Meraki:
The soul, creativity, or love put into something; The essence of yourself that is put into your work.
Welcome to Meraki Leadership Group!
Meraki was founded as an experiment to create space for innovative people to become more of who they are, and lead with authenticity, power, and purpose.
But what does that mean, exactly?
Meraki is all about coaching. Executive coaching is a collaborative relationship between coach and coachee, with the purpose of helping said coachee learn more about themselves, and get from where they are to where they want to be. As a coach, it is my job is to engage clients through active listening and provocative questions that generate awareness and clarity around an issue, and/or promote personal and professional learning and discovery. Together, we use these insights to develop comprehensive long-term goals, and break these goals into action plans to be completed between sessions.
Unlike a consultant, an executive coach will not offer answers or solutions to the issue(s) at hand. Nor will they provide guidance based on their own professional experiences, as a mentor might. Coaching operates on the premise that people have the tools they need within themselves to craft their own solutions. A coach is there to help bring these solutions to the surface. Within my own practice, I view my work as the facilitation of a process that allows people the opportunity to have a conversation with themselves. From this place, it becomes possible for people to see things from different perspectives, experience breakthroughs in thought processes, and, over time, create better lives and better business.
Two key factors that make this work so powerful are safe space and focus. Coaching engagements are safe spaces to express, explore, experiment, and play - something that many leaders say they do not experience in their daily lives. There are no wrong answers, and no coach worth their salt will ever carry their own agenda into a session. Within this safe space, however, there is always focus. The beginning of every coaching session will determine its focus, which is often referred to as the coaching agreement or contract. It is my job as a coach to help my clients connect (and reconnect) their exploration to the focal point they have chosen. What makes this especially powerful is that it's action focused - ideas explored are turned into action items to complete between sessions. For the sake of accountability, coachees are asked by which date they commit to completing each task, and what they can do to support themselves in so doing.
How does Meraki fit into all of this?
As the definition above suggests, Meraki Leadership is all about authenticity. I work with emerging leaders, entrepreneurs, and visionaries, and help them step into who they are, and who they want to be. Specific areas of focus include leadership development, effective communication strategies, and team / relationship building. In the 10 years that I have been working with teams and organizations, I have consistently found that people who are willing to live with authenticity are more forward thinking, innovative, and effective. More importantly, they enjoy what they do, derive sincere satisfaction from their work, and share the spirit of meraki onward with others.
Interested in taking coaching for a test spin? Send me an email at ashley@merakileadership.com! I love to talk all things coaching. I offer all potential clients a complimentary 60-minute consultation and coaching session, and have a variety of coaching packages available to suit individual timelines and needs.