Energy Leadership, 2nd Edition

23A Meeting of the Minds

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.

—John F. Kennedy, 35th president of the United States

The following week, Richard stood in front of the room and began talking into a microphone securely positioned on its stand. I listened to him fully addressing the issue, which was the overall decline in sales production, and doubted it was a surprise to anyone. He made sure everyone knew that the meeting was not to find a person to be the “culprit,” but rather to work together as a group to see if they could find the energetic culprit and solve the challenge. He then shared what he had learned, or more accurately, what he hadn't learned in the individual interviews. Jamal appeared a little nervous, I noticed, but Richard looked him in the eye, obviously reassuring him that he would not discuss his personal matters with the group.

Glancing around the room, I saw that most people seemed tense and probably a little uncomfortable. I couldn't assess whether the sales team or the others were most uncomfortable.

Richard obviously noticed too, because he then asked, “So what do you think is going on here?” I saw people looking around to see if anyone would reply, and no one did.

What happened next was why I became a coach in the first place. I saw Richard take a slow deep breath through his nose and blow it out hard through his mouth. He repeated it. He then slowly eyed the room and I could easily detect a Mona Lisa smile that told me that he had ...