April 27, 2020 Author: Paula Parker, Community Manager

VIATEC is very pleased to share complimentary coaching with our members...

During the COVID-19 outbreak, leaders face increased challenges both as individuals making tough decisions and within team management. Morale, engagement and communication have all been impacted with the transition to remote work. 

To help support members during this time, we’ve partnered with H2H Coaching to provide you a safe space in which to equip you mentally and emotionally to not only survive, but thrive during this crisis. 

Starting now until May 30th, you can set up a complimentary 30 minute coaching session with Jesse Galvon Reid, Executive Coach | Emotional Intelligence Assessor at H2H Coaching. 

I had the pleasure to talk with Jesse for a Q&A session to learn more about her and give you an idea about what you can expect.

Q: Who are you and what do you do?

I am a recovering perfectionist who is a self proclaimed knowledge seeker and happens to connect well with the logical academic type. I am also a genuine and authentically caring person who is passionate about helping people find the best in themselves. Most people find me pretty easy to talk to and can use humor to disarm and charm most. I am also the president of Autism Victoria and believe in building caring supportive communities. These kids are near and dear to my heart and always amaze me.

Q: How did you first get involved in the tech community?

When I met some leaders in tech I became fascinated with the fast paced world of tech startups. I saw and understood the unique challenges they face, coupled with the type of people who are attracted to this world - lots of logical straightforward people here. It was an easy transition to begin working with passionate leaders in the tech startup community to help transition them from entrepreneurs to CEOs. 

Q: How do you help leaders in tech specifically? 

The gap I help fill is moving leaders to shift from focusing on just “left-brain” analytical and execution skills that helped them excel at being an entrepreneur to becoming more practiced and aware at right-brain capabilities like leadership presence, communication, political savvy, and emotional intelligence - the soft skills.

Very early I became very interested in human behaviors, potential and leadership styles and have been studying it for over a decade now. Through my career over the past 6 years I have added on other certifications that include emotional intelligence and the neuroscience of change. Blending theory and science has enabled me to bring human development and potential to the forefront of my practice. Helping leaders in education, technology and health care define, enhance and engage with their roles in a more fulfilling way personally and professionally.

Some of these leaders have young and inexperienced teams and transitioning to a leadership role utilizes different skills.

Q: What types of problems have people been coming to you with since the COVID-19 crisis began? 

Clearly there is an impact all around the world and the human side of business is being impacted the hardest. Humans like to be comfortable and change is not usually welcome, even the good kind. So walking my client through their new reality has been a big conversation. The emotional and physical challenges working from home have been topics. The connection with people has been disrupted and managing teams has a new monkey wrench to deal with. So I have been working with them to get grounded and figure out what comes next from themselves and their staff. We cover approach, management style and expectations vs reality a lot in our conversations.

Company culture is dependent on contribution, communication and synergy. During a time of disruption such as this, things tend to get put on the back burner and the laughter and social part of the connection are lost. That can make teams feel disconnected. So I work with the leadership team to help ensure everyone feels like they are contributing in a meaningful way. 

Communication is key, not just reading email after email or chats on slack, that can lose a lot of engagement and interpersonal trust. 

Because there is so much uncertainty and hurdles for the executives and leadership team to navigate right now just having someone as a trusted sounding board can make it a little less stressful. It's often busy and lonely at the top.

Q: How do you go about helping them (walk me through your process?)

What are they trying to achieve - define the gaps - what are the stops that prevent them from getting there?

To keep things simple, my clients use me as a 'sounding board', to be an attentive, intelligent, non-judgemental and supportive voice. Leaders are often faced with having to “be strong” and not “show weakness”. They are reluctant to share their real thoughts and opinions with staff, peers, their boards and even their spouses, and speaking to a trusted and objective professional can be most useful, especially given the uncertain times we’re faced with right now.

Q: Why is coaching an effective tool?

It's a collaborative effort. Coaching isn’t counseling, nor is it consulting. I don’t tell my clients the answers or focus on past problems. We have real conversations about their current state and I enable them to find the answers that they need for their business and personal well-being. When people come to their own conclusions, it creates new awareness and creates accountability to themselves and their team.

My role is to help them stay accountable to their goals, while ensuring they show up as the leader their teams need to succeed.

Q: Who typically benefits the most from coaching?

1. Someone who is open to grow, sees value in feedback and learning more about how they operate in their world. Leadership reflects top down. As the driver of the vision and purpose of an organization, if you are off, it can throw the organization off.
2. Anyone confronted by sudden change, growth, leadership development.

Q: If you could give some practical advice to a business leader or tech professional facing uncertainty during this crisis, what would it be?

Get support. 

Whether it’s with myself or another professional. Our current state is uncharted territory for everyone. The best thing a leader can do right now is make sure they are getting the proper support, so they can show up for their team.

Tools like empathy and compassion, for yourself and others also assume positive intent.

Everyone is trying their best right now. Accept the new reality, it might not be ideal and it's not forever.

Acknowledge the emotions. They are just messages and there is a reason you feel them. They will continue to come up and rule if you don’t at least acknowledge them, and start to take the power away from the negative ones. 

Get a routine going. It helps with some grounding and normality. 

Finally, look at what you can and can't control. Gain some perspective and see what options and opportunities are available.

Q: How can someone learn more about you and your work?

It’s going to take a community to get through this. What I am offering right now for any VIATEC leader is a 30 minute laser forced coaching session to figure out your next steps. For my fellow VIATEC leaders, I’m offering this for free until May 31st.

CONTACT

For those interested or if you have any questions, please email Jesse directly at jesse@h2hcoaching.co or connect on LinkedIn