A couple of weeks ago now, I attended the Rich Litvin Intensive in Santa Monica, Los Angeles. This was the first time I was flying to attend an event live in the frame of my personal and professional development, most of my previous training and development having been done online or over the phone, including reading and watching videos from Rich. Beyond the content of the intensive which was powerful, I wanted to share the 6 insights I had by just BEING there, because it applies to anyone and anything in work, business and life.
- Vulnerability: In a world where we always need to look good, strong, to know everything, having the space to be authentic and vulnerable was scary AND so appreciable. This enabled self-reflection and strong, deep connections between individuals. And I believe any organization / business should do the same. When you share with your colleagues something you never shared or tell them “what I don’t want you to know is …”, it creates a totally different relationship. But for that, you need to create a safe space first (this is another full topic for a post).
- Authenticity = BE YOU: so simple, right? and yet so difficult. Clarifying who we deeply are and who we want to be in this world, then being that person without being afraid of the judgment of others is a long process. But I have no doubt that the higher level of external achievement AND internal fulfillment will be by being YOU.
- Walk your Talk: The leader of the intensive, Rich, really walked his talk: he believes in that the job of a leader is to create more leaders, not more followers and he put many leaders on stage instead of him. He believes in vulnerability as a super power and he was vulnerable on stage. He believes in being uncomfortable, bold and demanding and he intensely demonstrated it. It is about integrity: Say what you Think and Do what you Say. As a manager, a parent, a sport or professional coach, if you walk your talk, FULLY, then you will get the trust of everyone. But it can go away in a moment if you get caught up not walking your talk.
- Feeling vs thinking, Embodying vs Understanding: I personally shifted from intellectually understanding Rich’s principles to really experiencing and feeling them. And this is much more powerful. This is where real transformation happens. I you have known things you should change for some time and you don’t act upon them, try to find a way to involve your feeling and emotions. If you are a leader, try to have your team feel your message rather than just understand it in their head. As Maya Angelou said:
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
This is true in a negative and in a positive way.
- Caring: I could observe that Rich, the team and the attendees were caring, no matter what happened. It was not about showing off or being right. I was not fake. No matter who the person was involved in a conversation, in an exercise, this person was cared for.
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” (Theodore Roosevelt)
Before focusing on the tasks, start to care for people and let them know. The rest will come naturally.
- The power of a Community: I was amazed by the people who attended the intensive, by the achievements of some and the mission of others, by the doing of some and the being of others. I found a real community that I know I can reach out for support, ideas, fun and more. When you find your community, you’ll get much further and faster than on your own.
As a conclusion:
Before the intensive, I was 90% in.
After the intensive, I shifted to 100% because of the above.
Where can you apply this in your life/work?
Take care,
Evan Bernache 