I recently achieved a milestone, one of those “bucket list” items I never thought I would achieve. I earned my black belt! Not the Six Sigma kind, as many in my field do, but the martial arts kind, specifically in Chayon Ryu, a martial arts system based on natural human movements (Chayon Ryu is Korean for Natural Way). However, the process of achieving my black belt also gave me insight into how the martial arts principles I learned apply to consulting and coaching practice. Unlike some martial arts schools, Kim Soo Karate requires all adults testing for black belt to write a black belt thesis. When I told the Grandmaster about how I explained to my masters students at UH the way martial arts principals apply to consulting, he asked me to write my thesis on the topic. So here is an excerpt:
I always knew Chayon Ryu could apply to many areas of life. But until last month, I had never considered that I could apply the principles of Chayon Ryu to my professional work. The moment of inspiration occurred in my home office, while preparing for my next lecture. Over the previous months I had collected the boards broken by myself and Robby (my son) and stacked them on a shelf in our family room. My husband had tired of seeing them there, and plopped the entire stack on my desk. I was preparing my lecture on the Contracting phase of consulting and was searching for a powerful way to demonstrate the ambivalence clients have when they know they need help, but they have fears that get in the way. In other words, the process of change itself makes the client feel vulnerable. Therefore, they may resist what the consultant proposes in a number of ways. They may question the consultant’s credentials or push them away as the project gets closer to starting, or sideline the consultant so that they lack access they need to relevant people and information. It is the consultant’s job to answer their questions, but also to identify resistance and address it directly so the client can move ahead. As I read the material and thought about my lecture, I saw the stack of boards out of the corner of my eye. Suddenly, it struck me-the principles of Chayon Ryu apply to consulting, and the boards were the perfect prop!
The next day in class, I showed the class the two boards I broke in my black belt pre-test. I told them that, although I was nervous at the test, I delivered a side kick straight to the middle and went right through the boards, feeling no resistance. Some of the students looked impressed by this, but I went on to say that I am not big, and not very strong, so I assumed no one else would have difficulty breaking the boards if I was able to do it. However, the two people who went after me struggled to break the boards. One of them finally broke one of the two on the third try. They were puzzled and frustrated that it was so difficult for them. When I spoke to one of them, I told her I saw her energy stop at the board, as it did with one of the others. If you stop at the board, you cannot get to the other side.
At this point I said to my class, “You’re probably wondering why I’m talking about martial arts in consulting class, right?” I explained that when you are working with clients, they almost always have fears, many of which may be legitimate concerns that stop them from making the changes they know they need to make for the health of their business. Some of the “boards” they run up against may be that they will never get the support they need to sustain the change, or that their team will resent and resist the changes, or that if the implementation fails their boss will be mad, and they may lose their job. I went on to say that it is up to the consultant to identify what “boards” they are up against, so that together they can address those concerns and create a strong vision of success, thereby allowing them to “see beyond the boards” and achieve their goals. The key was that I had broken many boards before, so I took a deep breath and visualized myself breaking through. In my mind, the boards were not even in the way, so rather than kicking at the boards I kicked through the boards.
What “boards” or limiting beliefs are keeping you from achieving your goals? A coach can help you both identify what those are, and help you break through them to achieve your goals. Take that first step and contact me for your free consult!