Getting close and personal
Jean-Francois Cousin
Global Executive & Team Coach, MCC ◾ Keynote Speaker ◾ Author ◾ Former Chairman, ICF Global Board
Connecting my own dreams, hopes and aspirations
Hello #GameChangers! Here's to wishing you a happy Friday!
Continuing on from my previous article, I'd like to take this chance to share here how I could have (in hindsight) connected my own dreams and aspirations to find out my underlying purpose...
Early in my childhood, I fell in love with classical music. I would passionately listen to crackling recordings of Mozart’s or Beethoven’s symphonies and concerti, and gaze with admiration at the pictures of orchestras and maestros in tuxedos. I started dreaming of becoming an orchestra conductor. The appeal was both in the ‘status’ of the function and that ‘magical’ ability to create beauty with others…
Pursuing my dream, I learnt to play piano, the violin, then played in chamber music groups and symphony orchestras, even studied music composition, all with delight. When I was sixteen, I took a competitive examination to enter a special school with a curriculum evenly split between music and general studies.
I failed.
My skills at playing piano and the violin were not deemed good enough.
That hurt, a lot.
Meaningless years, or not?
I continued to indulge in my passion, as a hobby, addicted to that ‘flow’ between musicians when we are ‘in the zone’ creating beauty together, and propagating our passion to the audience.
I had no idea anymore about what type of career could be fulfilling for me. I went to university to become an engineer - by default of any alternative idea and because, in France, being an engineer opens the highest number of doors at companies. I was far from a stellar student, as I spent a lot less time studying engineering than embracing groups’ activities on the university campus...
What I enjoyed the most was my role as ‘President of the European Week’ there, where we brought 300 students from all 28 European countries at the time to join with our university undergrads and European leaders. It was the first time ever such reunion occurred on the old continent, just after the fall of Berlin’s wall. The campus became an effervescent melting-pot of diverse talents for a few days, attracting nation-wide media coverage. The biggest joy in it for me was in managing the organizing team of volunteers, and inspiring collaboration between the (already) strong individualities of the young team-members, for an outcome that delighted all participants along the event. That had somewhat the resonance of directing a symphony for me…
Connecting management and a dream...
When I went to recruitment interviews for my first job, I told the recruiters - with the mindless arrogance of some young graduates - that I was aspiring to reach a ‘general management’ position after my first two roles in the company…
Luckily, I got hired despite my pretention, as a junior manager in a plant in Provence, a beautiful part of Southern France. I was 25-year younger than my youngest subordinate… My team was made of employees disenchanted and very negative about ‘the management’. Their motivation at work was low, to say the least. They had extraordinarily fulfilling lives outside of work - raising bulls for instance, or organizing cultural events, and contributing well to their communities… That really sparked my interest and admiration even. Our relationships strengthened. My dream was obviously to ignite their spark on the job. And fortunately it happened as we launched a few new projects which caught their interest. They saw the possibility to do new things and grow at work.
For example, Raymond, a disillusioned employee close to retirement and a wonderful man, got excited about learning to enter data into a computer (whereas he had spent his work-life painstakingly pencilling them in hefty notebooks). It was no easy feat as Raymond’s fingers were really very big as compared to the PC keys, but it was worth it for him: his grand-children were amazed that their grandpa could use a computer too, and had become a curious learner.
I was humbled by all the ‘beauty’ inside that my subordinates could liberate. That whole experience certainly enhanced my belief that there are vast untapped resources in everyone, and that it is an important part of a manager’s duty to unleash more of them. We all fought our tears when I left them to move to my second assignment, in Singapore, with the same corporation.
An orchestra of a company
Strikingly, the third role I was offered happened to be… in general management, as a country-head in Thailand and in charge of an additional business in China. My initial infatuation with the prestige of the position evaporated the very first morning I took the job, when I felt the weight of the responsibility and of others’ expectations, and recognized that I was actually going to be serving all companies’ employees and clients…
Once I became comfortable in the assignment, I sensed - once again - the vibes I imagine an orchestra conductor feels. I just was just directing sales, marketing, manufacturing, supply chain, IT, Finance and HR instead of strings, woodwinds, brass and percussions. The outcome was growth and contribution instead of beauty. But it required exactly the same dedication and team-work from all contributors, and the boss’ inspiration made it or broke it.
I realized my childhood dream was fulfilled, and fulfilling. And I was still fascinated by people’s potential, and finding great meaning in helping them unleash more of it. Not just the already ‘high-flyer’ Directors I managed, but everyone I could engage, one conversation at a time. Mind you, it was not out of selfless generosity, it was out of a passion that happened to serve them and my career very well.
Recalling earlier dreams and aspirations
One role later, at the head of strategic planning in head-quarters, and enjoying every bit of the job, I started to reflect about what I wanted to focus on along the next decades of my Life. It seems to happen to a lot of us when we get near 40 years of age… And I recalled my earlier dreams and aspirations.
As a child, I was magnetized by conductors’ status and their ‘magical’ ability to create beauty with others. As I reached general management positions, the appeal of the ‘status’ was replaced by that of the responsibility to serve. Yet the attraction of supporting teams to create greatness in a flow of inspired collaboration remained. What also manifested along my journey was my additional passion about seeing ‘beauty’ and seeds of greatness in people and helping them to unleash more of it.
Connecting my dreams, hopes and aspirations with my purpose
Doing that was immensely fulfilling and meaningful for me. And I decided to invest the next decade(s) of my career into it. Hence I went ‘back to school’ to train as an executive coach, and went on to support the growth of talented performers and inspiring teams to collaborate for great outcomes. It was just a logical choice. Interestingly, my former colleagues told me in unison - when I left the company - that they were amazed at how ‘courageous’ my choice was. The truth is there was not an ounce of courage on my part in leaving an exciting corporate career with a great company, there was just a burning desire to do more of what I had loved the most from the very early years of my life onwards.
I hope that my story has contributed some ideas or thoughts about how you could connect your own dreams, hopes and aspirations...
Stay tuned for the next article of this three-part series!
Happy Thursday #GameChangers :)
______________________________________________________________________
Jean-Francois Cousin
Speaker, Author and Master Certified Coach
Director at the Global Board of the International Coach Federation
Greatness Leadership Coaching
