The fast-paced and ever evolving world in which we find ourselves has presented business leaders with many challenges – often unprecedented challenges – that need innovative and flexible solutions. Today’s successful leaders, from business to politics, find authentic and creative ways to approach these challenges – often transforming challenges into opportunities.

One of the fundamental shifts that leaders have had to face in recent years is the closing gap between the professional or business world, and the personal world. Business leaders and politicians are often confronted with the ethics (or lack thereof) of their personal behavior, and their so-called “private lives” are anything but. Similarly, a leader’s personality and ability to deal with conflict, change and other people, is more important than ever in terms of inspiring and manifesting success. With this shift of personal and professional becoming almost one and the same, being able to live and lead with authenticity, creativity and power is more important than ever. It is therefore critical to bridge the gap between personal growth and business leadership and success. 20 years ago business and personal coaching was seen as a remedial effort aimed at poor performers, but most corporate budgets now focus on investing in high potential individuals. Coaching in 2014, is about delivering robust psychological, social, human and economic value.

A focus on coaching for these high potential individuals, especially the top management and leaders within organisations, is of particular importance. Coaching for these individuals would focus on personal and professional goals – and finding what people require to improve their performances and achieve these goals. Coaching in the business environment takes place with individuals and teams to define purposeful personal strategies though conducting professional life audits and aligning challenges and competency to reduce anxiety and increase confidence and accomplishment. By focusing on the individual within the professional context, coaching prepares high potential individuals for accelerated development, inspires innovation and creativity, as well as builds resilience capability for tougher times. Of particular importance, especially in a business environment where attracting, hiring and training top talent is extremely expensive, coaching can align the personal identity and values of individuals with the values of your organization.

So what does this mean for you and your business?
Many of us are by-products of an education system that did not expect us to succeed by using our unique brilliance, thus we were required to be good at everything. This process continues in many businesses where our focus is taken from what we are good at, to what we are bad at. Following on from this, businesses often invest in learning solutions to fix what their people are bad at as opposed to a more creative and flexible solution. Why send an introvert on a presentation skills course when no matter how much they acquire the functional competence to present they will feel anxious and stressed in a presentation situation? Send your stars. That would be the extroverts, on the presentation skills course. They will relish every opportunity to put this skill to great use, loving the limelight and delivering an amazing result. How often have we seen very successful people promoted into positions that take them from their area of excellence to an area that is completely contradictory to their mastery? The superstar sales or customer service person gets promoted to sales manager and quickly fails. This is because you have taken them from their unique area of brilliance and asked them to perform in a structured, detail oriented and regulated way. This is the joy of diversity in organisations. If we first know our unique talent and temperament we can all contribute in a far more meaningful way. Stress and anxiety become a thing of the past and colleagues understand and appreciate the value of variant personalities.
The coaching process addresses the challenges facing individuals, teams, and businesses within this creative and transformative approach – delivering results that can be seen in happier, more productive and successful staff, leaders and businesses.

About Jonti Mayer
Jonti’s approach to group consulting, facilitated workshops, and personal coaching all stem from his unique process developed over the last 20 years. With a background in psychology, 5 diplomas in coaching, as well as over 20 years spent studying metaphysical philosophies, Jonti Mayer has literally changed the lives of hundreds of people during his career. Jonti Mayer is also an author whose latest book, Lead Like a Wizard is available at most major book stores across South Africa.

Taking the best-practices from a wide range of coaching and consulting schools of thought, Jonti has developed a process – strategic transformation – that he has successfully applied in coaching individuals, as well as consulting to major companies in South Africa and abroad.

Jonti’s impressive client roster includes FNB, MTN, Cadbury, Sasfin, Tsogo Sun, Vodacom, Planet Fitness, Massmart and Lenovo amongst others.