HR GEMs book review session from our ‘Energy Leadership’ book review anchored by Michael Ogu. Book was written by Bruce Schneider

Foundational Insights on the book

 "We are all composed of energy at our core. Energy is one word that differentiates great leaders from average leaders. Great leaders not only have positive energy, they contagiously spread this positive energy to others."

“The true measure of your energy is based on your core beliefs.”

"At your core, you are connected to universal truth, whether you are consciously aware of it or not."

"How we see ourselves determines everything.”

“People are just people. The labels you give them are the ones you choose. We would all be able to accept and relate to others better if we just avoided using labels and judgments.”

‘Everything that happens in life is neutral. It all depends on the labels we place on it. Eg, a glass filled with water is neutral. Someone labels it as half full while another labels it as half empty.’

 ‘Our labeling is as a function of our beliefs and energy state’.

“People find power when it dawns on them that their true success isn’t rooted in you helping them. It’s rooted in you helping them help themselves.” - This is all that coaching is all about.

 More thoughts/Key Lessons/Insights from the Book;

“Problems and challenges are the creations of a fear-based perspective on life. When we transcend fear, what remains is the opportunity.”

“Your level of energy determines your success. The more you have, the better you’ll do. Your self-perception, and by extension your concept of the world around you, is based on your energetic level.”

“Your current state of consciousness is composed of your existing energetic makeup, which encompasses every thought, feeling, and emotion you’ve had today, as well as your recent actions. It also includes every thought, feeling, and emotion you’ve ever experienced, and every action you’ve taken in your life.”

“People who resonate with a higher level of energy feel much better physically and emotionally.”

“Outer forces don’t strictly determine the events in our lives; instead, events are influenced—and may be determined—by the forces within us.”

“Most people believe their interpretations are the only possible explanation for an event when actually, an interpretation often represents only one viewpoint among the many that are possible.”

“If you stick with your first and only interpretation, you have little chance of focusing on any other possibility. It means that all of your focus, and therefore your energy, would be displaced.”

"The greatest improvement we can ever make is becoming more of who we truly are.”

“If you’re a leader presenting change to people in an organization, you must be wise to present the change to them as a request rather than a command.”

“People experience completely different energy when they believe they have the freedom to choose rather than be forced to do something.”

"Not taking things personally allows you to deal with challenges more objectively and with great efficiency."

"Leaders are most effective when they don’t abuse their authority and when they consider people’s feelings before their act."

“Emotional Intelligence is not about just expressing emotions, it’s about expressing emotions appropriately.”

"Much of the success of life depends upon keeping one’s mind open to opportunity and seizing it when it comes."

‘As coaches, we should be open-minded. There are always different perspectives on every situation/thing’

The Five Empowerment Principles;

1.           Life offers neither problems nor challenges, only opportunities.

2.           The answers to all questions lie within. Every one of us is greater and wiser than we appear to be.

3.           Each moment describes who you are and gives you the opportunity to decide if that’s whom you want to be.

4.           The greatest freedom is freedom of choice.

5.           The Principle of Detached Involvement.

 ‘Coaches don't advice because the answer lies within the coachee... we just need to find the right tool to bring it out’.

On Detached involvement;

One of the greatest challenges we have as human beings and as leaders is to be emotionally connected with others- our team, our family, our friends- yet avoid becoming a part of the story of someone else's success or drama of their challenges. A strong leader will allow a teammate or colleague to enjoy and flourish in his or her success without detracting from the moment or taking over the spotlight. Similarly, a strong leader will remain emotionally connected and engaged with someone facing difficulty without taking on those emotions and becoming part of the drama as well.  

 Another technique on how to block the subconscious mind during coaching sessions and opening the conscious mind and allowing one’s logical mind to lead.

Absolutely. This possibly is the rule of thumb in coaching ... I find it apt because you want people to own their thoughts, actions, and results ... it’s possibly the Eldorado of the coaching experience

More so, because everyone has varied contexts and experiences - the outcome doesn’t have to be how you painted it. What you want, as fruit to your coaching sessions is that the coachee owns their self-fulfillment and uses that as a backdrop to paint their lives, the way they want to

The 13 Core Energy Coaching Techniques

 1.           Validation.

 2.           Request Action.

 3.           Empathize.

 4.           Get an Energetic Buy-In.

 5.           Assess Energy (Using Visual, Auditory and Intuitive Clues).

 6.           Centering.

 7.           Plant the Unconscious Seed.

 8.           Challenge Limiting Beliefs.

 9.           Challenge Assumptions.

 10.        Challenge Interpretations.

 11.        Dispatch Gremlins.

 12.        Breakthrough Laser Coaching.

 13.        Holographic Thinking.

 ‘The Big Four Energy Blockers’

 “Your current self and world view are based on your life experiences and how they have affected you, and the Big Four energy blocks are the four greatest barriers to seeing yourself the way you truly are. When these blocks exist within you, they shape how you view yourself and the world in which you live.”

 1.           Limiting Beliefs (which stems out of Fear).

 2.           False Assumptions.

 3.           False Interpretations.

 4.           Gremlins.

 Changing Individual Energy Level

 For an individual to change his/her energy level, there must be a change in:

1.           Beliefs.

 2.           Emotions.

 3.           Thoughts.

 4.           Actions.

 Some Key Learnings:

 Gremlin- the part of you that makes you feel less than who you really are and shows up as the "I am not good enough inner voice"

Assumptions - The assumptions that because something happened in the past it will happen again.

Interpretations- Your story and interpretations of a person or event

Limiting Beliefs- limiting beliefs that are masked as truth

Thank you.

Anchored by Michael Ogu