"Some time ago, I was approached by one of my clients. A member of an Excom that we had coached, she had adopted the framework and tools used and had "applied the method to the letter", adapting it to the theme of her own Management Committee seminar. She "guided the discussions and facilitated the debates with great pleasure and success". Everything had gone extremely well, until one of the members of her team disengaged from the decision taken together in the "final round" of the seminar.  

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When we debriefed this first facilitation, Nadine told me that James had hardly spoken at all following his initial contribution in the morning. He was there all day with them, and she thought he agreed with what was being decided. But he didn’t. This left her with the question: Should she question the method used or adjust the way it was being implemented?      

 

To encourage her to persevere, I shared with her the debrief of another of my clients, six months after the end of nine months of coaching for a major transformation, initiated to move away from an inherited culture of "Boss dependency". At the time, he was proud to be able to tell me that the members of his team were continuing to take the initiative and share their views in confidence at Excom meetings, on all matters that came up, as long as they felt they could add value. 

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"Everything passes through these symbols, this common language, these shared habits and these small rituals that you helped us to set up gradually, with impressionistic touches, during discussions triggered by specific situations to address relevant points. Points which, if left unaddressed, would have compromised any change. But if they were addressed wisely and in the right way, they gradually formed an imprint, a state of mind, a culture that has taken root in each of us and is now passed on without us even thinking about it."

 

That's how this book began. I wanted to draw on a number of key experiences that I still remember and that give me the confidence to move the boundaries of what is possible again and again with leaders, managers and teams that I have been coaching for two decades, both in France and internationally. And this, with the intention of giving them the markers, support and debriefing they need to become autonomous as swiftly as possible. I also want to pass on what makes the various stages of the approaches and methodologies developed in terms of leadership development, collective intelligence and transformation tangible and binding. 

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This could be likened to "the spirit of the methodology and of the approach", paraphrasing the expression "the letter and spirit of the law". The soft that accompanies the processes and methodologies (hard) which is more difficult to describe than they are, and which nonetheless determines the success and sustainability of measures taken. 

 

I thus began this book by letting myself write, example after example, what has become, with each turn of the page, a book on “the art of courageous (and inspiring) conversations for leaders and managers preparing the future today”. 

This book is a tribute to all the (hyper)successful leaders and managers I've had the pleasure of meeting and working with, who are often unknown because they don't fit the traditional criteria of the "charismatic leader". 

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Leaders at the top of large organizations, at the head of BUs or divisions, cross-functional departments or plants, who make a difference, the difference alongside their teams, by transforming on a daily basis what needs to be transformed.

Leaders, managers and in-house coaches who are taking practical action, in line with their vision, values and convictions, to push the boundaries and build a (more) sustainable future. 

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At a time when we are facing so many challenges - climatic, environmental, economic, geopolitical, revolutionary changes in practices - that we must courageously and collectively address, I wanted to share what these leaders have in common and what is so decisive in terms of the challenges we must face together. This ability not only to look reality in the face, but also to initiate, nurture and bring to a positive conclusion these courageous conversations that make it possible, and energize the search for solutions, innovation, flexibility and collective performance. 

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Feel free to share your own courageous conversations with us and their impact : share your victories