Manel Fernández Jaria: "The secret is to find a purpose"

Companies are complex systems in which the whole is more than the sum of its parts. Therefore, it is necessary to have a global and strategic vision about everything that happens in companies, departments, teams, etc. And, on the other hand, this point of view must take into account not only the technical aspects of the work, but also the human factor, which is a determining factor in understanding well what happens in a organization.

For years, coaching has directed much of its efforts to understand this mixture of technical and emotional / relational elements that take place in companies; For this reason, today organizations are among the contexts in which the work of coaches is most focused. But... What exactly does a coaching professional dedicated to the field of management and companies do? We talked about it with Manel Fernández Jaria, coach and author of the book “Work in attitude mode”.

• Related article: "Psychology of work and organizations: a profession with a future"

Interview with Manel Fernández Jaria: what is achieved through coaching?

Manel Fernández Jaria is a trainer and business coach; For years he has been working supporting organizations, managers and entrepreneurs both through coaching intervention and through training sessions and conferences. In this interview he tells us about the role of the coach in the most practical and applied aspects of him.

Do people often underestimate what they can achieve by starting a coaching process?

When a client is committed to a process of change and encounters the experience of the coach, there is nothing that cannot be achieved. I see it every day in the processes in which I work. The secret is to find a purpose, a mission, whatever it is, I don't care: big, small... does not matter; then you have to align your life and your actions with that purpose.

Everyone gives advice every day, and in the first session I tell them: "hey, you're in a mess" and it works, because nobody usually talks like that, first and foremost. Secondly, I tell you that we are together to take your issue forward, that it is really the only important thing with a client: activate it to recover all its power personal.

Could you give some examples of people who, after seeking help from a coach, achieved much more than overcoming a problem or letting go of a source of discomfort that affected them?

Many professionals, managers, athletes... They work with a coach, in my case I help entrepreneurs, managers and professionals with a professional projection who want to work on their self-leadership. Because the key is in the mindset.

My favorite aphorism on this topic is "whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right." From here you decide and I will accompany you in the process unconditionally.

I have worked with people who were looking to boost their career and ended up writing a book that opened up many possibilities and triggered their self-esteem.

I have also worked with managers who needed to improve their security to lead their team more efficiently. I have accompanied technicians who came to occupy a managerial position, and the leap was so great that they began to feel paralysis due to analysis. And to new entrepreneurs who did not know they were and needed to expand in another direction.

I have also worked with strong people, with great personalities and strong character. They believed that they did not need to improve their soft skills, but they were wrong, and now they are much happier because they have improved their interpersonal relationships. And I have accompanied people with difficulties to speak in public or make good presentations.

There are many profiles and topics covered over the years, what I can say is that the moment a person moves in one direction, the results arrive. Forever!

What are, in your opinion, the main types of goals to be achieved through coaching?

The goals can be very varied, but basically the basic thing is the ability to overcome fears. Fear of failure, of what they will say, of not arriving, of being mediocre, of being judged.

Fear, when faced with a decision, causes an emotional tension that can lead us not to be able to express our best version; And here the problems begin, the insecurities, we begin to postpone our dreams and conformity appears as a way of life.

If we work hard on the level of consciousness and self-leadership, then speaking in public, writing a book, change jobs, undertake, go to live in another country, start some studies or others are similar topics are anecdotal.

The key is to identify the strengths to face a challenge the first time and dare to expand our circle of influence. Then you just copy the template and reply to the new challenges.

What are soft skills and why are they important as an element to take into account in personal development?

Everything changed forever in the professional world when Daniel goleman He wrote: "Great leaders have more emotional intelligence."

To lead we need two things, know what you are talking about (know your professional field well) and have behavioral skills. No one can ever be named as the leader of a team or an organization, the power of the leader is deserved and received.

One of the demands that have grown in these years for the managerial profiles, and will continue to do so, is that, to the technical knowledge, the soft skills. Here the list is endless, I summarize it in raising the level of consciousness in everything you do and think so that your user experience on this planet is satisfactory every day.

It may sound very utopian, but we already know what makes us increase well-being. The acronym is PERMA (Martin Seligman) we work with the coachee in this line.

In my work with people and teams, we always start with a good diagnosis that allows us to identify the areas of improvement from here I propose key competences and the client applies with the methodology of the Practice Deliberate. It is the best way to integrate skills that I know.

If not, you learn concepts, but you make them your own. I always insist to my clients that learning arises when you experience and apply these skills to your daily life. You also see the results quickly.

The seventh habit Steven Covey proposes is sharpening the saw. All human beings should cultivate soft skills to improve in all areas.

Are more common the cases of people who turn to a coach to achieve a specific goal related to the projects specific personal or professional skills, or the cases of people who simply want to train certain skills for the day a day? For example, one thing is to prepare for exams knowing how to manage stress and another is to improve social skills.

There are people who know well what a coach is and hire me to work on a specific and concrete objective. We draw up a plan of action and we are moving quickly in that direction.

At other times, they are people who have not clearly identified their WHY. In these cases, we start a search process and then direct the actions in a targeted way.

I also work on soft skills individually or in teams. Working in a group allows participants to feed back on the experiences of others.

We can also work one by one and in a more personalized way. Here each client chooses what may be the most appropriate at all times. We deal with your specific problems and apply ad hoc solutions.

For people who do not have time and who are very busy or worried, I have designed a program for a whole day in nature (walking meeting). Here we put things in order and design a personal strategy for the future. When this is clear, everything you do is aligned with much more force because you know where you have to put energy each day.

In your last book, "Work in attitude mode", you spoke among other things about the importance of taking care of your own well-being also in the professional field. Does this include learning and empowering soft skills to perform better and not waste time at work?

It is very important to work and live in attitude mode. Attitude is where we do things from. To promote a well-being-oriented attitude in each chapter of the book, I propose a series of practical actions that help the reader to discover an experiential route to transform that attitude and get to feel much better in their work and in the lifetime.

I speak of the experiential route because everything that appears in the book I have experienced in the first person, also with my coaching clients and I know perfectly well that it works.

The world of organizations is very important. I understand that a large part of our life is going to be spent in a job or in a professional project.

Learning to take care of ourselves so as not to waste life at work should be a compulsory and transversal subject. Now the organizations hire me to teach this pending subject in companies. Helping people empower themselves in their well-being is part of my purpose and I love doing it because I feel useful for my purpose.

Broadly speaking, in what way can you achieve a mentality from which it is easier to start a process of change for the better, and get out of the comfort zone in the best possible way?

The first point is to raise the level of consciousness, learn to identify the type of thoughts that we generate.

Second, observe how these thoughts influence our emotions.

The third important point is to see how the sequence causes our actions. Finally, we analyze the results that we obtain in the projects. The results that we obtain are always a consequence of this equation.

To accelerate the processes and boost our full unconscious potential, I usually introduce the Lego Serious Play methodology in the sessions. People are amazed at the power of this tool.

My best client in this period of pandemic has been my daughter Júlia. We work on her university future. He is happy with the choice.