A NEW WAY OF THINKING
LIZ CLARKE SPEAKS TO A KWAZULU-NATAL-BASED LEADERSHIP COACH WHO TACKLES STRESS IN THE MODERN WORKPLACE
THE corporate world can be a scary place. Nobody knows that better than Kwazulu-natal-based business development coach and stress therapist Virginie Nothard, whose career path has taken twists and turns over the years.
“I don’t say all the experiences I have had mentoring and coaching in the business world have been without their problems and pressures. But I have learned that the only way to understand the complex dynamics of human beings and the way they handle the jobs they do, is to have been there at the coal face.”
Her experience includes working with multinationals like HSBC
Bank, Rio Tinto, British Petroleum and Unilever. It’s this experience, gained over years in the coaching, training and recruitment in South Africa and overseas, that has created a solid foundation for starting her own leadership agency, with its own set of bespoke strategies aimed at overcoming stress in the workplace and, in turn, making people’s personal life more harmonious.
It’s easy to see her Mauritian French-style passion and entrepreneurial flair are signature parts of this mission which, in short, she says, is to make people more confident and better able to cope with the hectic pace of modern globalised business.
The explosion of new internet technologies, fierce competition and the drive to make higher profits are all part of the enormous pressures that today’s corporate leaders face, she says.
“Because of those factors the job of mentoring and coaching is a hugely complex task requiring a whole new set of rare skills.”
More than the qualifications required to secure a post, she says, leadership coaching in today’s fast moving world is about how a person adapts to the demands of the work and gets the best response from people at all levels.
“The only way to get to grips with that broader picture is to understand how a person’s mind works and to introduce a number of different mind mechanisms and options to smooth the way for a more successful outcome.”
An important element of that broader picture, she says, is following up the progress of people who have been placed in top jobs.
“It is only when a person has been hired for the job that the real demands and pressures begin. For me, being part of that adjustment and transition is not only rewarding, it becomes an ongoing part of my own research. I always say to people we are in this together, both learning as we go along.”
At that point the term “disruptive thinking” comes into play. Nothard explains disruptive technology as a global concept that focuses on innovative disruption embracing what is known as the fourth Industrial Revolution and the nurturing of a new way of thinking.
“The idea is that changing the way people think can nurture a new revolution in innovation from start-ups to global enterprises. It’s about turning what you thought was right, on its head. It’s this concept that almost anything can be accomplished.”
A brief journey into the world of quantum physics is the next chapter in this fascinating insight into
New Age business, which Nothard believes will one day be the norm.
“We are talking about how the neurons produce energy within the brain, something that neuroscientists are only now beginning to understand. We know that the way neurons fire and the positive and negative energy they produce are not cast in stone and can be altered.”
Let’s look at an example where this thinking could be applicable.
“Let’s imagine,” says Nothard “that a powerful CEO is such a stickler for numerous detailed reports that he puts his staff on edge, which in turn causes jitters and psychological stress, which then effects productivity and increases stay-aways. If this negative repetitive behaviour can be re-energised in a positive way using a different neural pathway in the brain, the outcome could be far more acceptable.”
Nothard, Standard Bank winner of the 2008 entrepreneurial mom of the year award and the 2017 Hirsch women of the year winner for August, is a co-founder with Angelique Thompson of the Disrupthr Durban chapter.
Her plans are to host a conference in KZN aimed at introducing the “disruptive” idea into the work place. “This approach to recruitment and mentoring is so new in South Africa”, she says. “We need to know more about it from the people in this field. We need to create a different lens, understand the massive mental and mind-shift involved. It’s about massive and radical change.”
Nothard is volunteering her coaching skills to Invotech an innovation and technology business incubator supported by the Durban University of Technology and funded by the Small Enterprise Development Agency.
lizclarke4@gmail.com