Embrace Healing as Your Personal Leadership Accelerator

Healing as a Personal Leadership Accelerator - When Leadership Meets Self-Discovery
Leadership isn’t just about managing others; it’s about continuous personal growth and becoming the best version of yourself. It's about self-leadership, also known as personal leadership. The key to unlocking that personal growth and self-leadership lies in something often overlooked in our professional lives as we focus on goals other than our own.

Enter healing as a powerful leadership accelerator. It might sound unconventional, but it can be a game-changer for your personal leadership journey. Personal leadership is the foundation for our capacity and capability to lead others.

This post explores how embracing personal growth, including intentional and unintentional pivots, awareness of emotional regulation, and attributes such as curiosity and vulnerability, can transform and elevate your leadership approach. Through the inspiring lens of Jennifer Yeh’s dynamic professional life, from classical pianist to successful startup leader, we’ll unpack lessons that resonate with women senior executives, entrepreneurs, and professionals navigating their personal and professional leadership journeys as they remaster their lives and work for fulfillment in their Executive Encore. You can watch or listen to Jennifer in her guest appearance on the Executive Encore video podcast linked below in the additional resources.

Reframing Challenges as Opportunities
Jennifer Yeh’s Journey of Adaptability
Jennifer Yeh’s professional life offers a compelling narrative of self-awareness, acceptance, adaptability, curiosity, and reinvention. Starting as a classical pianist, Jennifer pivoted to economics, then entrepreneurship, becoming the co-founder and COO of Shoott, a thriving startup that scaled from $800,000 to over $10 million in annual revenue.

Her turning point, her pivot? Jennifer left behind a specialized music profession due to performance anxiety. Rather than seeing her experience as a failure, Jennifer reframed it as an adventure, asking herself, “What else can I explore?”

This mindset of adaptability, underpinned by emotional intelligence skills such as reality-testing, decision-making, and flexibility, opens doors to new opportunities. Whether you’re transitioning out of corporate life, stepping into entrepreneurship, or exploring what's next in your life, challenges have the potential to become stepping stones for innovation and growth. Treat your next move as an adventure to uncover undiscovered strengths and skills.

Actionable Insight
Pause when you face a challenge and ask yourself, “What’s the next small step I can take to explore this as an opportunity?” Each small step helps you to build self-trust.

Healing as a Leadership Superpower
Emotional Intelligence and the Power of Self-Awareness
Healing has played a pivotal role in Jennifer's personal and professional evolution as a leader. Citing therapy as a critical tool that she recommends for everyone, Jennifer emphasizes that exploring personal triggers and emotional responses not only improves self-awareness but also clarity in decision-making.

Leaders often face emotionally charged situations. By developing emotional intelligence skills and emotional regulation, you can reframe frustration or anxiety into rational, actionable solutions. Healing enables you to approach conflicts with empathy and foster stronger relationships with yourself and with others.

Practical Healing Practices
Therapy: A therapist offers an objective lens to understand your emotional responses.
Professional Coaching: A trained and experienced coach provides emotional intelligence assessments, offers space for reflection and reframing, and equips you with tools to take action.
Mindfulness Exercises: Practices like deep breathing or journaling can help you recenter during overwhelming situations.
Self-Reflection: Regular self-assessments foster clarity and personal growth.

Pro Tip: Next time you feel stuck in a tense situation, pause and ask yourself, “What am I truly feeling, and what’s causing it?” This essential moment of reflection can prevent self-sabotage.

The Role of Curiosity and Laziness in Efficiency
Innovation and “Laziness”
Jennifer's take on laziness is refreshing. For her, “laziness” signifies the determination to find smarter, faster ways to get things done without sacrificing quality. She often pairs curiosity with a sense of laziness, letting questions like, “Is there a better way to approach this task?” guide her toward innovative solutions and a new approach to her leadership.

Strategic laziness is creativity and efficiency in a beguiling disguise. ~ Patricia A. Muir

This refreshing mindset fuels creativity and efficiency, whether through the automation of mundane tasks or the integration of AI tools. For instance, Jennifer is utilizing AI to streamline business processes such as data analysis and document creation at Shoott. Jennifer saves hours each week and preserves her mental resources, allowing her to focus on strategic growth initiatives. And, she is having fun while elevating her competence.

Harnessing AI for Impact for Personal Leadership
AI isn’t just a tech buzzword or solely a business tool. It is a game-changer as a personal tool as well. In business, AI is helping leaders boost team efficiency and free up time for creative problem-solving. But what about using AI to make your own life easier and elevate your personal leadership? Imagine how much energy you could save by letting AI handle the repetitive stuff, giving you more space to focus on what matters to you in life and your personal goals. AI assistants are designed to save you time and effort, allowing you to focus less on tedious tasks and more on achieving and enjoying your goals.

Try This
Identify one process in your personal life that feels tedious. Explore AI tools or automation systems that can make it faster, more accurate, and even more fun and rewarding as you explore what you can accomplish. Celebrate your accomplishments and your ability to embrace personal growth.

Vulnerability and Leadership
Creating a Culture of Growth and Psychological Safety
One of the most profound lessons Jennifer shared in our conversation on the Executive Encore video podcast is the importance of vulnerability in leadership. By openly addressing her personal growth and healing, she sets the tone for others around her, including her business team, to do the same.

Leaders who showcase vulnerability and self-awareness inspire others with humility to bring their whole selves to their personal and professional relationships. This creates a culture of psychological safety, fostering trust, creativity, and collaboration. A psychologically safe environment empowers us all to take thoughtful risks and stay motivated even in challenging circumstances.

Actionable Personal and Professional Leadership
Model Self-Awareness: Share how personal growth has shaped your leadership style.
Promote Reflection: Encourage others to practise self-discovery and adaptability through open conversations.
Create Your Personal and Professional Culture of Psychological Safety:

• Actively listen to others during conversations, both personal and professional, and make it clear that you value their input and emotions.
• Set, communicate, and reinforce your personal boundaries: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
• Embrace a code of conduct that exudes kindness and respect to promote mutually satisfying relationships.

Final Thoughts: A Leadership Framework for the Future. It's Personal.
Leadership isn’t just about strategic decisions, profit margins, or team outcomes in a professional or business setting. It’s about being human. By cultivating emotional wellness, practising curiosity, and reframing challenges, you can accelerate not only your professional impact but also your personal transformation.

Jennifer Yeh’s path reminds us that healing, adaptability, and self-awareness are as integral to leadership as innovation and strategy, both in life and at work.

Looking to elevate your leadership approach? First, make it personal. Then start small. Whether it’s seeking help from a therapist or a professional coach, exploring AI tools for personal efficiency, effectiveness, and enjoyment, or reframing your next step as an opportunity for adventure, every step matters in building self-trust by witnessing your personal growth and acknowledging your competence.

Your leadership reset begins now. Make it personal in your Executive Encore. What step will you take today?

Are you ready to remaster your life and work by elevating your personal leadership? Connect with our Executive Encore Community and continue to be inspired and supported in transforming your Executive Encore. This is where it begins.

Are you seeking additional guidance and inspiration? Executive Encore coaching programs offer personalized strategies, assessments such as RAISEC and EQ 2.0, and other tools to help you prepare for and thrive during this transformation.  

Next Steps: 

You don't need to tackle this transformation alone. Learn about a different and more effective way to take charge of your Executive Encore experience. Contact me on my website's Contact Page or schedule an Executive Encore: 30-Minute Complimentary Call. 

Are you ready to redefine your encore chapter? Share your story or join the Executive Encore community of supportive women prepared to uplift and inspire. Together, let’s turn uncertainty into unstoppable momentum and build the Executive Encore movement!

Additional Resources:

Embrace Healing as Your Personal Leadership Accelerator, YouTube video podcast with Jennifer Yeh, 20 minutes.