The Power of Life Coaching - An Interview with Michelle James with the Center for Creative Emergence | Helping Small Business help themselves

The Power of Life Coaching - An Interview with Michelle James with the Center for Creative Emergence

July 25, 2008 :: Steve Fisher

According to her bio “Michelle James is a pioneering creativity catalyst who has been using universal creative principles and the process of emergence as the basis for her work with thousands of people - individuals, corporations and communities - for the past 14 years. Michelle’s passion is infusing creativity and imagination into current knowledge and information systems for individual, organizational and social transformation. Her commitment is to ‘mainstream’ creativity, engaging the creative potential in organizations and other human systems.”

Wow, that is one heck of an intro.

Michelle founded The Center for Creative Emergence almost 10 years ago and is serving clients at companies such as the World Bank, NIH, GEICO and NOAA to name just a few of the long list that doesn’t do this paragraph justice. I was able to spend some time with this fascinating entrepreneur recently and here is a transcript of our interview:

Steve: How did you get into doing life coaching?

Michelle: Actually, it was a confluence of several elements coming together at once: my passion to unite the worlds of business, purpose and creativity (after seeing people completely split off from their creativity on the job); my previous experience in marketing, organizational development and various dimensions of creative process; and business brainstorming/ideating sessions with colleagues that turned into what I started calling Emergence Sessions because outcomes would emerge where “the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.” Referrals started gaining momentum. I began noticing patterns in the sessions and observing certain universal principles at play when engaging creative process. I then started consciously shaping and structuring my work into an accessible format, and Creative Emergence coaching was born. My coaching practice itself was a creative emergence.

Steve: For those not familiar with this type of service, what is coaching?

Michelle: Coaching is a process that enables learning, creativity and development to
occur. The coaching relationships creates the conditions for an entrepreneur
to be successful. A good coach has tools and techniques to help his or her a
client access the mindset and skill set to become successful in work and
life. Instead of advising a client, a good coach draws information and
creative resources form the client. It is a collaborative partnership which
involves a series of conversations, often with agreed-upon activities to do
in between sessions. It is different with each client as each client has
different needs.

Steve: Why would someone use a coach?

Michelle: For many reasons…

New work directions and strategies
Enhanced self-awareness and direction.
Breakthrough Thinking and Enhanced Performance
Developing a structured framework of what you have to offer
Drawing forth the energy, passion, and commitment already within a client
Generating more creative, immediately applicable options or choices
Clarity, integration and direction
Activate your imagination and transform creative blocks
Overall improvement of your quality of life

Steve: For the uninitiated, could you explain the vision of your business?

Michelle: The short version is that the Center is a creativity consulting and coaching company. We offer consulting, workshops, retreats, coaching and special events on all aspects of personal, business and systems creativity. Our signature is our Emergence Focus, which uses what is relevant in both problem-focused and outcome-focused approaches, and includes navigating the unpredictability of emergence and the use of whole brain methods. The bigger picture vision for the Center is to support the new paradigm of creative, sustainable, conscious work that serves the quadruple bottom line: people, profit, planet and purpose; create experiences that set the stage for new levels of creativity to emerge and systems to evolve; and engage the whole person, not just the job title. I believe creativity is the most significant business resource and driver a business has, and the mission of CCE is to help people access it and focus it for a purpose. To bring this mission into the larger DC community, we sponsor the Capitol Creativity Network with monthly events accessible to anyone.

Steve: Your services seem psychological but also physical as well. Is this a mind-body balance sort of coaching?

Michelle: Good question. I see it as more of a mind-body integration - the convergence of the mental, psychological and physical. Not only does the body contain and influence emotional states, but when you engage the body in non-habitual ways, it’s easier to engage the mind non-habitually - a big plus for an innovative entrepreneur. In addition, a vision becomes stronger when you start feel it in your body - in other words, embodying it. Research shows that feeling a vision in the body increases the likelihood of taking action toward it. When I started integrating body-centered practices into my client work, results were accelerated.

Steve: What do you see for the next five years of the Center? Will you mentor others on your approach? Will you publish more so people can learn about your approach?

Michelle: Part of emergent strategy is to hold a firm purpose with a flexible vision so I can’t foresee exactly what will emerge between now and then, but I do have a direction and several specific goals, some subject to change: (1) Finish and publish a book and workbook on Creative Emergence Principles and Processes - that’s a “yes” to your publishing question. Once published, the mentoring will follow. (2) Develop an industrial video series to use with organizations and communities, along with improv-based “Live Industrials.” (3) Put on Creativity-In-Business conference here in DC - the first one, in
fact, is in the works as we speak and will be held in 2009 - the announcements will be going out soon. First local, then international. (4) I envision the Center becoming a multi-sensory oriented physical structure with innovative experiential programs and CreaTanks (creativity-centered version of think tanks) working on larger issues - both on-site and on-line. Based in DC with a global reach, I’d like to eventually go into villages and communities of developing countries and use an emergence focus to help support them in creating what’s next for them.

I am also excited about the new directions social media provides - a new world of possibilities opens up that I just beginning to explore.

Steve: Since you are a serial entrepreneur (your first venture was a marketing firm), what do you find are your greatest lessons learned from starting two businesses?

Michelle: Well, I learned to see mistakes as what I now call evolutionary invitations. They afford significant business learnings and invite opportunities for personal growth. I learned to hear, and then really value my intuition, as a business resource. And, having a quality support team is invaluable. Fear-based thinkers experience new ideas through the lens of fear. I’ve leaned how important it is to seek out and engage with diverse, generative thinkers on an ongoing basis no matter what type of business you have.

Steve: What is your philosophy on being an entrepreneur?

Michelle: It is front-row engaging in the real-time feedback loop with life…like being on the front end of a whitewater raft - you might have the most risk, but you get the most immediate experience. More than a job, it’s a way of being, living and creating.

Steve: Sometimes I like to close an interview with a “Do This List”. So for you, what are the top five things every entrepreneur should do to create a work-life balance?

Michelle: Only five? OK, well then…first, discover what bring you to life and build a business around that so when you do have to work it feels more like play. Second, capitalize and focus on your strengths for a more efficient use of your energy and therefore time…and know what is relevant about anything you do. If it is not relevant to your purpose, let it go. Third, build a vision that includes both personal and professional goals and revisit - and revise - it frequently when it starts to get out of balance. Pay attention to the off-balance signs as they begin. Fourth, commit to a daily practice that feels good (not arduous) to you that helps you to get centered and present in the morning. It will help you stay focused and true to your commitments - both professional and personal - throughout the day. Finally, establish a network of genuine supporters…maybe even a life coach with a focus on emergence…