Diane Boulet Coaching

08/05/2023

Shifting from a V.U.C.A to a W.I.S.E mindset (whole, interconnected,systemic and energized). Really interesting and wise…article.

12/29/2022

Life's moving currents

“Leadership, like swimming, cannot be learned by reading about it' (Henry Mintzberg). Life... is very much like that. Experiencing, reflecting on the experience is part of the way we learn, gain insights and new perspectives and, in the process, hopefully develop a deeper kind of knowledge.

Experiencing is key

As 2022 comes to a close, I am reflecting on this year's experiences. In the span of five months, I have lost both my older sisters (67 and 69). Three weeks ago, my beloved husband died. Three deaths in five months! I travelled to Europe to tend to one sister, then travelled to Québec city back and forth to spend precious moments in the final weeks of my other sister's life. I drove over 25,000 km in mere months to the hospitals where my husband was being admitted, operated and treated for his melanoma cancer. Ten months separated the diagnosis from his death. I learnt how to tend to his wounds, how to give injections and so much more at another level. Later on, when it became time for him to move to palliative care, we chose to set it up at-home, with regular visits from the palliative care team.

Throughout all this, I continued to work with clients. I tapped into years of mindfulness practice to help me stay in the moment, somatically aware of the stress on my body. I gained a deeper understanding of the importance of tending to one's own wellbeing.

Nurturing Self

Discipline is freedom, mindfulness teacher and dear friend Mona Breton once said while discussing our respective mindfulness practice. It becomes easier as you create the habit of paying attention to your thoughts, how you embody this new presence, observing thoughts and emotions without judgment. Neither good nor bad. Being mindful becomes a deeply engrained way of life. It takes practice, like any discipline. It is also a way of nurturing Self. In his article 'The Practice of Self-Care', Bhaskar Goswami writes 'only when you are well, can you truly take care of your relationships and contribute to life in an uplifting, impactful way'. That is true in our professional and personal lives.

Clients, family and friends often say that they do not have time to add to their busy days. The benefits seem too insubstantial or incremental in a world that often requires immediate results.

Living consciously

'We live, we do stuff and then we're gone' says actor/director Robert Downy Jr. in his documentary titled 'Sr.'

This post is not about the loss. It is about learning how to live consciously and mindfully. My sisters and husband each lived and died in very different ways. I was privileged to bear witness to the death of a truly mindful being. He lived gracefully, serenely with loving kindness. He also had no apprehension about this natural moment of passing. Thus his death fully mirrored how he lived, paying attention to the moment of passage with intention and grace.

Author Bob Dunham writes in his article entitled 'The Time for Rest and Renewal', 'Our culture mistakes learning as understanding ideas, to accumulate 'knowledge'. But to learn wisdom is to learn beyond concepts, to learn in our bodies, in our sense of life, and the very spirit of our living'.

This year more than ever, I celebrate the lessons of self-care, of giving care with compassion and of the significance of living consciously and mindfully.

Wishing you all a very Happy 2023 in gratitude.

11/05/2021

"The moment of disruption equals the moment of possibilities" (Otto Scharmer, MIT, ULab 2015).

Back in 2015, I joined a MOOC led by MIT Professor Otto Scharmer based on his Theory U. For the following 3 years, I immersed myself in the subsequent ULab courses, as well as co-led a 7 month "Learning Hub" in Montreal which explored and put into practice the U Theory process.

I have since embedded the U Theory in my coaching and consulting practices as a powerful tool to help move beyond 'habitual ways of thinking and doing to actualize future emerging possibilities'.

Congratulations CoachingOurselves for just publishing a new module "Awareness based systems change" authored by Otto Scharmer and Concordia's Eva Pomeroy.

Curious about how this new module can help you, your teams and your organization connect, access and active a deeper source of knowing, generating collective action and innovation ? Let's connect!

CoachingOurselves International Inc. is also offering a free session with Prof. Eva Pomeroy on Nov. 30th at 11 a.m.

https://coachingourselves.com/new-module-awareness-based-systems-change/

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CoachingOurselves is excited to announce our newest module by authors Otto Scharmer and Eva Pomeroy titled Awareness-Based Systems Change: Planting the Seeds for Change. The key leadership challenge of our times is to cultivate creativity, innovation, and leadership capacity at all levels of our sys...

11/04/2021

Creative Tension and Commitment to Truth - two of Peter Senge's Fifth Discipline.

Senge's body of work is a constant inspiration for me as a whole being (in whatever role - leader, coach, consultant, mother, wife, yogi). It inspires, amongst other things, creativity. I walk the same 10k route daily. My walks are also sources of creativity, inspiration and generate deep insights into the way I contribute to my world (professional and personal). It is part of my personal mastery. May your own personal mastery inspire you to see with new ‘eyes’ familiar things/situations and fire your own creativity.

In his celebrated book, Senge 'brings together practices for generating the inner shift in awareness that he originally termed metanoia, from the ancient Christian term for movement of mind or awakening, supporting people in developing practical, interlinked capacities to reflect, learn together, and think systemically about how to have sustainable organizations in a sustainable world'. One of the discipline is 'creative tension'. Senge notes that 'there is a tension between your personal vision and reality. He then argues that there are only two ways to resolve this tension: either by accepting reality and bringing your vision down to it or by using your vision to try to transform reality to match your vision. Attempting to make reality meet your vision is what Senge calls creative tension, because it 'encourages you to be creative to effect change'.

10/05/2021

Cela me rappelle un mot de Peter Senge, PhD., a Senior Lecturer at MIT, & founding chair of the Society for Organizational Learning (SOL).: “to become a leader, you must first become a (good) human being”.

09/13/2021

La profession de « coach professionnel » cotée au 5e rang selon un sondage de la firme Léger.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dianeboulet_les-professions-du-bonheur-des-m%C3%A9tiers-et-activity-6843181935192236032-dnWT

07/05/2021

06/24/2021

Change doesn’t necessarily come from the top. Leaders need to encourage something called Communityship. For more info on the topic: https://mintzberg.org/blo...

06/13/2021

In his will of 1896, Alfred Nobel created prizes in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. Why, then, does nobelprize.org list a sixth one, in “economic sciences”, and then bury deep in its site the heading “Not a Nobel Prize”? And why do so many of its recipients, presumably s...

05/20/2021

On se voit dans une heure! Une belle journée d’apprentissage collaboratif et d’exploration de la méthode CoachingOurselves. Merci à Coaching de Gestion, école partenaire!

(Places limitées). COMPLET

Nos partenaires, Coaching de Gestion, offriront une certification pour facilitateurs.trices CoachingOurselves en français les 20 et 27 mai prochains!
Pour plus d'information et pour vous inscrire, c'est par ici:
http://ow.ly/COPc50DVkCt

04/17/2021

Join me this coming Monday April 19 (en francais le 20). I'll be having a conversation with Mary Hagerman on wellbeing and the practice of mindfulness.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dianeboulet_wellbeing-selfdiscipline-success-activity-6788931995679375360-V8Zy

𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒃𝒘𝒆𝒃𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑫𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒕. I’ll be...

03/18/2021

Humor can be a gift during a coaching session. Earlier this week, I was working with a client via Zoom. I had opened my office/home window to enjoy the fresh spring air. My client was sharing with me a work situation. Suddenly, we hear a rooster crowing. He/she asks 'are we done?' thinking I have some sort of alarm to indicate the end of the session. (The sound came all the way from the farm about a quarter of a mile away). We both laughed so much. After that, there was a complete shift. The rooster's song provoked a moment of release, and insight for the client. So glad the donkeys weren't out! Coaching moment in the times of Covid!!

What gifts has this new/momentary work situation brought to you ?

03/16/2021

"When we make a place for silence, we make room for ourselves. This is simple. And it is radical''. (Sharing Silence, Gunilla Norris).

Every day, I am reminded of the importance of a(my) practice: silence, pausing into silence, is central to my mindfulness practice. Be it in my home meditation space, or walking in nature, as a coach and as a leader, making space - opening one's inner space - makes room to find ones' own hidden source of power. 'You are your practice' (Sameer Dua)

What practice do you engage in to create meaning in your life/leadership and have a greater impact ?

03/13/2021

Nos partenaires, Coaching de Gestion, offriront une certification pour facilitateurs.trices CoachingOurselves en français les 20 et 27 mai prochains!
Pour plus d'information et pour vous inscrire, c'est par ici:
http://ow.ly/COPc50DVkCt

03/01/2021

Comment nous les coachs professionnels et consultants pouvons-nous soutenir les objectifs organisationnels et d'affaires de nos organisations clientes ?

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6772229714137370625/

Une 9e cohorte pour l’activité « 𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗢𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 » : 20 et 27 MAI 2021 - https://lnkd.in/gKX_sUj ...

09/19/2020

Ré-équilibrer la société: le changement commence par nous - pas « eux »
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dianeboulet_plus-que-jamais-il-nous-importe-de-participer-activity-6713149312928374784-xU0b

Plus que jamais, il nous importe de participer activement à créer un équilibre (dans ce monde en déséquilibre). Jeudi dernier, en compagnie de Henry Mintzberg...