Marcia, an experienced and inherently wise executive coach, presented to me with a drop in self confidence and a fear about not being able to stand her ground in a difficult conversation. The situation triggering the drop, was the potential loss of a long term corporate client. Critical self doubt was festering in her imagination and Marcia was assuming the worst.
How We Unravelled It
After a coaching conversation and visualisation, Marcia’s presenting issues were:
- Fear about security: “How will I live on reduced income?” and “Will I be able to replace this valuable client?”
- Fear about what people think: “My client may have lost his respect for me and passed it on to the rest of his team.”
- Self doubt: “Maybe my work has lost it’s edge and I’m no longer relevant?” and “Why am I fearing and avoiding this conversation rather than just handling it?”
The Aha Moment
I asked Marcia a couple of questions:
- “How do you feel about asking for what you want?” and;
- “Is it really true that your client no longer wants your services?”
Aha! For Marcia, these questions quickly opened the door to new possibilities, a feeling of release and tapping into her old confidence.
Together we worked out a plan. For Marcia, the most important take away was recognising an old self sabotaging pattern and creating in response, a unique process to tap into her inner wisdom and confidence when ever self doubt crept in. She recognised her assumption about her client was merely an assumption. We prepared her for her next client meeting with role play practice. Marcia left the session reminded of who she really is and with a range of options.
What Happened Later
Marcia emailed me the next day. Remarkably, her client had just telephoned her during a conference to ask her advice. He stated how much he valued her and set up a time the following week to discuss a new direction in working together…
That meeting flowed beautifully into new opportunities; a reflection of Marcia letting go of her fear of difficult conversations about her worthiness and the power of intention. Instead she shifted something within and stepped into trusting herself once more and her ability to ask directly for what she wants.
* The client’s name has been changed to protect privacy. If you are ready to refine your authentic voice and inner speaker, contact professional speaking coach Geraldine Barkworth to have a fun, fearless and confidential conversation of your own. © 2012, Geraldine Barkworth, www.goddessofpublicspeaking.com.au/blog/