It’s not what you’ve done but who you are.

When was a time when you had significant impact on a group – in a meeting, a training or a community gathering.  You could have been the facilitator, consultant, team or group member.  What was your role and what was the impact?   

Here’s my story: When I began studying for certification in Organizational Development (OD), the first course was a week-long intensive workshop.  I was a beginner in this field, but in mid-career so I had some experience.  I felt less knowledgeable than others, and wasn’t sure if I belonged – in the class or in this field of OD.  It turns out that I had significant impact on the group of 25 people, by the questions that I asked and by my presence.  One key thing is that I was also willing to diplomatically ask questions about our community agreements and how we were, or actually weren’t, living up to them.  At the end of the workshop I got feedback calling out my “quiet inner strength” and “your compassion and deepness is so appreciated.” Wow; I didn’t realize that I was having that kind of impact! – and I was deeply moved by it.

What I then realized was that it was Who I was, more than What I had achieved or How much I knew, that had an impact.  Who knew that such a thing was possible?  We live in a society that values achievement and knowledge and doing things – but it was the core of my Being and how I showed up in the class that made an impression on people. It was also my ability to use my comments in service of the group – by voicing what I was experiencing on behalf of helping the group improve the quality of our interactions.

 I call this ability “use of self” or using your-self as an “instrument of change.”  I discovered that it’s one of my superpowers to provide a voice and presence that’s missing in the system, which comes in handy in my role as coach and OD consultant.  “Use of self” entails being aware of how we come across and using ourselves as instruments of change.  If you’d like to have greater impact, finetune your “use of self.”