Message calling for ethical leaders committed to sustainable development

Ethical Leaders Committed to Sustainable Development: Are You In?

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Article originally published in the Competitividad Ejecutiva Magazine – Page 14

 

Reflecting on what is currently happening in many of the countries of Latin America and the globe and on the evolution of technology in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous and hyperconnected world, “VUCAH” in its English acronym, I believe that the greatest threat to our society is not accelerated technological evolution.

The greatest threat is the decrease in trust in institutions and companies, the greatest threat is the existence of insufficient leaders, who believe, who practice ethics and values, who have leadership characterized by transparency and generate trust, who assume their “leadership contract.”

Technology brings challenges of adaptation and digitalization of processes, alterations of productive structures and different business models, challenges of training the workforce and identification and development of talent, challenges to educational systems and challenges of altering public policies, but in itself it is not a threat.

It is indeed an opportunity for development, productivity, efficiency and better living conditions. It is an opportunity if we are predisposed to change, to leave our comfort zone and face challenges with tenacity and vision, as a society, as a company and as individuals.

The most developed societies were built based on trust, on cooperation in respect for human rights, on the belief that, if you make an effort, work and collaborate, you can improve the quality of life.

Example and hope for a better future are strong motivators to action, to give the best of ourselves.

That trust is eroding; in many Latin American societies, institutional quality indices reveal low institutional quality compared to the most successful countries worldwide.

According to data from the World Bank, in an IDB presentation at the 2018 APEDE Economic Forum, the institutional quality of the countries considered successful is an average of 6.1 compared to a value of 1 for Panama. In the 2018 competitiveness index, Panama globally ranked in the position 64 in 140 countries and, in addition to the above, it is in position 80 in the corruption index.

Expectations on leaders are increasing and social problems in the world are more complex. Leaders are currently more exposed to scrutiny from the media and social networks. Society looks for leaders who assume their responsibilities, who can face challenges and lead change. Leaders who are an example to follow, who, from their companies, from their organisations or from public service, work to make our world a better world.

Vince Molinaro, in his book “The Leadership Contract”, a guide to being a responsible and trustworthy leader expresses:

  • “Leadership is a decision: make it”
  • “Leadership is an obligation: assume it”
  • “Leadership is hard work: be strong”
  • “Leadership is a community: connect”

When the leader assumes these four components and lives them daily, he will be an example, a model that others will want to imitate. The leader will be clear about his obligation to create value for his stakeholders, You will have the courage and resilience to do hard work. The leader will work on building trust and a culture of leadership.

Are you ready to take on your leadership contract?

 

References:

  • Book: Vince Molinaro, “The Leadership Contract – A Guide to Being a Responsible and Trustworthy Leader”
  • Conference at the APEDE Economic Forum on November 8, 2018: Carlos Garcimartín, Chief Economist of the IDB, “The reform of the state for efficient public management and its impact on the country’s competitiveness.”
Two professionals shaking hands during a meeting

Mapping Change

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We begin each year with the purpose of implementing changes in our lives, but in most cases, for lack of a true plan, our intentions fade during the first weeks of the beginning of the year.

Establishing a change map, with its objectives and action plan, implementing the action plan, monitoring progress, evaluating progress, introducing modifications if necessary and celebrating the successes achieved is, in general, difficult to implement individually and autonomously.

The support of a professional Coach, properly trained and certified, whose objective is to facilitate the change intended by the Coachee, significantly supports the change process.

To define the objectives of the coaching process, it is important to identify the level of well-being and performance at which the Coachee is, the performance and well-being matrix developed by Anthony M. Grant being a very good tool.

Different combinations of well-being and performance levels require different coaching strategies and styles. A client with a low level of well-being and high performance requires different strategies compared for example to a client with a high level of well-being and high performance.

The solution-focused coaching process, with how questions, is more effective than the problem-focused one, with why questions.

A solution-focused mindset has a positive correlation with levels of well-being, self-regulation, and resilience.

A solution-focused process, in alliance with a positive and trust-based coaching relationship between Coach and Coachee, has a multiplying effect on the results of the coaching process.

The process is much more effective depending on the level of self-knowledge and self-awareness developed by the Coachee.

The most effective self-reflection process is one focused on the future, on finding solutions. Reflection focused on the past is reflection focused on problems not solutions.

Solution-focused self-reflection supports monitoring of the action plan and self-awareness supports the evaluation of performance and well-being and the recognition of achievements. If necessary, and for greater alignment at each moment between actions and objectives, the Coachee can implement changes in their action plan.

The objectives established in the coaching process are not limited to objectives defined in a SMART way (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and defined in time), they can also be learning and development objectives, maintaining a positive approach, in solutions that translate into actions.

In my coaching processes we end each session with the recognition and celebration of the learning from the session. The learning is integrated into an action plan, whose actions are consistent with the solutions identified in the session and with the objectives defined by the Coachee.

A coaching process focused on solutions and aligned with well-being translates into greater effectiveness.

Fátima Ribeiro, Associate Certified Coach (ACC) by ICF

 

The article was written based on my interpretation of the presentation in ICF Advance, “Success factors in the coach-coachee relationship and the role of self-reflection and self-insight in Coaching” de Anthony M. Grant, Ph.D., reconocido investigador y autor en Psicología del Coaching.

Two professionals talking in an office

Developing Your Leadership Potential as a Woman

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female leadership

In my article “Female leadership in Panama” I briefly describe the conclusions of a study developed in Panama on “Women in business management: gaining momentum in Panama.”

Among the measures aimed at overcoming the dilemmas and internal contradictions that women face when reaching positions of responsibility, the study identifies mentoring programmes, coaching and career development plans.

Coaching helps identify beliefs that may limit a woman’s professional and leadership growth, and break habits that hold back progress in her professional career, such as a promotion, a successful salary negotiation, or a career change.

The 12 habits that stop you…

In my coaching processes I use, among other tools, the 12 habits identified in the book “How Women Rise” by Sally Helgensen and Marshall Goldsmith:

  1. Reluctance to claim achievements
  2. Expect others to spontaneously notice and reward your contributions
  3. Overvaluation of experience
  4. Just build instead of building and leveraging relationships
  5. Do not enlist allies from day one (allies, mentors and sponsors).
  6. Put your work before your career
  7. The perfection trap
  8. The desire to please
  9. Minimization
  10. Too much
  11. Rumiando
  12. Let your radar distract you

These habits often appear together. For example, the habit (1) Reluctance to claim achievements often appears accompanied by the habit (2) Expecting others to spontaneously notice or praise and reward your contributions.

Others that can be found together are the habits (3) Overvaluing experience and (6) Putting your work before your career and the habit (7) The perfection trap.

Plan of action

If you detect some of these behaviours or habits in yourself, the suggestion is that you establish a strategic plan to implement changes.

Align your objectives with your purpose, start with one, maximum two habits, which you fragment into small habits or routines, be specific and concise in your actions and define a time limit to implement them.

Recruit professional help such as a coach or someone committed to your development and who also wants to implement changes and establish “peer coaching”, promote your objectives, ask for feedback, listen, thank and implement changes during the course of your action plan.

In a coaching process, purpose, objectives, objective and subjective reality, visions and options are worked on in an integrated manner and an action plan is implemented.  The action plan encourages the implementation of actions, accompanied by the development of relationships and feedback, which allows the desired changes to be implemented by measuring their effectiveness.

Our beliefs shape our resistance to change, our responses help shape our circumstances, and our behaviours shape how others respond to us.

Organisations can implement coaching processes that support the development of female leadership, or professional women can choose to individually contract a process that contributes to their professional development.

References: Book “How Women Rise”, break the 12 habits holding you back from your next raise, promotion or job, Sally Helgesen y Marshall Goldsmith.

 

 

 

A professional leading a team meeting in a glass-walled room

Women’s Leadership in Panama

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Reality

Panama occupies the position 43 in the world ranking in 144 countries of the World Economic Forum’s Gender Parity Index, but 71% of companies do not have women at the highest management level.

According to the study “Women in business management: gaining momentum in Panama”, the percentage of representation of women in management positions varies by level and becomes narrower as we rise in level.  In the supervisory ranks, we have a level of representation of women of almost 37%, at the mid-level 34%, at the senior level 22% and at the top executive level only 8%.

The difficulties for women to be in management positions (CEO or member of the Board of Directors) increase with the size of the company, reiterating that large companies have the lowest representation of women in senior management positions.

The lesser presence of women is felt in areas of operations and research and development, with women in Panama occupying more relevant positions in areas of marketing, sales and human resources.

90% of companies agree that women lead as effectively as men, but different barriers were identified in the study, the first related to a lack of general or line management experience and the second to stereotypes about the role and skills of women, which seem to reflect a contradictory view with the first statement.

Other important barriers identified in the study were women’s limited availability or time flexibility to travel, lack of support to combine work with relationships/family, and leaders’ lack of commitment to the advancement of women.

In the study’s focus group, women identified the main obstacles as: the dilemma between family/career balance, the organisation that is not very conciliatory, and spaces of power that are not very inclusive.

70% of the companies surveyed declare they have a balanced and inclusive culture, but only 30% of them recognise that, with the same skills and professional qualifications, women find it more difficult to reach senior management positions.

There are limitations such as social conditions and an exclusive corporate culture and there are limitations imposed by the women themselves due to personal beliefs or family conditions.

Important benefits obtained with the implementation of diversity and gender equality initiatives in companies are recognised in the surveys, the most relevant being: the increase in business results, including profitability and productivity, the increase in the ability to attract and retain talent and the improvement of the company’s reputation.

It is important to promote and disseminate these important benefits, promoting successful good practices and working with different actors jointly to reduce the identified barriers.

Among the measures aimed at overcoming the dilemmas and internal contradictions that women face when reaching positions of responsibility, the study identifies mentoring programmes, coaching and career development plans.

 

Coaching supports change

The coaching process is key to identifying beliefs that can limit a woman’s professional and leadership growth, and to breaking habits that hold back progress in her professional career, such as a promotion, a successful salary negotiation or a professional change.

In the coaching process, objectives are identified, objective and subjective reality is reflected on, options are generated and an action plan is implemented.

The action plan stimulates the implementation of actions, accompanied by the development of relationships and feedback, which allows the desired changes to be implemented by measuring their effectiveness.

The coach accompanies the professional in their executive and leadership development and the process can be implemented at the initiative of the company or directly with the professional who is committed and responsible and wants to enhance their professional career. The key indicators or KPI’s They are established case by case. In the case of processes contracted by an organisation, it includes evaluations of leadership growth by the stakeholders or interested parties selected as significant to the process, being a measurable and quantified process.

In my article “Are you a woman? Develop your leadership potential” You can find more information about female leadership development.

 

References: The study “Women in business management: gaining momentum in Panama”, promoted by CoNEP – National Council of Private Enterprise and ILO – International Labor Organisation, and prepared by Stratego and Enred Panamá.

Portrait of Fátima Ribeiro smiling

Life is generous!

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Be part of my network of contacts and let me support you!

Life is generous if we are open to its possibilities, if we are resilient in pursuing our dreams, if we face challenges and overcome difficulties, if we are grateful for our achievements and generate a network of support along the way.

This support network is configured in various areas of life – personal, professional, community or social – and can have various functions, including consolation, clarification, confrontation and provision of energy.

It may include friends, close or distant family, co-workers, neighbors, hobby partners, professional advisors, people from the community, among others.

This network can provide us with people who listen to us, recognise us, console us, clarify us, provide us with energy, connect us with others, confront us to be a better person and a better professional, provide us with information and support us in solving difficulties or problems.

We are social beings, who grow and develop through interaction with other people. It is a give and a receive.

This giving and receiving gives us more and more when it is a generous and true process, focused on developing, empowering and realizing dreams.

My purpose as a Coach is to empower with purpose, contributing with enthusiasm and confidence, to develop the potential of each client through new strategies of thought, emotion and action that promote empowerment, forge strong relationships and overcome barriers.

Life, despite the difficulties and constant challenges, has been generous to me and I am grateful for everything it has given me.

I am happy when I share my knowledge and support the development of my professional clients and everyone around me, when I put my purpose into practice.

I also learn a lot from my clients, who inspire me every day to be a better professional, a better person.

“Openness” is a word that inspired me and marked me enormously during the previous year. Openness to new contacts, new interactions and new opportunities.

With these thoughts in mind, and as part of my social responsibility as a Coach, I offer an opportunity tailored to your circumstances, to those who are committed to their personal and professional development and feel that as a professional Coach I can contribute to achieving their dreams.

I invite you to write to me, tell me about your dreams and projects, and why you believe that a coaching process can contribute to your professional and personal development. If you are truly focused on your development and take responsibility for the process, I offer you the opportunity to support you. You define the price based on your objectives.

The International Coach Federation (ICF) defines Coaching as a process of alliance with the client to promote the stimulation of thinking and creativity in order to maximise their personal and professional potential. Coaching is a personalised and dynamic process where the client identifies and develops the tools to transform into the best version of themselves and map out the steps to achieve their own definition of success.

Write to my email fatima.ribeiro.coach@gmail.com and tell me why you think that a coaching process with me can provide you with support.

This programme will last one year, from June 1, 2018 to June 1, 2019 and, depending on the emails received, each quarter I will offer one person the opportunity to participate in a Coaching process, with conditions to be mutually agreed upon and in accordance with the defined objectives.

Success in your development, in creating a network of contacts, in giving and receiving, in being positive and true in your interactions, contributing to the development of everyone around you!

Fatima Ribeiro

Professionals discussing and reviewing documents together

Team coaching

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Organisations seek to develop leaders who recognise the impact of globalization on business, who demonstrate the adaptability necessary to succeed in new environments, who develop technological skills in their teams, who appreciate and promote diversity, who focus on collaboration and building trust to develop a vision, a common strategy, and who forge alliances.

In this sense, companies also aspire to develop high-performance teams that communicate effectively, generating motivation and influence in the members of the organisation, that promote the development of the collaborators around them, jointly producing performances higher than those that would be obtained as a product of an individual contribution.

The main advantages of the methodology coaching de equipos de Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Center Coaching son:

  • The simultaneous transformation of leaders and teams.

The team as a whole articulates an area of leadership growth and each team member defines their own area of leadership growth that relates, in turn, to the overall focus of the team. In this way, the team and each of the leaders develop simultaneously.

  • Internal experience

Team members are positioned to provide expert advice and insight to each other as it relates to their business, their people, and the challenges of their team culture.

  • Openness to continuous change

When team members collaborate as stakeholders in team coaching programmes, they create an open culture for leadership and team culture change.

  • Coaching is a leadership skill

Coaching is a leadership skill and leaders in organisations must be experts in promoting the development of their teams and the growth of their collaborators. Team coaching is a great programme to instill coaching as a leadership skill in the organisation.

  • Efficient resource

The Coach works with all team members who support each other in this team coaching process, providing the coaching programme with more efficiency in time and costs for the organisation.

In addition to the above, the Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Center Coaching methodology:

  • It emphasises doing, action and behaviours: show how.
  • It is directly linked to business objectives or strategic challenges.
  • It favours a systematic approach with monitoring of commitments made over time.
  • It values measurement as an integral part of the process, this being a measurable and quantified process.

I am at your disposal so you can learn more about the process of team coaching de Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching.

Write to my email fatima.ribeiro.coach@gmail.com or contact me through my website https://fatimaribeiro.coach/en/

Fatima Ribeiro

 

More information about Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching, visit the website: http://sccoaching.com/coaching-for-executives/

Presentation of Success Unlimited Network, SUN

SUN – Success Unlimited Network®

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SUN is a coaching programme accredited by the ICF – International Coaching Federation.

Originated in London in 1981 by the British company Results Unlimited, the SUN methodology came to the US in 1987 with Teri-E Belf.

The SUN programme is one of the top three professional coach training programmes in the world.

Its origins are inspired by Sports Psychology and Management Competencies, and can be applied to all areas of life, both personal and business.

SUN is a visible leader in the coaching profession and in the world, updating and evolving to improve effectiveness while enhancing well-being.

The director and founder of the SUN – Success Unlimited Network® coaching school Teri-E Belf was the first woman recognised worldwide as a Master Coach by the ICF – International Coaching Federation, and has actively participated in the Ethics, Credentials and Accreditations and Continuing Education committees.

In May 2018 he joined the Circle of Distinction of ICF – International Coach Federation for his great contribution to coaching.

Happy to belong to the SUN community!

You can discover more about SUN at http://successunlimitednet.com/

Fátima Ribeiro

Team members joining their hands as a symbol of collaboration

Coaching as a Tool for Social Development

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According to the ICF Global Coaching Study 2016, carried out by ICF (International Coaching Federation) in collaboration with PWC, in 137 countries worldwide, the findings suggest that coaching can influence social change.

Worldwide, 51% of professional coaches surveyed and 49% of managers/directors, with coaching skills, consider that coaching is capable of greatly influencing social change. 33% of professional coaches and 27% of managers/directors, with coaching skills, consider that coaching is capable of moderately influencing social change.

The extent to which professional coaches consider coaching to be able to influence social change varies considerably from region to region.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, two out of every three coaches surveyed (68%) consider that coaching is capable of greatly influencing social change.

According to the ICF Global Consumer Awareness Study 2017, a study carried out by ICG and PWC in 30 countries, the main two benefits recognised in ICF studies on satisfaction with Coaching are improved communication skills (42%), followed by greater self-esteem / self-confidence (40%).

These are skills that create bridges in families, in organisations, in communities, that support a more balanced social and professional integration and that contribute to sustainable social and economic development.

Coaching as a development tool can be applied at different stages of life.
In young people, in professional adults, and in older adults, it contributes to creating greater awareness of one’s own value, to broaden perspectives for personal and professional development, to give a purpose to life and to build a legacy.

It is a tool that supports facing the challenges of each stage of life and conceiving opportunities in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous and hyper-connected world (VUCAH).
The improvement of communication skills, the improvement of self-esteem and self-confidence help to reduce isolation in current societies, contributing to a higher level of social integration.

At the organisational level, using coaching as a development tool also brings positive contributions and coaching can contribute to issues such as gender equality, diversity and inclusion.
In the 2017 ICF Global Consumer Awareness Study, the most commonly cited reason for seeking coaching was optimizing individual team work performance (43%), and the third most commonly cited benefit was increased productivity (39%).

Coaching as a tool for social development is thus transversal in society, applying to individuals, communities and nonprofit or profit organisations, collaborating on issues connected to corporate social responsibility and sustainable development objectives.

Fatima Ribeiro

A team gathered around a table to share ideas

The Future of Leadership

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Recently attending a webinar by Dr. Marshall Goldsmith on the topic “leadership yesterday, today and tomorrow” and discussing leadership in educational media, motivated me to dedicate this article to the topic of leadership and its role in today’s society.
The current challenges of a global, complex, changing and diverse world demand different leadership.

The leader is no longer understood as a task-focused superior being who provides structure and direction but as a facilitator who is involved in dialogue and the participation of all.

“The leader of the past knew how to say, the leader of the future will know how to ask,” is a quote from Peter Drucker. For Paul Hersey “leadership is working with and through others to achieve objectives.”

Peter Hawkins tells us that the very concept of intelligence today is evolving. The concept of intelligence progressed from the intelligence quotient IQ to the emotional quotient EQ, and currently we are moving to the WeQ, that is, to the concept of collaborative intelligence.

The leader of the future demonstrates high interest, simultaneously in tasks or objectives and in people, and his behaviour changes according to what is required by the situation.

It is advisable to analyse the level of preparation of the teams, the autonomy in the decision and the level of power, prior to choosing the leadership style or the decision-making style.

Peter Hawkins believes that the people who will be most successful in the future will be those who have the greatest skills in establishing connections.

This reminds me of a quote from Jared Weiner at APEDE’s 2017 CADE Annual Executive Conference, “Soft skills like relationship building, collaboration, empathy, and cultural sensitivity will become the currency of the highest order. People with hybrid skills – high technological skill and deep social sensitivity – will win in the future.”

Global thinking, cultural and intercultural diversity, alliance building, intelligent technological knowledge and shared leadership (the leader as facilitator) are emerging dimensions of the global leader of the future, in the global leadership assessment model of MGSCC – Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching.

This MGSCC model is an interesting evaluation to serve as the basis for a coaching process for leadership development, in a structured, measurable and inclusive process of the stakeholders or people of interest around the leader, since leadership only truly exists when it is recognised. The model provides the structure and direction and the coach is a facilitator of learning.

Fatima Ribeiro

Fátima Ribeiro's visual identity on a card placed on grass

My Brand

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Today I speak to you as an entrepreneur, who is developing her business and her brand.

Arriving at a brand is an introspection, a deep reflection on our values, our talents and what we want to convey.

I took the photo that accompanies this article in one of my favourite environments, nature.

I am a citizen of the world by choice, in a process of inner growth and family well-being.

But I find my roots, my tranquillity and my fulfilment in nature, in contemplating the perfection of nature.

I was born in Africa, in the wide, open spaces, where life grows in the most remote and unexpected places.

I grew up in Europe where human ingenuity amazes us, inspires us with the sensitivity of its works and values such as social development are imbued in culture.

I now live in Latin America, in Panama, where the exuberance of its nature fascinates us and its tropical climate creates prodigious conditions for development.

The green and blue in my logo represent schools and brands to which I owe my basic training in Coaching, INCAE Business School and Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching.

But they also represent the green of nature, in harmony with the expression of life, and the blue of the sky, of open spaces, of breadth, of new perspectives and possibilities.

As human beings we look to the sky and to space when we dream!

It is interesting to see how one of the most innovative men today sent his Tesla Roadster into space with the star man, Starman, in the driver’s position, on a trip that combines dreams and possibilities.

We look and long for the immensity of the possibilities of space, but we maintain our roots as living beings in nature.

My logo, my brand, thus reflects my values and invites continuous development.

Life grows and finds ways to survive even in unfavorable environments, but it flourishes when the environment is favourable.

The Coaching process helps to flourish, it is a process that nurtures growth, that enhances skills and talents, that invites us to dream, that opens new possibilities, maintaining contact with the earth, that takes root in a process of seeking results and well-being.

Fatima Ribeiro

Certified Coach