A client of mine tried to introduce me to his team recently. And he said, “I don’t know what to call you because you won’t tell me.”
I’ve had this problem for several years. It started in 2011 when I joined an accelerator group and one of the members said to me, “You’re good at systems and organization. You should really let that be your focus and what you ‘sell.’ Business owners will buy that.”
And so I did. And it worked, mostly. Except over and over I found out that what I wanted to work on had nothing to do with actual systems or technology and everything to do with communications.
This week, I had an epiphany. It hit me *POW* right between the eyes.
I teach a lot of things, but probably not what YOU think I teach based on my website and my company name.
Rather my real interests include:
- Integrity before productivity
- Self-management instead of time management
- Integrity and perseverance before sales and marketing planning
- Empathy, not efficiency (especially with people)
- Honest communication rather than avoidance
- Purpose before planning
- Infrastructure before systems
- Meaning, not materialism
- Awareness before organizing
- Letting go rather than grasping and striving
- Passion before planning
- Authentic team-building, continuously and relentlessly
- Technology as a tool, not the be-all/end-all solution
And then another epiphany hit me right between the eyes: I actually have a degree in communications. It’s an Organizational Communications degree and it’s about how people are as individuals and how they interact in groups, big or small. Even in college 15 years ago, I unconsciously wanted to focus on this work. Wow!
Here’s the deal: before we talk about systems and organization, I want to get deeply personal with you.
I want talk with you about your fears. About your dreams. About your wishes and hopes and what matters to you. I want you to tell me the things you don’t want me to know about you – to walk right into your terror, your shame, and your frustrations together with me.
And then we can get into productivity, time management, team-building, organization and all those other things. But I have to understand who you are right now before I can help you become who you want to be. And YOU have to understand who you are right now before you can become the person you want to be.
Does that make sense?
Because who you BE affects everything you DO.
I want to connect. I want to dive deep. I want to know what’s up. What you dream about. What scares you shitless.
After we get into that, then the magic begins.
When you’re ready, I’m ready.
Make Some Room,
Angie