Leadership and listening in to our surroundings

Published on by Isabelle Francois Category: leadership

I recently received a new lesson in leadership from nature around me. I live in a city, and much of the world I experience daily is dominated and controlled by human beings, whether we spend our time in buildings, cars, or homes. We are “protected” by structures which give us the illusion of control. Rather than listening in to the wind, the rain, we feel more at ease when we can assert our wills and manipulate our environment. I had the good fortune to live in Canada, albeit in the city for many years. I will always be grateful for that time, which helped me connect with nature when entering the forest or sitting on the edge of a lake, listening into another realm, which is simply asking that we drop our baggage, as human beings, and surrender to a different sense of order and meaning. Read more

If you want to be a leader try to become a storyteller

Published on by Isabelle Francois Category: coaching

I became aware last year of the power of storytelling. Our children have a way to show us the impact of a story, but we often diminish its role: this is just a story! What a shame… Children know best.  I believe storytelling has a powerful transformative ingredient worth remembering and considering, as we try to make changes around us or within our lives. Read more

Let us welcome a new year!

Published on by Isabelle Francois Category: coaching

As I packed my Christmas decorations this weekend, eating the last chocolates from visiting loved ones, feeling the presence of departed family and friends, I am wondering why life seems so empty all of sudden. This mellowness does not have to tarnish the fulfilling memories of happy festivities. It does not have to trigger a pang of gloom. The trick is that the magic of the holiday season lives on when we know how to avoid settling back into routine. Read more

Leadership is shining your light

Published on by Isabelle Francois Category: leadership

I grew up always attracted by the light in people’s eyes. I felt so dazzled by the glimmer shining through these eyes. Yet, I noticed how often this light lies dormant on people’s faces, and I wondered what is it that stops this spark. Is it fears, or feeling inadequate? Is it sadness? Is it the weight of the world some people carry on their shoulders? I know too well how hiding my light for so long has shrunk my potential arbitrarily, and cast a shadow for many around me. Read more

You are important

Published on by Isabelle Francois Category: leadership

You are important and your life matters because you are a microcosm of a larger whole. Your life is a piece of a puzzle connected to a larger universe where your internal experiences affect the whole of life around you. In reality, life organizes around you! This is a shift of perception around your impact in the world that has the potential to affect your life in profound ways. You may discover a creative power you never knew you had, and generate energy to connect with the world in a different way. This is a different basis for leadership in the world. Read more

How to show up for life?

Published on by Isabelle Francois Category: leadership

I often felt that you can only lead from a place of power, that you are in charge when you feel your best, and that others follow when they feel your strength. I came to realize that the point is not to project anything, but to be authentic rather than powerful or in control. The way I walk into a room already says a lot about me. If I am holding back on my troubles I will walk into a room with my eyes down, or I will smile absent-mindedly. If I am hurting inside, I will lack the confidence to be fully present to my surroundings, even if I try to project otherwise. Read more

Vulnerability in leadership

Published on by Isabelle Francois Category: leadership

I love to watch trees in the autumn. It used to be I liked them most because of the colours, notably in Canada! However, with age I notice in forests around me how trees grow wider each passing year. I see the bark they shed regularly, as they outgrow these boundaries. I reflect on how nature shows us the way to grow personally by shedding our boundaries, our defenses, originally designed to protect us. The point is that what has once protected us becomes an impediment to our ability to expand and become our full potential. Read more

Peace within dictates peace on the outside

Published on by Isabelle Francois Category: women leadership

There are so many reasons why the world is in turmoil and so few recipes to bring it to a peaceful place. In reality there is only one reason to account for this dire state: we are not at peace ourselves. We feel compelled to blame disorder and chaos in the world on our fellow citizens or global circumstances over which we believe we have no control. Our own disorder seems of little relevance, and yet there will never be any peace in the outside world until we have created peace within. The roots of the problem are firmly entrenched in ourselves. Read more

Vision and leadership

Published on by Isabelle Francois Category: coaching

Looking around me these days, I can be just as overwhelmed by what I see. I often feel unable to make sense of a lot of images passing in front of my eyes throughout the day. I register the stress on people faces, as well as the ugliness and fear coming from the wreckage of natural disasters, inhuman treatment coming from all corners of the planet. I often close my eyes; don’t you? Yet I feel compelled to see both sides and the contrast to stay on the edge. Ultimately, I realize how little control I have, and how I am increasingly relying on inner vision to find my way. Read more

Fear of failure

Published on by Isabelle Francois Category: coaching

What if failure was a good thing? What if failure was a way to learn and innovate, a technic to master (fail, fail and fail better), a path towards mastery. I remember thinking that failure should be taught in school. There are so many things to learn from failures. It leads to a gradual process of reconquering lost ground to be repeated over and over again towards success, like a child learning to walk – falling time and again – until he or she finds balance. Read more