.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
And what I'm.
Speaker 5 (30:06):
Looking to do in those instances is bring in are
we aligning it with vision? Like if we're just looking
at sales strategy without answering for the sake of what,
which is another lens into vision? So what is it
that I really want? Or I'm doing this thing for
the sake of what am I doing it? Because for
(30:26):
the sake of what is what I really want for myself,
for this team, for this organization. So I want to
know what no matter what we're doing for the sake
of what are we doing it?
Speaker 2 (30:37):
Because when we miss.
Speaker 5 (30:38):
That, we lack a compass of navigating where like what
is this body of work that we're doing moving us towards?
Speaker 2 (30:47):
And and I'm always really keen to.
Speaker 4 (30:49):
Have that that is so profound for the sake of what,
which also prompts.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
I get the vision to speaking of.
Speaker 4 (31:05):
Right now, I feel there's very much a heads down, transactional,
get it done, get it done, move forward, move forward,
move forward, while we're also all going through our own personal.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
I don't even know the word. I don't know the
word roller coaster is.
Speaker 4 (31:27):
The one that's been used most oftens, which I guess
is a good one for me because I hate roller coasters. No,
you don't know how you're going up on the thing,
and you don't know when the DIP's coming, but you
know it's coming. And I feel like we've had a
couple of dips, but you don't know when the really
steep one's coming.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
And I feel like.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
We're partially bracing for that, yes, but we're also recognizing
we have to keep going. We have to dig in,
we have to look around, we have to be present,
we have to be supportive, we have to acknowledge where
we are and.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
What you're putting around. This is asking that question, what
else is there? Where are we going? Why is it important?
Speaker 4 (32:16):
How does that align with what you really want as
an individual, as a leader, as an owner of a business,
as a CEO, How does.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
That line up with what our customers want? And I
think those are.
Speaker 4 (32:29):
The types of things that we really have to start
looking at through a different lens and make the time
for it. Get out of the transaction of head down,
moving from point A to point B, and start asking
the bigger questions.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
They're tougher questions.
Speaker 4 (32:45):
But start to deconstruct that the same way that you
did in the first two or three minutes when I said,
that's a huge hill, that's too big, that's way too difficult,
too many levels to it. That's Pandora's box, but it's not.
You can turn over one rock at a time and
start to reframe.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
Yes, okay, I love this. Can I add to it? Yeah?
Speaker 5 (33:08):
Okay, First of all, I love I Actually this is
part of my survival mechanism is I have a very
limited amount of information that's coming in, so I've really
closed my information filter in this time because I find
it to be very distracting. So I'm like, oh, yeah,
I guess people aren't talking about there being a roller coaster.
(33:30):
That hasn't come into my vernacular in this moment, although
I'm like, yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Yeah, that makes sense.
Speaker 5 (33:36):
The the way I've been holding it, which feels very similar,
is I'm a wave or is organization.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Like there's waves. Things are surging and they're.
Speaker 5 (33:47):
They're and they're coming down, they're rising and they're crashing.
There's ebbing and there's flowing.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
And what I like about thinking of the wave and
the roller coaster side by side.
Speaker 5 (33:59):
Hang with me, listeners on this metaphor we're rolling on together.
So is that roller coasters are man made and they're
made for thrills. Waves are a natural part of the
environment that are happening all the time. And so what
I like about holding both is that there are going
(34:22):
to be natural ebbs and flows period and right now
it might feel like more of a tsunami surge and
then crashing down depending on the moment that you're in
within this global pandemic. And you can also be creating
your own roller coasters, like you can be creating your
(34:44):
own man made struggles that actually maybe you can release.
And I think if we get really clear on go
back to that right now step what is real right now,
what is true right now, and operate and make decisions
off of that, which is your act of saying like
(35:05):
we're picking up the rock and turning it over, like
that's that takes us right into the present of like
what is in front of me.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
And I think what that brings us to.
Speaker 5 (35:16):
Is our presence and the present, and that if I
were going to say, as you are visioning, as you
are asking what you really want as all of that,
we have to we are demanded to right now to
bring it to the present, And I think if we
(35:37):
can say, okay, what's needed, what do I want right now, which,
hopefully you like whatever that future is that you can
look out to, there's that hope and inspiration you're leaning towards,
and then you're bringing it back to and what about
right now? And what's the presence that I can bring
into the right now that's going to serve me? And
(36:01):
sometimes that might mean anger, Like we might need to
get angry about some of the things that are happening
right now as a result of what we're seeing. Like
I'm angry about access to healthcare based on race. I'm
angry about it, and I think that anger is serving me.
If I sit in that anger for an extended period
(36:24):
of time, it's going to stop serving me. But sometimes
we have to say, I look at the inequalities and
I'm angry. That's my slam on the desk.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
I'm angry about it.
Speaker 5 (36:35):
Most of the time for myself, a different kind of
emotion serves me. But sometimes I have to call in something.
And I'm using anger as an example because we often
view it as negative. Sometimes I have to call in
that other emotion and then say, and what's that sustainable?
Presence that's going to serve me and move with that.
(36:55):
So presence present roller coasters waves.
Speaker 4 (37:00):
Well, first of all, I love the fact I love
I love all the analogies. I'm like, so with you,
it's like closing my as I'm like, yeah, it's waves,
it is roller coasters, your rights man made and one
is natural. One of the things that I often will
talk about as it relates to waves too, is no
matter what, the waves are going to crash and hit
the shore and then they go away and a new
(37:21):
set of waves come in, and the waves look different.
Every wave is different, and it just shows you your
capacity to handle whatever's coming at you. Yes, And I'm
so glad you brought up pain too, because I think
that pain is real and anger is real, and you know,
pain is a great motivator. But it's also the idea
(37:43):
of suffering is really really difficult. But the questions that
you're asking around it, I think are really really important.
So where I want to leave us in this conversation
is so Sharon, you're a visionary. We've talked about all
(38:05):
of the different ideas and framework around it. Now you're
talking to a listener base of visionaries. What else is there,
what what could they be considering differently than maybe what
they weren't before. So I'm going to ask you, as
(38:25):
a visionary person to offer your advice, your thoughts, your
opinion to the visionaries that are listening to this.
Speaker 5 (38:33):
Hmm, yeah, my advice. I'm just letting these words kind
of summon up to me. Be bold, be in community,
and be soft. That that's what I'm There's a let
(38:54):
us be courageous and be bold and what we're what
we're pushing for and reaching for and calling in and
to understand that we may be as visionary as we want,
but we never we never do we never do it alone.
Speaker 2 (39:10):
So we have to be in community. And you said
be soft, Yeah, and I think I think it's there's.
Speaker 5 (39:19):
We have to have grace, we have to we have
to soften the hard edges. Like I think it's it's
not just about ease, it's about a vulnerability. And and
truly I feel like it was from my from my
own warrior magic for my own inner core.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
Like that's that's fine. I'm hearing bold soft and being
as the unifying thing between those those three pieces. Oh,
I love it. What a beautiful way to end the conversation.
Speaker 4 (39:50):
Sharon, thank you so much for sharing yourself your wisdom.
I found it so I took a page in half
of notes, and I'm sure any somebody that was listening
is inspired by all of this wisdom that you offer
the world.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
So thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
Thank you for joining me for another episode of the
Warriors at Work Show. If you are interested in learning
more about what we do at the Warriors at Work
Show and platform, be sure to go over to my website,
Genie Koomber and subscribe to my monthly Warrior Playbook newsletter.
I share everything that I'm up to month by month,
(40:30):
as well as some lessons and insights that I've learned.
I'm also interested in hearing any feedback you have about
this conversation or future topics, so reach out to me
directly on JC at Geniecomber dot com or on linked In.
Speaker 2 (40:45):
Be sure to tell your friends and.
Speaker 3 (40:46):
Your colleagues about this Warriors at Work Conversation, Subscribe.
Speaker 2 (40:51):
Review, and rate us.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
It's the best way to get this message out into
the world. Be well,
Welcome to the Warriors at Work show. This is Genie Koomber,
your guide and host. This is a show for men
and women in the workplace who want to move from
the predictable to the potent. This is your weekly dose
of inspiration with an edge. I talk with CEOs and shamans,
sports marketing executives, and therapists. All of us are like
(00:24):
minded thinkers and doers who tell stories, share wisdom, and
challenge each other to have the best life possible inside
and outside the office.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Welcome to your Warrior Conversation. Hey everybody, it's Gennie.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Thanks so much for joining me here at Warriors at
Work and happy toly. As we reach the halfway point
of the year, it's a natural time to pause, reflect
and realign with ourselves. Within the Warrior community, there have
been three powerful words that have been guiding the journey,
and that's insight, inspiration, and in tuition. These themes have
(01:01):
not only sparked deeper conversations, they've really helped us reconnect
with purpose and presence.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
So over the coming.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Weeks, I will be resharing podcast episodes from Warriors at
Work that speak to these three ideas and the intention
here is to help you to reconnect with yourself, refuel
your energy, and move forward with clarity. Let's make the
rest of the year really count enjoy.
Speaker 4 (01:27):
I am so happy to have Sharon Lapovski back with us.
For those of you who don't remember Sharon, Sharon and
I did podcast a couple of months ago about designing
the life you Want. So we've been thinking about designing
the life we want and looking at the life we're
(01:48):
in and thought, you know what, this is a great
time to have a conversation about visioning. So today we're
going to talk about leading and living with vision because look,
in times of uncertainty, we all have this impulse to hide.
It's a natural inclination fight or flight and sync kicking in.
(02:10):
But really these are the moments that we are called
to lead in all aspects of our life, and visioning
is such a crucial element to that experience. So there
is nobody better to have in this conversation than Sharon Lapowski, who,
if some of you don't recall, as an executive coach herself.
(02:31):
She's a business owner of Point Road Studios. She is very,
very accomplished working with organizations, teams and individuals who are
ready to set a vision and lead with intention and
act on purpose.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
You will find her to be honest.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
Thoughtful, gracious, and so precise and instinctual in her language.
So I feel so privileged to create this with you today, Sharon,
to have this conversation around visioning.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
So thank you so much for being here, thank you
for having me. It is a delight.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
So you and I have been talking a lot about
this idea of visioning.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
So let's take a big, huge step.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Backwards first and look at here we are. We're in
a space where there's no control. It's very difficult to
plan for anything. We're all having to rely upon our
coping skills, our instincts, our sense of being moment to moment.
(03:40):
But yet visioning makes a heck of a lot of
sense because if we've got a clearer sense of ourselves
in the world in which we're operating, we really can
start to manifest and create things pretty powerfully. But I
think what's most important first, let's set the table around
what is visioning? According to Sharon, Hmmm.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
What is visioning?
Speaker 5 (04:02):
Yes, so vision is the ability to set and lead
with what you want. I think that's at its core
is if you can answer the question, what is it
that I, or my team or my organization, What is
it that I really want?
Speaker 2 (04:22):
How you lead and live with that? That's visioning, What
do I really want? Now? Do do most people know that? Okay,
great question.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
If you ask someone in a conversation and immediately expect
them to answer, So if you're in a normal dialogue,
a lot of people will be stumped. If, however, you
take three breaths, ask them not to put any words
to it, and ask them the same question holding love.
So if you're holding judgment or this isn't possible, people
(04:59):
will feel that. But if you give people even a minute,
don't ask them to jump into their thought processes and
speak it. I'm telling you one hundred percent of the
time people are surprised by what they see and that
they can not that it's always like, oh my gosh,
I saw everything. Although that happens, but even in a
(05:20):
very short amount of time, people are surprised by how
much they do know in terms of what The answer
to that question is.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
All right, that's really cool, by the way, So really
what you're saying is what visioning does, and just by
asking that question about what you really want, you're tapping
into your inner knowing.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
That's right, your worrior magic, that's right. I yes, that's why.
Speaker 5 (05:43):
When you introduce this concept of warrior magic.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
I was like, yes, that thing wow, and you need
to tap into it. So let's talk about why visioning? Why? Now, like,
tell us why this is important?
Speaker 5 (05:58):
Yeah, well, let's first run it all the reasons why
it seems impossible and please popcorn in here, Genie, because
I think it feels counterintuitive in a moment of uncertainty
to say, yeah, let's operate with vision, because the feeling
is I can't possibly know what's happening, so I'm so
(06:18):
why bother? Or you know, maybe I have an inspiration,
I have something that I want, but there's so many
things I can't predict, So how can I do it?
Even if I've got the courage to say I want to?
But then we're just perplexed by how. Here's here's why,
(06:40):
and how we need inspiration. We need hope, and we've
needed that even without a global pandemic to invite it
on a on a huge global level. But we need
this hope and we need this inspiration, and vision gives
(07:01):
that to us, and so without it, we are left
to flounder in our fear and our frustration, and we
spin on a hamster wheel. And that's a very unsatisfying
human existence. And so I think what hope and inspiration
can do? What, which is what vision gives us is, Hey,
(07:23):
there's something more.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
And the invitation right.
Speaker 5 (07:26):
Now, which I would pose it is always the invitation,
but right now we all see it a little bit
more is how do I hold that hope and inspiration
for the future and then release it and focus right
now on how I move with that hope and inspiration
because that's what like, that is totally within our power
(07:47):
in this moment when you hit pause on this podcast,
when you move into the next moment in your day,
how do you move with hope and inspiration? And That's
what I'm wishing for people right now. And I think
that's what vision and offers us.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Okay, I love what you just said. Tell me how
to do that? Can I ask you?
Speaker 5 (08:09):
Yeah, what feels hard about that? Like if you imagine Okay,
I'm tracking with what Sharon's saying, like I'm.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Ready to do it. Like, what what resistance, if any,
do you feel to that?
Speaker 5 (08:21):
Genie?
Speaker 4 (08:21):
I immediately think it's an insurmountable mountain. Yeah, and Kennedy,
there's there's levels, there's complexities to it.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
I get it, but.
Speaker 4 (08:33):
It feels really, really hard and too much.
Speaker 5 (08:39):
So I think the so beautiful, thank you, thank you
for going there and naming it. So if your game,
I think a way for us to describe how is
for us to actually talk through what you're feeling?
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Are you getting yeah? Sure, okay, so you're naming Okay,
got it?
Speaker 5 (08:58):
Got it feels really hard and even notice.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
You're that you have these layers of complexity. It feels like.
Speaker 5 (09:04):
A mountain as you were describing it. So let's break
it down. What feels hard, Let's put language to it.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
So what feels hard? Where where do I begin?
Speaker 4 (09:17):
So is vision sitting with a piece of paper and
a pen and start to crystallize. I think what people's
natural inclination is. You know, you want to go to
the why why am I doing this? Where do I
want to go? Right?
Speaker 2 (09:31):
So you you get that in theory, but immediately my
brain goes to tactics. Yeah, logistics, yep, good.
Speaker 5 (09:40):
So let's let's run with that for a moment. And
I want to answer your question how in a very
tactical way. Does that feel okay?
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Yeah? Okay.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
So when I'm guiding through a visioning process, here are
the five access that I guide people through, and I'll
name them out and then I can give some headlines
on them.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
First, we get clear what kind of a vision are
we creating.
Speaker 5 (10:11):
Second, we look back, We tap into the wisdom of
where we're coming from. Third, we focus on the right now,
what's real and what's true because we can't operate except
it within that reality. Four, we step forward, which is
(10:31):
all about finding simple actions we can take in alignment
towards where we want to go. In fifth and final
access point, go beyond, we look to blow up the
way we've always done it. We look to bring in
new perspectives. We really look to expand our perspective when
we go beyond. Those are the five. If I'm breaking
(10:53):
it down in a simple way, we get clear, look back,
right now, step forward, go beyond.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Ye I'm gay, I'm game. I like it.
Speaker 5 (11:03):
Okay, So that's the that's the that's the simple answer.
And of course there's so much within each of those
which within each of those access points. It's even why
I call them access points versus a step you know
you don't. You don't have to go one, two, three,
four five, though you can. And for those who are like,
but I need tactics, I need linear, That's where I
(11:25):
would guide you to, Okay, let's move one, two, three,
four five because that's perfect beautiful. And then as you
get into it, I think you tend to see like
there's ways to return back, to jump around from and
continue to expand expand what you see.
Speaker 4 (11:43):
For your vision are the Do you have to do
those in steps? Can you start at three and work
your way back to one? Or you know, how does
that work?
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Yes?
Speaker 5 (11:52):
So there's only one container that I say is a must,
and it's part of getting clear. There's more to getting
clear and just this, which is to really bottom line,
what is my vision?
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Statement? What?
Speaker 5 (12:08):
And that means you're answering what kind of a vision?
So this would be a good moment to pause if
you're wanting if you're wanting to do this yourself, if
you like Genie or saying, how do I do this? Okay,
so you want to ask yourself what kind of a vision?
Am I looking to create a vision for how I
move through the next month? Maybe that's as far as
(12:28):
you can see. Maybe you're looking for a vision of
your whole life. Maybe it's a quarantine vision, maybe it's
a work vision, maybe it's a home vision. Right, So
what kind of a vision? And then set a time horizon.
So when I was describing for the next month, what
I was holding there is a quarantine vision. So maybe
you're saying, I want to have a vision for while
(12:50):
I'm home with I'm speaking for myself, with my husband
and my three children. What is my vision for this time?
This time we're at home, and my time horizon is
through the end of June, because I know, at least
through the end of June my kids aren't going back
to school in New York State, So what's my vision
for that? You might but you might also say what's
(13:13):
my vision for my career?
Speaker 2 (13:16):
And you might be.
Speaker 5 (13:17):
Saying, I feel bogged down by the time horizon of
the next three months because there's so much uncertainty. But
if I said, what's my vision for my career and
I'm looking out to the end of twenty twenty five,
so I'm looking at almost five years, that that is
(13:38):
a way of setting what's what kind of a vision
are we in? You're getting clear what kind of vision?
What's the time horizon? So that's always the starting point,
and then you layer on top of that the question
you've heard of me ask, which is what do I
really want?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Suspending any judgment or feeling that it's not possible.
Speaker 5 (14:00):
And I think that's the magic I'm always looking to
bring into the work, is like, I really believe in
my core whatever it is that you're really wanting is possible.
So if you don't feel that way, I'm going to
bring that for you, all of the listeners of this podcast, I'm.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Bringing that feeling for you, it is possible.
Speaker 5 (14:21):
Mmm.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
I love that.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
I love that idea of creating a bottom line vision
statement and putting time horizons around it.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
I think that's really important.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
And that also for anybody that might be feeling overwhelmed
and even the word visioning, Yeah, that can give you
some parameters and some boundaries where you could start to
feel a little bit more comfortable with it, like, oh, okay,
I'm really.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Just looking at this rather than looking at it five years.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
So now let's talk about this in terms of so
we talked to you and I on an individual basis.
This applies not only to the individual, but to the team,
to the organization, and to the greater world. So let's
expand our bubble. Like I have my hands in like
a big circle.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
I don't know why.
Speaker 4 (15:13):
So we've just expanded it now. So we talked about
the individual. That's a really helpful way to frame it.
So now I'm a leader of a team income Sharon,
I've hired you for the day to come work with
me and my team around visioning.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Tell me where you begin.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
Mm So the first thing that jumps out for me
is I'm I'm beginning way before I'm showing up in
that room.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
So I am rarely coming on.
Speaker 5 (15:43):
Site to say, hey, here's the the set way of
how you do it. Every time when I when I'm
stepping inside of a system, which is what a team
or an organization is, it's more complex system than the
one to one and it's really and what I'm doing
is through working with the team lead so that or
(16:04):
it could be organization head, I'm partnering with that individual
to really help bring awareness as much for me.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
But also for them.
Speaker 5 (16:16):
You know, there's often we feel like here's my current
understanding of where my team is at, and then I'm
going to get curious. I'm going to do that thing
that we do genius coaches. I'm going to ask questions,
I'm going to share observations. I'm going to look to
help create a shared perspective. And in that process, often
not only am I I mean I'm always coming in
(16:37):
learning because I'm I'm joining the system when I'm coming
on site to teach visioning, and the team lead is
also often finding oh, like god, I'm having a new
way of seeing it. So as we create that shared
understanding of where we're starting from. By the way, you'll
notice this is very similar to visioning. Right, what I'm
(16:59):
doing is create a vision for the time I'm going
to spend with that team. What is you team lead
really want out of me showing up for a day
to talk about this thing called vision, Because I'll tell
you I could talk to ten team leads and they'll
all have a different answer to that. So we drop
in deeper. So what is it that you really want
(17:20):
out of the micro experience of Sharon Laposki's showing up.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
For a day to talk about vision?
Speaker 5 (17:26):
And now let's imagine it's five PM at the end
of that day that you already usually have on your
calendar as a block day for training and development for
your team. At the end of that day, we're high fiving.
We're celebrating that was just what you and your team needed.
What are we celebrating? What's different? What's the result of
(17:49):
this experience?
Speaker 2 (17:52):
I have a huge smile on my face.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
So basically they they think it's well, let's plan for
the day, But really what you're doing is your making
them through a visioning experience. The leader that's going to
provide the space for the day, you've gone through the
visioning experience. So that person now just has worked with
you on this whole idea.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
So you've already.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Begun the visioning day with the team before you walk
through the door. That's right, I love it all right,
So now you've worked with me leader, you've worked with
my team. Now organizationally.
Speaker 5 (18:31):
Yeah, So here's something I want to say when it
comes to moving from the individual kind of thinking about
visioning at an individual, a team, and an organizational level.
I always think of the work I'm doing as like
a spider web.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
So we're going to start.
Speaker 5 (18:51):
Wherever is the most impactful and ease filled place to start,
And sometimes that means I'm coaching a single leader inside
of a system. Other times that means I'm doing really
complex consulting and visioning work at the top, at.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
The c suite level.
Speaker 5 (19:10):
From wherever we start, we spider web out if there
is appetite for that at the organization, and it's not
every place. That's why when you ask the question how
do we go from the team to the organization? It's
not what struck me when you asked me that is, huh,
how often am I with a team and then it
(19:31):
goes out to the organization because usually either the organization
has brought me in and then we're cascading through teams,
or there's some reason that the organization isn't ready for
that yet. They have other priorities there, it's just not
their focus. But there's some team lead who has has
(19:53):
authority and desire to make those kind of changes within
their own sphere of influence, and then I'm brought into
the team. So I want to just name like that's
I can talk about how vision happens at an organizational level,
But when you ask the question, how do you go
from the team to the organization? Kind of the aha
moment for me was, huh, that doesn't happen that often.
(20:15):
It's it's usually I'm doing something on a small scale
or doing.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Let's say it's building.
Speaker 5 (20:23):
Building a culture of team excellence for within a certain team,
and that gets traction at the organization, and then maybe
the organization uh at a more senior level is saying
c suite senior leadership level is saying, oh, like, there's
something really good happening here, can we.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Talk to you about what we do?
Speaker 5 (20:42):
And then maybe I'm popping over there. But that's that's
usually kind of the way I see it expanding out.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
Well, let's let's riff on that for yea one moment.
Here we are in a wild business climate, yep.
Speaker 4 (20:59):
Companies, many companies have identity crisises right now.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
They're not sure who they are, where they're going, what
their future is going to look like.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
What if let's do your use your your uh your
framework for doing some visioning. For companies that may be
asking themselves this question, you know, what what is it
I really want? Now, they may be reimagining what their
infrastructure is going to look like. Obviously, I think the
(21:31):
entire corporate world is going to have to self evaluate
because many people are not going to come back to work,
and those that do, meaning in person, the whole office
setup is going to have to be different. So that's
going to affect operational workflow.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
So the world that we know is not going to
be the same. So if we were.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
Talking to companies who are like, hmm, this is interesting,
this might be a really good time to investigate that.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
What could that look like?
Speaker 4 (22:06):
So what would be some of the questions or thoughts
you would have just based upon what I just said?
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Yes, love this.
Speaker 5 (22:15):
So the first thing I'm thinking about is there is
an opportunity to come back to the individual, but it's
in this instance it's an individual or maybe a team
of individuals.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
I'm thinking of this.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
Let's say in a corporation, the CEO and the C
suite leaders that that person is partnering with ongoing who
are really facing I mean, every business is facing real
questions of what's next, capacity, smart operations, all.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Of those things.
Speaker 5 (22:50):
So to really sit with and bring individual coaching vision
coaching for that C suite team. So you're bringing in
in this instance, I would typically bring in a different
coach for each person and they're guiding them through a
vision process, which usually begins with what about you, like,
(23:11):
what do you really want?
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Leader?
Speaker 5 (23:14):
And now let's place that in what can you contribute
what to this team? And on a team level, there
are some visioning questions that I think you could bring
to the whole team, like not just what do we
want as a team, but what does I'm just going
to call it organization why?
Speaker 2 (23:36):
What does organization why? Want?
Speaker 5 (23:39):
You know, what does Patagonia want? What does Etsy want?
What does Bank of America want?
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Fill in the blank?
Speaker 5 (23:47):
And whatever the organization is, what does the organization want?
Speaker 2 (23:51):
And I've done this with.
Speaker 5 (23:54):
Senior leadership teams before, and I'll tell you that question
of asking not what do we the leadership, the people of.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
The team want, but what does the entity itself?
Speaker 5 (24:04):
So you give a kind of life to the entity
and you start to see it differently. So what does
Bank of America want?
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Right? Fill in the blank? What does your organization you're
working at one?
Speaker 5 (24:15):
You can also start to think about here's a question
a lot of people are grappling with.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
What is it that my customers really want? Because without
them we're not in business?
Speaker 5 (24:31):
Right right or like another, depending on the kind of
business you're in. What is it that our products really want.
What is it so forget mission? What is it that
excuse me vision? What is it that our mission really wants?
What is it that our shareholders really want? Like to
really start like it gives it gives vision different layers
(24:55):
as you bring in those questions.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
So depending on where.
Speaker 5 (25:01):
A leadership team is, I might say, at a minimum,
I've got to start with the team lead.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
So I'm imagining this instance.
Speaker 5 (25:07):
A CEO could be at a nonprofit, could be an
executive director, could be a president of a college. But
what does that team lead really want? What is their
vision inspiration? And we can help shape that for them,
for the organization and for themselves as the leader of
the organization. And then because we don't when we're part
(25:29):
of a system, we don't lead in a in isolation.
And honestly, even if I take it down to when
I'm doing visioning for an individual who's feeling stuck in
their career, they also don't lead an isolation, even if
they've never managed a soul in their life, because they
have relationships with people, they have families, they have colleagues,
(25:52):
they have the person who they can network with. Like,
we don't operate in isolation. So at an at an
organization level, you want to start with the team lead,
because it's very hard to do this effectively if the
team lead's not on board.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
I'll just name that. That would be a readiness qualification
for me of an organization being ready to take on
visioning at an organizational level. So you start with the
team lead.
Speaker 5 (26:18):
You could cascade out and give support to those individual
senior leaders and then think about how you bring them
into community of learning and of how they're visioning together.
And the real thing there is that the more senior
you go within an organization, although I'm always looking for
(26:38):
these opportunities at every level, but the more senior you go,
the more authority they have over the running of the
business the organization. They can make decisions, they can put
budget against it, they can align talent with it or not.
And when you have that authority, you've got to make
(26:58):
sure that the visioning is happening as tied to real
time business decisions.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Now, it can't happen, you know, it's not. We're out
here doing learning on our own and it's a nice.
Speaker 5 (27:09):
Weekend get away and then we come back to real life.
That's not sustainable. What we have to do is really
take Here are key frameworks, here's key learning. But let's
drop in and roll up our sleeves and talk about
how we apply this within your setting.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
It is so everything you just said is so needed,
regardless of industry, regardless of size of company.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
I think and and I believe you know, talking with
a lot of my clients, so they're they're having conversations about, Okay,
here this happened to us, This is happening to us.
Where do we need to be more agile? Where do
we need to be more thoughtful? What kind of planning
(27:58):
can we do? Hearing a lot of visioning, I'm curious
what are you thinking most people are right now or
what they're considering.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
In terms of what kinds of questions?
Speaker 4 (28:12):
Well, just where do you feel they are right now
in this process? Are you finding that people are at
this place of reimagining and visioning.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Or do you feel as though they're still in.
Speaker 4 (28:23):
The How do we build an infrastructure here that can
support or sustain?
Speaker 2 (28:27):
Like, where do you see them in the business cycle? Yeah,
such a good question. I think very few.
Speaker 5 (28:37):
Leaders in humans are saying or asking right now, how
do we reimagine? I think it's there, but it's I
think most people who are asking it are then crumpling
under the weight of it. Are I don't think that's
exactly what you were doing, Genie at the outset.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
But when you said okay, yes, I'm with you, so okay,
but wait.
Speaker 5 (29:00):
A minute, there's a mountain of complexity here, I think
that's actually where people are.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
And so that's that's why I think we have to
I mean, we have to me I said this in
our last podcast.
Speaker 5 (29:14):
We have to meet people, we have to meet teams,
we have to meet organizations right where they are and
then drop into it. And that means, you know, and
I if I think about work that I'm doing this week,
I'm meeting with a team on how they get really
clear and grow their sales strategy in the current environment.
(29:38):
And another organization where we're getting really clear on how
their team is showing up, what the culture of the
team is, and how they shift to a space of
eating greater excellence. They're already doing great, there's an opportunity
to do so much more. It's like those are the
kinds of questions they're asking building a culture of team excellence,
(30:00):
sales strategy and a really tough economy that we expect
to get tougher.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
And what I'm.
Speaker 5 (30:06):
Looking to do in those instances is bring in are
we aligning it with vision? Like if we're just looking
at sales strategy without answering for the sake of what,
which is another lens into vision? So what is it
that I really want? Or I'm doing this thing for
the sake of what am I doing it? Because for
(30:26):
the sake of what is what I really want for myself,
for this team, for this organization. So I want to
know what no matter what we're doing for the sake
of what are we doing it?
Speaker 2 (30:37):
Because when we miss.
Speaker 5 (30:38):
That, we lack a compass of navigating where like what
is this body of work that we're doing moving us towards?
Speaker 2 (30:47):
And and I'm always really keen to.
Speaker 4 (30:49):
Have that that is so profound for the sake of what,
which also prompts.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
I get the vision to speaking of.
Speaker 4 (31:05):
Right now, I feel there's very much a heads down, transactional,
get it done, get it done, move forward, move forward,
move forward, while we're also all going through our own personal.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
I don't even know the word. I don't know the
word roller coaster is.
Speaker 4 (31:27):
The one that's been used most oftens, which I guess
is a good one for me because I hate roller coasters. No,
you don't know how you're going up on the thing,
and you don't know when the DIP's coming, but you
know it's coming. And I feel like we've had a
couple of dips, but you don't know when the really
steep one's coming.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
And I feel like.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
We're partially bracing for that, yes, but we're also recognizing
we have to keep going. We have to dig in,
we have to look around, we have to be present,
we have to be supportive, we have to acknowledge where
we are and.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
What you're putting around. This is asking that question, what
else is there? Where are we going? Why is it important?
Speaker 4 (32:16):
How does that align with what you really want as
an individual, as a leader, as an owner of a business,
as a CEO, How does.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
That line up with what our customers want? And I
think those are.
Speaker 4 (32:29):
The types of things that we really have to start
looking at through a different lens and make the time
for it. Get out of the transaction of head down,
moving from point A to point B, and start asking
the bigger questions.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
They're tougher questions.
Speaker 4 (32:45):
But start to deconstruct that the same way that you
did in the first two or three minutes when I said,
that's a huge hill, that's too big, that's way too difficult,
too many levels to it. That's Pandora's box, but it's not.
You can turn over one rock at a time and
start to reframe.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
Yes, okay, I love this. Can I add to it? Yeah?
Speaker 5 (33:08):
Okay, First of all, I love I Actually this is
part of my survival mechanism is I have a very
limited amount of information that's coming in, so I've really
closed my information filter in this time because I find
it to be very distracting. So I'm like, oh, yeah,
I guess people aren't talking about there being a roller coaster.
(33:30):
That hasn't come into my vernacular in this moment, although
I'm like, yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Yeah, that makes sense.
Speaker 5 (33:36):
The the way I've been holding it, which feels very similar,
is I'm a wave or is organization.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Like there's waves. Things are surging and they're.
Speaker 5 (33:47):
They're and they're coming down, they're rising and they're crashing.
There's ebbing and there's flowing.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
And what I like about thinking of the wave and
the roller coaster side by side.
Speaker 5 (33:59):
Hang with me, listeners on this metaphor we're rolling on together.
So is that roller coasters are man made and they're
made for thrills. Waves are a natural part of the
environment that are happening all the time. And so what
I like about holding both is that there are going
(34:22):
to be natural ebbs and flows period and right now
it might feel like more of a tsunami surge and
then crashing down depending on the moment that you're in
within this global pandemic. And you can also be creating
your own roller coasters, like you can be creating your
(34:44):
own man made struggles that actually maybe you can release.
And I think if we get really clear on go
back to that right now step what is real right now,
what is true right now, and operate and make decisions
off of that, which is your act of saying like
(35:05):
we're picking up the rock and turning it over, like
that's that takes us right into the present of like
what is in front of me.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
And I think what that brings us to.
Speaker 5 (35:16):
Is our presence and the present, and that if I
were going to say, as you are visioning, as you
are asking what you really want as all of that,
we have to we are demanded to right now to
bring it to the present, And I think if we
(35:37):
can say, okay, what's needed, what do I want right now, which,
hopefully you like whatever that future is that you can
look out to, there's that hope and inspiration you're leaning towards,
and then you're bringing it back to and what about
right now? And what's the presence that I can bring
into the right now that's going to serve me? And
(36:01):
sometimes that might mean anger, Like we might need to
get angry about some of the things that are happening
right now as a result of what we're seeing. Like
I'm angry about access to healthcare based on race. I'm
angry about it, and I think that anger is serving me.
If I sit in that anger for an extended period
(36:24):
of time, it's going to stop serving me. But sometimes
we have to say, I look at the inequalities and
I'm angry. That's my slam on the desk.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
I'm angry about it.
Speaker 5 (36:35):
Most of the time for myself, a different kind of
emotion serves me. But sometimes I have to call in something.
And I'm using anger as an example because we often
view it as negative. Sometimes I have to call in
that other emotion and then say, and what's that sustainable?
Presence that's going to serve me and move with that.
(36:55):
So presence present roller coasters waves.
Speaker 4 (37:00):
Well, first of all, I love the fact I love
I love all the analogies. I'm like, so with you,
it's like closing my as I'm like, yeah, it's waves,
it is roller coasters, your rights man made and one
is natural. One of the things that I often will
talk about as it relates to waves too, is no
matter what, the waves are going to crash and hit
the shore and then they go away and a new
(37:21):
set of waves come in, and the waves look different.
Every wave is different, and it just shows you your
capacity to handle whatever's coming at you. Yes, And I'm
so glad you brought up pain too, because I think
that pain is real and anger is real, and you know,
pain is a great motivator. But it's also the idea
(37:43):
of suffering is really really difficult. But the questions that
you're asking around it, I think are really really important.
So where I want to leave us in this conversation
is so Sharon, you're a visionary. We've talked about all
(38:05):
of the different ideas and framework around it. Now you're
talking to a listener base of visionaries. What else is there,
what what could they be considering differently than maybe what
they weren't before. So I'm going to ask you, as
(38:25):
a visionary person to offer your advice, your thoughts, your
opinion to the visionaries that are listening to this.
Speaker 5 (38:33):
Hmm, yeah, my advice. I'm just letting these words kind
of summon up to me. Be bold, be in community,
and be soft. That that's what I'm There's a let
(38:54):
us be courageous and be bold and what we're what
we're pushing for and reaching for and calling in and
to understand that we may be as visionary as we want,
but we never we never do we never do it alone.
Speaker 2 (39:10):
So we have to be in community. And you said
be soft, Yeah, and I think I think it's there's.
Speaker 5 (39:19):
We have to have grace, we have to we have
to soften the hard edges. Like I think it's it's
not just about ease, it's about a vulnerability. And and
truly I feel like it was from my from my
own warrior magic for my own inner core.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
Like that's that's fine. I'm hearing bold soft and being
as the unifying thing between those those three pieces. Oh,
I love it. What a beautiful way to end the conversation.
Speaker 4 (39:50):
Sharon, thank you so much for sharing yourself your wisdom.
I found it so I took a page in half
of notes, and I'm sure any somebody that was listening
is inspired by all of this wisdom that you offer
the world.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
So thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
Thank you for joining me for another episode of the
Warriors at Work Show. If you are interested in learning
more about what we do at the Warriors at Work
Show and platform, be sure to go over to my website,
Genie Koomber and subscribe to my monthly Warrior Playbook newsletter.
I share everything that I'm up to month by month,
(40:30):
as well as some lessons and insights that I've learned.
I'm also interested in hearing any feedback you have about
this conversation or future topics, so reach out to me
directly on JC at Geniecomber dot com or on linked In.
Speaker 2 (40:45):
Be sure to tell your friends and.
Speaker 3 (40:46):
Your colleagues about this Warriors at Work Conversation, Subscribe.
Speaker 2 (40:51):
Review, and rate us.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
It's the best way to get this message out into
the world. Be well,
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.