Insights from Flow

The majority of entrepreneurs start their business because they enjoy being independent. Reporting to someone equates to pressure for most entrepreneurs. They like to think and act according to their book, not by the book. Therefore, they start their own business with the motivation of being free. However, the road to freedom can be a full of rocks and boulders, especially considering the challenges that come in the first three to five years. The business then gains some momentum and eventually stability arrives. Satisfaction and fulfillment are immense once stability is in place. This milestone can’t be compared to any other job satisfaction. Imagine creating a business that turned the rocks into a gem, giving you the freedom and purpose you have always longed for.

As most entrepreneurs are fond of their freedom, a lot of times they forget to ask for some help. They believe that they are capable of taking care of everything and guess what? They are not! We are not! As human beings, we are designed to be collaborative with others, not solo players...and frankly, the road to freedom doesn’t have to be so bumpy. If you ask for help, especially from a Certified Business Coach whose profession it is to support you and your business, soon you will discover that your ride will become a smoother one. Plus, you will find out that as you get more support, you and your business will get faster and more positive results.

So, here are the five signs that tell you if you can benefit from working with a Certified Business Coach. If you have one or more of these indicators then it is time for you to start thinking about finding a good business coach that is relatable to you and your business.

1. Lack of sleep. Your business keeps you awake. You go to bed thinking of your to do list, you wake up in the middle of night with a thought that you have forgotten something or with worry of what you need to do the next day, and you wake up exhausted.
2. Time management is a challenge for you. You have so many things to do but prioritizing is difficult as you feel like you need to focus on all of your tasks at the same time. Remember, time management and prioritization are two essential elements of efficiency.
3. Business momentum is slow. You work hard and momentum is either slow or non-existent. Remember Einstein’s wise words: “There is nothing more insane then doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results.” You need a fresh perspective.
4. You are stressed most of the time. Being an entrepreneur requires a lot of patience and resiliency in the first few years. Along with the side effects on your physical wellbeing, stress will block your creative thinking. Building a support system will help you cope with stress. You also need to work on some stress management techniques.
5. Your strategy is not clear. You had a good idea that compelled you to start a business, but along the way you realized that you have tried many things and yet there are times you feel as if the path ahead is not very clear. Your intuition tells you that you need to work on your strategy, however you don’t know where to start.

All of these signs, and more, give you reasons to start thinking about hiring a business coach, or even pursuing the path of business coaching certification for yourself. At FLOW Coaching Institute’s Online Business Coaching Certification program we not only teach about Professional coaching skills, but we also support you to work on your business by improving your results and accelerating your business momentum. Completing our online Business Coaching Certification program not only means that you will become a Certified Business Coach yourself, but you will learn business development and strategic planning tools that you can directly apply to your own business with the help of your mentors.

The story of FLOW Coaching Institute goes hand in hand with my own story as I am the creative person behind the idea of FLOW. When I set out to build this company, I could not even imagine what would evolve from my dreams.

My name is Talyaa Vardar and I am one of the founders of the FLOW Coaching Institute, which started in Vancouver in 2009. I am also an executive coach working with C suite managers and business owners of multibillion-dollar multinational companies. I am very grateful for where I am today with our business and also with my life in general.

However, where I am today has not happened overnight or even in a short time frame – it has been a lengthy process. One thing evolved into another, and with the determination of who I am, the clarity of what I wanted to do, and the resiliency of where I wanted to be is why I am where I am today, and as a result, so is FLOW.

My story goes back to 1993, the year when I graduated from university with an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration. I loved my university years, especially the elective courses where I had the freedom to choose what I wanted to learn. When graduation arrived, I did not have the financial resources to pursue further education, so I had to find a job to survive as my father had done his best to support me during my studies. It was now time for me to take control of my life – was I ready? My first job was in a large public bank as a management trainee, and I struggled with being in a routine and doing the same things day in and day out. I felt like I wasn’t the best version of me in this position, so I decided to move into marketing, where I thrived. Year after year I got promoted as creativity and strategy were my top two strengths. I managed large teams, big budgets, and international firms. I enjoyed being in these leadership roles as I have always loved people.

During my corporate years I noticed that most people were trying to fit themselves into something that they were not. As a result, I witnessed so much insecurity, fear, conflict, and avoidance. Back then I didn’t know much about human psychology, but one did not need to be an expert to see that today’s work life is not designed around engaging people at their best. I decided to do something about it and I started to study Jungian psychology and then followed it with developmental psychology. This became my passion so I made the decision to become a Psychotherapist at the age of 32. I started my Master’s degree and before I graduated, I became a mother to my daughter! One thing followed another, and I received a job offer from an institute in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and as a family we made a significant move. There I worked as a therapist and my profile included children from separated families, the First Nations community, and women with cancer who were transitioning to recovery. During this time, I also gained clarity regarding who I wanted to work with and what I wanted to do.

I wanted to help people dare to be the person that they were meant to be.

I wanted to encourage people to pursue a career path that built on their strengths and not their fear of survival.

I wanted to work with corporate managers to build an authentic leadership style of balancing productivity with a strength-based leadership approach.

I wanted to help people design their own flow at work and life, and remember the sense of being whole again. Most people sacrifice their true self with a split personality of being one person at work and another in their personal life.

I wanted to work with young people and inspire them to build an authentic social identity centered around their core values and strengths by going beyond peer pressure and social anxiety.

As a therapist I was concerned that my title would be intimidating. What I wanted most was to help people, but as a therapist I felt my goals had a limit. With such clarity of direction in my mind, I became a certified coach and have never stopped coaching.

What I love about coaching people is that you witness their progress during your time together, starting after just the first session. In the beginning it almost felt like magic as I could not believe the shifts that could happen in someone in such a short timeframe. It took me 32 years to find my life purpose and if I had known about coaching, it could have been a much easier and shorter journey. As I grew as a coach, I regained the sense of flow in my own life. I started to feel like I was the same person in my job, with my friends, at home, and with my clients. I didn’t feel the need to divide myself into “the worker”, “the parent”, “the friend”, “the wife” – I was myself wherever I was, in whatever I was doing. Instead of my roles being split, they were connected and I was whole.

My love for coaching evolved into a program called “The Art of Empowerment” which I facilitated at the University of British Columbia in Canada. We then designed a coaching program for corporate managers (“The Coaching Leader”) and started to teach it internationally. In 2009 we felt ready to incorporate FLOW together with my partners in Vancouver. Since then, FLOW has trained thousands of people as certified Professional coaches and leaders as coaches and mentors. We started as four people, and now FLOW is one of the leading schools in coaching, mentoring, and leadership development. We have hundreds of corporate clients and thousands of student coaches across the world! Our motto is “focus on one person at a time”...we have been focusing on one person, one manager, one business owner, one parent, one student, one child, in order to contribute to the positive change that we want to see in the world.

I wanted to tell you my story in the hopes that it would inspire those of you who are thinking of a career transition into something that feels more meaningful than your current job, but perhaps you do not have the resources and courage to do it. I know that the future looks uncertain to you and you are afraid to take the first step, but I promise you that if you plan your transition as small steps and do one thing every day or every week, it won’t scare you as much as it does right now. Most of the time the idea of change feels more difficult and scarier than it actually is. Start small, don’t procrastinate, focus on doing one thing at a time, create slow momentum...and then suddenly the day will come and you feel ready to take the big step.

If I did it, so can you! What gives you a sense of flow? Where do you feel engaged? Where do you feel whole? What does FLOW look like to you?

Imagine Ella – a 34-year-old banker with a small child. She is supposed to provide for her family and the sustenance of the household by working and contributing to the mortgage and bill payments. She drags her feet every morning when she goes to work. Her long hours mean that she is impatient and anxious at home. She hates to admit it, but she is jealous of the babysitter who seems to have more patience and spends more time with her daughter than she can. She is unhappy with her position at work and finds the people around her toxic.

Ella has big dreams for her future, however she doesn’t know how to get there. She does know she would love to make a living by finding her passion, but her inner voice tells her that it is too late and not possible. Fear and comfort have definitely gotten in the way. She tells herself that people don’t really like their jobs anyways, and her parents have advised her not to embark on a new adventure at her age. She often feels lonely and unsupported. Her body has begun to hurt – her belly, her neck, her head. She doesn’t know what to do but she does know she doesn’t want to get old and continue living this way. She has zero clue where to start making a change.

If you can resonate with Ella then I am telling you that you are not alone. Your career does not have to be your destiny. My wish is that you start taking the right steps after you read this article in order to understand that you deserve to be in a career you love. Yes, you have one and only one life, and change can happen even with a tiny seed of hope within you. However, making a change is a process and there are certain things you need in place like patience, persistence, excitement, love, compassion, and courage. Along with these characteristics, you need to plan with a rationalist approach, embark in some personal development, hire a professional coach, ask creative and strong questions, and consistently search for answers.

This second career will take some discernment in order to achieve what you are looking for. However there will be a sense of fulfillment as you explore this new path, and the satisfaction and pleasure that will come into your life because you decided to make a change will be worth every drop of sweat along the journey.

7 Step Career Coaching Guide

I prepared a 7-step career coaching guide to take with you on this road. Of course, each of these steps can be expanded upon, but listed here they are a practical way to help you get started and broaden your mind.

1. One of the foundations of the journey is that you understand the tendencies that come up from your childhood. You need to know and confront your weaknesses. You need to reflect upon and adopt your strengths. I suggest you keep asking yourself creative coaching questions such as “What do I like?” and “What do I want?” as you travel along your path. In fact, literally taking a walk and asking these questions is a healthy way to reflect; the answers will come sooner or later.
2. You need to be patient and persistent in this journey. Of course you may feel skeptical from time to time, and when this happens you need to talk to someone like a career coach or a therapist to refresh your belief. Just like Rumi says: “Come, come again!”
3. It will help if you get involved in the research process. For instance, I suggest you make a list of occupations that you are interested in and talk with at least two people in the same career. Ensure that you prepare your questions in advance.
4. Keeping a log or a journal about this journey will help you go back and see the difference between where you currently are and where you were. It is important to see how far you’ve come.
5. Do not drive yourself into a tight corner by racing against money and time. If possible, carry out your inner explorations and research while working in your existing occupation. A shortage of time and money will make you panic and change won’t happen as a result.
6. When you determine some ideas about your career, get equipped by receiving some further training about that field in order to support the growth of your abilities.
7. Use any spare time to develop a network of people in the new career.

This guide is a great way to begin your journey to a new career destiny – the one that you deserve.

Years ago, while trying to distinguish one day from the next, I intuitively knew that my path was no longer in the corporate world. As a child I had a creative character, and my curiosity towards understanding human and social incidents had increased. While I was looking for a way out of my career I had a dream about how I was to select a new name for myself. The new name I chose for myself was Symbol and, in the same dream dream, I told myself “Let my new name be Chemist instead of Symbol. I want to transform myself just as a Chemist transforms materials.” This dream is what we call is a guiding dream. Then, I didn’t have much knowledge about the psychology of dreams, but my intuition told me that this dream was a message from my subconscious.

On top of this dream, the fact that I studied Art Therapy later on and worked with thousands of patients increased my interest in symbols. What kind of place is the human mind? What is the thing we call our subconscious? Why was its language discursive? Was the subconscious the door that opens up to your soul?

Life takes us places from time to time, and sometimes our mind wanders no matter how strong we are. “Why am I here?” is a common question that we ask ourselves. The answer to this question doesn’t come from our mind especially during the tough times. We need to deepen the question and ask our subconscious what we are doing and what we are supposed to learn.

I asked questions of my ego during my meditations and when I was in the middle of a tough period, I had another dream. In my dream I encountered a coyote, which I was afraid of. While trying to escape, I started to fly over an ocean...watching the water and fish beneath me was so pleasing. This dream announced that the thing that I feared would not happen, and the thing that I had been working on would please me while looking at it from an outside point of view.

Working as a therapist in Vancouver, I ran therapy groups with local youngsters. We included two shamans in our projects, one of whom became a close friend. To this day he is still a soul-mate and beloved one to me. What I learned from him is that our ego is our soul itself. We can ask it questions, however we must have the power and understanding to confront the answers we will receive. Some Native North American tribes believe in the guidance of animals, and they also believe in the tradition of symbols. We also believe in similar things; for instance, the evil eye talisman is a symbol. Blindly believing in symbols doesn’t mean they come from the subconscious; in this manner they are purely superstition. For them to come from the subconscious, you need to be open to messages coming from your subconscious because it conveys information to us when we are ready to carry it.

Even though the symbols of the subconscious are so extensive that they cannot be fit into one article, there are things that we can do to approach understanding it.

• Transfer your creative energy to creative activities. Most people direct their creative energy to the wrong things. For instance, if you have the habit of gossiping, that means you waste your creative energy. Instead of this, you should write, draw pictures, take photos, etc.
• Stop judging and aim for acceptance instead. Judging interrupts the growth of the soul and it signifies an unfinished issue.
• Do not be cross with people, as this energy increases your connection to the issues of the world.
• Go into the wild, step on the earth, and hug trees.
• Look into the eyes of a baby, or catch the eye of a little child who doesn’t speak yet...and silently look at each other.
• Catch the eye of an animal and truly look at one another.
• Silently watch the movements of a tree that is blowing in the wind.
• Get carried away with the melodies of a music you like.

In these spaces, and more, you will feel the soul of silence. The more you speak, the more cleaning your soul is supposed to do and your dreams engage in the cleaning of daily events. For this reason, it is important to create silence so that there is space for your soul to speak.

To understand symbols, that person’s experience with that symbol must be analyzed. Do not refer to books and information such as dream interpretations. For instance, if you see an animal in your dream, ask yourself what that animal means to you. Your feelings during the dream matter, so analyze what you felt as this is a message to you. For instance, if you are worried in your dream, there are probably incidents or people that make you worried in your life and your dream may be trying to help you understand that. Pay attention to dreams that you have that are repetitive - if you have the same dream, that means you haven’t solved a problem that you need to handle. If you have a dream on the eve of making a decision, it is important to understand them because our subconscious sometimes tries to lead us.

This month I would like to tell you about a topic that I am obsessed with: Success and Flow! While giving the seminar “Leadership Starts at Home” at an institution last year – of which the title and content belonged to me – I was talking about the importance of supporting the strengths of our children and being able to coach them as parents. Just then, a father asked to speak and said “Why do you always touch upon the strengths? Can’t a person be successful by confronting his weaknesses?” That was a fair question and I responded “Of course he can; however, can he be happy by confronting his weaknesses all the time?”

I work with incredibly talented people who have their own businesses, who have gained ground in society and achieved a great deal of success in their field of work. For this reason, I am one of those who feel lucky. I am required to get involved in the inner worlds of successful people during my sessions. Since I have the opportunity to observe both their characteristics supporting their success as well as their habits overshadowing their happiness, I have always believed in the importance of their co-existence. Here is my obsession – we can all be successful! However, we can be successful and happy at the same time only if we can experience success and flow.

Let’s explore the secrets of people who managed to be successful and happy. If we understand the characteristics of people who embody both, including their way of thinking and habits, then we have the chance to model them.

• Successful people dream about success, not failure. I recently had the chance to interview a boss who has stood out in an emerging market in recent years and whose company is valued at 1 billion USD. I curiously listened to his story of success from an emotional perspective, and I believed one more time in the importance of dreaming of success. Therefore, the question “What does success mean to you?” is an important one.
• Grounded optimism is another important factor. Surveys conducted show that successful people are optimistic to the extent that they know how to balance and calculate it; which means they are optimistic that they will acquire the results that they desire instead of being afraid of failure. However, this optimism is down-to-earth. What many people cannot do is be realistic and optimistic at the same time. My second question to you is “What does your inner sound tell you while dreaming of success?” If you hear it saying “No way, impossible, very hard…very risky…” then it is time to plant some seeds of hope.
• The success of successful people is not coincidental. Most of them have goals that are meaningful to them and ignite the fire within. Thinking about the future, what do you want changed in you and in your life one year from now? What targets do you need to set personally, in your career, in your relationships, and financially to move you in the direction of success?
• People who have achieved success are those who don’t throw in the towel – at least those I know are the most persistent people that I have ever known! Being successful requires an inner drive because it is not easy to work hard every day even when you don’t see immediate results. Striving for your goal each and every day requires a different kind of obstinacy, and you have to be persistent to maintain the success after you achieve it. If you feel the need to throw in the towel at some point on this journey, just take a break and go on a short vacation, take a walk, paint, meet your friends…ultimately refresh your energy. Your motivation to continue will come back.
• Creativity is another important characteristic to success. Creative people are able to approach issues, incidents, and people from a different perspective. While ordinary people feel stuck, trapped, and unable to take action when they encounter problems, creative people approach issues from alternate perspectives to find solutions. A creative mind is the brain exercise of successful people, and they do this exercise every day. Think about a problem that you experienced before or are experiencing right now. What exists that you don’t know about this problem? Force your brain to think creatively, and ask yourself what you can do with the answers you gave. Are there any actions that you have not thought of so far? If not, it means you haven’t answered the question properly. Go back to the question and keep asking yourself even if your mind wants to freeze.
• Not being afraid of conflict is another habit of success. People who are afraid of being in conflict with others generally quit. Successful people know they are supposed to address this issue even if they have this fear. If conflicts cause uneasiness in you (which is the case for me) then that means you have a target which is worth working on.
• If the results do not turn out to be as you expected, it may be time to change your perspective. Years ago, a client of mine who worked hard his entire life and achieved success as the CEO of an international company, told me “Failure is not an option for me.” I responded “Why, are you God?” Later on I reflected about his belief and my own response a lot. I decided if I want to show compassion to myself I should allow myself to fail during times of brave decisions. I am a human being and failure is as easy as success. Everything is possible in life. I have adopted this motto: “I am a human being and I give myself the right to fail.” After giving this right to myself, I felt relieved. If the results do not turn out to be as you like, even though you know you did the best, then there are two options. Re-visit your original plan and update your targets, or surrender. However, realize that you are a human being and don’t give up on the belief that one day you will achieve what you desire in order to find your flow.

Do you have difficulty in following your goals? Most people find no problem in setting goals and creating ways on how to achieve them but when it comes to pursue them that’s where they lag. If you need that push to take the first step you might consider consulting a life coach.

A common myth about Life Coaching says that a Life Coach tells you what to do but this is not true. A skilled Life Coach listens to you and asks questions. In fact, the world’s largest coaching organization, International Coach Federation (ICF), emphasizes that the client is the creator of the solutions, not the coach. A Professional Life Coach will help you put your best foot forward and help you narrow down your focus. Remember a good Coach does not order you around.

Four ways a Life Coach can help you get going and put you on track towards your goals are,

1. Listens with Curiosity:
   A Coach does not listen just for the content but also goes beyond and try to understand the big picture. A Coach looks at structure and language of your speech to understand what limits you. Coach helps to build connections between what you are saying and what you want to do in order to better organize the content to find ways to move ahead.

2. Broadens Your Thinking:
   You might be stuck in a bubble, but the Coach is not. A Coach asks you questions which may stimulate you to think outside the box. A Coach may help you identify matters that you were not aware of and hence could not resolve. A Coach draws attention to the big picture down to the small details, he asks questions to provoke different points of view and can inspire you to think from different perspectives.

3. Asks Thought-Provoking Questions:
   ICF defines direct communication as part of a Coach’s main competencies. A Coach may ask questions which can challenge a person’s thinking. A client may say “I am not good at dancing”, a Coach can ask detailed questions to examine whether the client is true at the assumption or not such as “Do you remember a time when you were good at dancing?” Through these questions the limiting factors to reach a goal can be eliminated creating way to move forward.

4. Creates Self-Independency: 
   Most people misunderstand that a Coach is responsible to account for client’s actions and pushes until the stuff gets done. A Coach helps the client to set SMART goals and create plans to achieve them, after that the client accountable for his own actions. The time period for a coaching relationship is defined usually at three-six months and during this time the Coach makes the you independent, so the structure does not fall apart once the Coach-Client relationship is over.

To learn more about coaching and to become a coach yourself, consider enrolling in our ICF certified coaching programs:

Our 3-month Fast Track Core Foundations ICF Certification program (Module 1-5) https://flowcoachinginstitute.com/fast-track-online-icf-acc-coach-certification/ 

Our 3-month Business Coaching ICF Certification Program https://flowcoachinginstitute.com/online-business-coach-certification-program/

Mihaly Cziksentmihalyi, pioneer of Positive Psychology and creator of the FLOW Model defines flow in the following manner:

"Flow, a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it."

Mihaly describes some components related to the realization of flow, in the following manner:

1. In the process, clear and understandable goals are defined for each step - The person can easily describe what he/she wants to accomplish.

2. The individual receives instant and direct feedback on their actions.
3. In a sustainable time period, the person is concentrated on the subject and there is nothing else to distract him/her on his/her mind.
4. With the individual's skills/abilities, there is the feeling that the task/activity is balanced.
5. The person has the feeling that they are in control of the situation.
6. The awareness of bodily needs disappears.
7. The person feels that time is flowing.
8. The person experiences the activity as if he/she has been intrinsically rewarded.
9. He/she is absorbed fully in the activity.
10. The person understands him/herself and feels at one with the activity (he/she is almost not aware of the situation - this can only be operated from an unconscious state)

As can be understood from this definition, the state of flow is related to removing the thinking mind from intervention. Michael Jordan (the basketball player) does not think about if he is able throw the ball or not (he does not ask the question, how can I get the ball into the hoop), if he were to think about it, probably the state of flow would be inhibited and he might throw the ball outside the hoop. Absorbing yourself in an activity ensures that the absence and awareness of the ego is intertwined with the activity.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's flow research is focused on "work" space and the creative outcomes of "work", but he also noticed that the state of flow is applicable to relationships and other situations.  In his research, Mihaly came across people who saw big difficulties as a challenge and not like an obstacle.  Some people he came across in his 25-year-long research were people that turned every potential threat into a pleasant experience, and therefore constantly experienced an inner calm mind. Mihaly referred to these people as "autotelic people" (autotelic - people who carry the purpose of existence in themselves - people who know that existence is meaningful and live it) We can think of great people like Gandhi, the Dalai Lama and Socrates as exemplars for this state of mind.; however, in his research Mihaly gives several examples showing that anyone has the capacity to experience this state.

Based on Positive Psychology and on Mihaly’s principles, when we created FLOW Coaching Model and Methodology, we had a purpose in our minds to help ordinary people to understand the concept of flow; take ownership of it and invent their own flow whether at work or with relationships or certain life challenges or even at career development. If you are interested to learn more about the FLOW Coaching Method have a look at it here on the link inside : https://flowcoachinginstitute.com/flow-coaching-method/

“When followed by coaching, corporate training can create adaptation of positive behavioural change up to 88%” - ICF Study

Certifying internal corporate trainers as professional coaches through an in-house Training-the-Trainer program has been an increasing trend. In the past few years, the talk of the town has been about how important coaching skills are. In the modern world of growth, competition, turbulence and globalization key corporate partners in the business need to have exceptional coaching skills to bring their A-game to the field. Key corporate partners can be anyone from HR manager to a line manager, but today our focus will be on whether corporate trainers need coaching skills or not. Over a period, various processes and tools have been evolved to ensure that the trainer is successful in making the trainee effectively absorb the information being taught. It is not merely a show-and-tell business anymore but focuses on real transfer of information. It is essential that trainers are not only subject matter experts but are also good coaches. With corporate focus on efficiency, it is very important that a good trainer must possess excellent coaching skills as well to make the best use of time and resources available and results in the trainee truly internalizing the knowledge needed to put to use at work.

Only a few years ago, majority of corporate trainers were used to be selected on the basis of their job experience and past references. But it might not be enough for the trainer to just have the expertise. However, with increasing complexity of the corporate audience human resources departments are looking for ability of facilitation skills to create deeper impact in creating desired positive change.  Therefore today’s corporate training goes beyond training skills, it should be a blend of coaching, facilitation and teaching. A corporate trainer who also possesses coaching skills can give a trainee different perspectives on what is possible. Corporate training that involves coaching inspires enthusiasm, flexibility and desire to change. Qualities such as being a good listener, communicator, responsive and committed can differentiate an ordinary trainer into an exceptional one and can increase the productiveness of the training by multiple folds.

If you are a subject matter expert and hold experience which makes you fluent in what you do one way to incorporate coaching skills into your trainings is while saving resources is to get into an online coaching certification which can help you learn how to achieve a perfect blend of teaching and coaching skills to be practiced. If the organization certifies employees as coaches, then training is less likely to become an “observe and learn” experience. Another advantage of online coaching certification programs is that supervisors will have confidence that a certified corporate training coach is qualified to prepare an inexperienced employee for a new task. Having an online coaching certification will help you ensure a productive learning environment for trainings and also help create effective feedback interactions. 

To learn more about our Training-the-Trainer programs for corporate trainers or designing and implementing Training-the-Trainer program for your internal corporate trainers, please do not hesitate to reach us at info@flowcoachinginstitute.com .  From Fortune 500 companies to local industries, coaching is a skill that corporations need to integrate into training and leadership practices in order to stay agile in the pace of fast growth and volatility.

The human mind has a natural tendency to constantly generate thoughts, most often long-dated patterns such as anxieties about the past, or fragmented assumptions about the future. There’s a constant chatter in our mind taking us away from the essential experience of
present-moment awareness, and limiting us from opening our selves to a more fulfilling, abundant, and expanded way of living. By clinging onto the contents of our own minds, we miss out on present opportunities that could potentially improve our lives and entire existence.

Meditation is the practice of taking an objective stand from the constant mental chatter, and centering the awareness back to the present-moment, to the here and now. It can be described as the boundless experience of Being, and feeling part of a unified whole with the Universe. The health benefits of meditation are numerous: it reduces anxiety, treats insomnia, regulates organs, clears the skin, and much more. The mental benefits are even greater; meditation rewires the neurons in your brain, giving you a subtler sense of clarity and insight over your life. In a meditative state, your intuition will naturally come forth into consciousness guiding you towards the highest and most valuable choices, in order to manifest your ideal life and becoming the ideal you.

The keys to an effective meditation practice are the following: posture, breathing, and awareness. For beginners, a meditation session can last about five minutes, and for more advanced practitioners, it can sometimes extend up to a few hours. It is recommended to meditate in the morning, or before sleeping, when the mind is less active, in a calm and alpha state. With time, you will naturally adopt a mindful attitude in your day-to-day actions, and gain expanded awareness over your life and environment.

1. Posture

Start by sitting in a comfortable position, with your shoulders relaxed and your legs crossed. Your spine must be straight to allow the energy in your body to flow naturally and release blockages. If you are new to this practice, and need extra support for your body, feel free to use a small cushion underneath you or behind your back. The key to posture is to stay balanced and relaxed during the full meditation session. The muscles in the back shouldn’t be forced or strained, and keeping  ourself straight should be effortless. To help you with this, visualize roots coming down your spine, all the way to the center of the Earth, keeping you grounded and providing you with firm and strong support. As for your arms, it is recommended to place your hands on your knees, with your palms facing the sky, to be receptive to the incoming cosmic energy into your Being.

2. Breathing

Now let’s place your focus on your breathing. Because our brain contains an intrinsic, automated breathing function, that allows oxygen to flow at all times into the body, we tend to disengage from our breathing process. This leads to a shallow and unaware way of breathing from the mouth, and limited down to the chest. Your breathing should have those three qualities: depth, consistency, and flow. Start by taking a few deep breaths from your noise, and feel your belly rising and expanding. Oxygen, or let’s call it energized air, is flowing into your nostrils, all the way down to your navel, and spreading to your organs. The old, saturated, energy is then released upwards, all the way up from your navel and out of your nostrils. Practice this a few times, until this breathing method becomes natural to you. Picture the breaths as ocean waves, that drift in and out of the shore in a consistent and gentle flow. With every inhalation you feel energized, and with every exhalation you are melting back into a state of expanded awareness.

3. Awareness

During meditation, thoughts, feelings, and emotions will naturally arise, and try to pull your awareness away from your in-depth breathing and present-moment. This is normal, as it is in the mind’s nature to think and feel. The goal isn’t to repress or ignore these mental objects, but to rather observe them without attachment or judgment. They are simply there, without a conceptual existence of their own, like any other object in the Universe. Let’s take a look at a simple analogy:

Imagine yourself sitting on a bench outside, and perceiving a flock of birds passing in the sky.  There are hundreds of birds, and each of them have different qualities, shapes, wings, and so  on. What you usually do is that you become aware of this experience of perceiving, and once these birds are gone from your field of perception, you pass onto the next experience. Now, imagine how much mental energy it would take to start analyzing and questioning each and every one of these birds. It would be mentally exhausting! But that’s what we usually do with our thoughts; we cling to them and spend enormous time over-analyzing them, preventing ourselves from fully experiencing the next moment. 

While meditating, if you notice yourself drifting into certain thought patterns, gently bring your awareness back to your breathing. And if feelings become too overwhelming, simply be with them. Don’t feel discouraged if you initially have to do it over again. You are now simply
learning to center your awareness, and soon, over time, you will master the practice of mindful meditation. Eventually, the mind will start quieting down, and you will enjoy the feeling of pure, unmediated awareness.

The secret to a successful meditation practice is to sit comfortably straight, breathe deeply from the noise, and bringing focus back to the present-moment awareness. In short time, you will feel whole and fully energized again, and ready to take over the world in your most authentic, and highest way. Enjoy your journey towards a more realized, expanded life, and namaste!

Women make up almost 47% of the current workforce yet they get less access to the mentoring, career opportunities and resources to progress in their careers. This results in fewer women as you go up in the company hierarchy. This further discourages other women to make important career moves. Since now more women are entering the workforce, mentoring and coaching are important than ever.

Not only this but the lack of gender diversity can have negative effects on organizations as their talent management and succession planning may suffer. The best way to break the glass ceiling is to encouraging gender diversity and mentoring women at workplace.  

Organizations that don’t pay attention to engaging women and mentoring them for leadership can face increased employee dissatisfaction and can be at the risk of losing them. If this becomes a habit, organizations can face discrepancies in the workforce as women employees might look for other opportunities outside the organization. By mentoring and coaching women for higher roles and career progressions companies can bring diverse views which can create an environment of creativity and innovation.  

In some stages women often have to make tough decisions whether to choose and pay attention to the personal or professional life. They frequently find difficult to manage the work and life balance. However, if women employees feel supported in their career and are mentored from time to time this way, they can make more smart decisions and become more ambitious about their jobs. This may also help organizations to make effective employee retention plans as women who enter the organization at early stages of their careers may see themselves growing side-by-side with the organization.

LeanIn.org founder and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg says, “women already weren’t getting the same mentorship men were, particularly women of color.” And according to her, she says, “no one has ever gotten a promotion without getting a one-on-one meeting.”

Why Women Employees and Mentoring Are the Perfect Mix?

Until now many researches have shown women linked with better ability to read nonverbal cues, having higher empathy and emotional intelligence. These traits do end up promoting higher collaboration and better communication within teams.

A woman mentored today is a woman mentor tomorrow. If women are provided mentoring opportunities in early stages of their careers and they move up, they are more likely to believe they can mentor others. It is believed that 65 percent of women who have been mentored will go on to become mentors themselves, thus perpetuating the positive mentorship cycle for women.

Research says the most successful teams are the ones with more women on them. Gender diverse groups provide varied inputs for better problem solving and decision making therefore, are more effective.

How Different Genders Think Differently?

Studies show how different genders look at career advancement. For women career development is related to work relationships and connections whereas for men it has to do more with higher autonomy. This is the reason mentoring is perfect for women as it nurtures conversations and relationships.

A study by LeanIn suggests, 60% of male managers are uncomfortable participating in a common work activity with a woman, such as mentoring, working alone, or socializing together. That’s a 32% increase from last year. 

A high percentage of women consider mentorship as a very important factor in their career however almost a similar number of women claim to have never asked for a mentor. Women are more found to be more hesitant when it comes to soliciting mentorship as they are often unsure who to reach out to. The best way to deal with this is to place formal mentoring programs or sponsored coaching certification programs as this will help break walls in between the employers and women employees.  This approach will be helpful in recognizing women employees career development as important to organizations success.

How to Reduce Gender Differences at Work?

Organizations can easily reduce the gender gap by making networking, coaching, training and mentoring prospects available for women employees. Gone are the days of one-on-one mentoring, with technological advancement a variety of tools and processes are available in order to adapt to modern mentoring. One of these is giving the power to the women and getting them enrolled for an online coaching certification. This way not only can they manage their work-life balance but can also drive their own development on their terms. An online coaching certification saves time, effort and resources required for mentoring at work. Modern mentoring approaches make employees specifically women feel engaged and empowered.

Creating a gender diverse environment within the organization fosters innovation, collaboration and helps the company to cash the success with profits and revenue. Women are now creating their place in the workforce and this is the right time to start thinking ahead and aid women in advancing their careers to help ambitious new starters. Mentoring and placing coaching programs whether online certification programs or one-on-one sessions is the key to this strategy.

If you want to introduce coaching and mentoring programs in your company or want to become a coach yourself email us at info@flowcoachinginstitute.com and let us help you.