Niiamah Ashong coaches a fellow coach in a Tribe 1:1 session on the Outlier's Edge Podcast that opens with his view that conversation is the bedrock and starting point for any new future. Starting from openness and possibility, the conversation turns to presence: she sees that her clients get massive results because she is fully present with them, and that the presence she gives is what she most wants to receive. What emerged is an invitation to let that support already be present, starting in the conversation itself, rather than having to create it for herself.
Episode at a glance
- Host: Niiamah Ashong, coach to outlier leaders
- Show: Outlier’s Edge Podcast, released October 6, 2020
- Format: session, 47 minutes
- Topics: Conversation as the bedrock of innovation, Openness and possibility, Presence as medicine, Two kinds of unstoppable, Teaching what people most need to learn, Being met with full presence
What this session is about
She is a coach Niiamah Ashong has known for a few years, and he names what he sees in her: the boldness in the words she chooses, an unapologetic way of being out in the world, and an ability to connect big ideas directly to the challenges, goals and dreams people have in their everyday lives and businesses. Her work centers on presence: she guides her clients' awareness to whatever needs their attention, and in her words, her ability to hold them in that awareness heals the thing naturally. Her clients tend to get massive results that don't always make sense logically or practically, and during the conversation she connected those results directly to how fully present she is with them. She shows up for people very naturally, and she wants more real, present relationships in her own life.
What emerged
The turn came when she named that people are missing true presence and that presence is medicinal, then noticed that the medicine people think they need is also the medicine they give. Niiamah Ashong didn't find that ironic at all: in his view, people teach what they most need to learn and offer what they most want to receive. When her mind went to turning what she wants into work she would do for others, he invited her not to go down that path, because it would serve others without anyone meeting her at her level. Instead he kept asking what would happen if that support were already present, and told her that in this conversation she could simply experience it, without having to fix it for herself.
Questions this episode answers
Why is conversation the starting point for innovation?
Niiamah Ashong calls conversation the bedrock and the starting point for any new future, and says it comes with asking questions and looking into places that haven't been looked into before. He entered this conversation from a place of exploration, openness and possibility.
Why does presence matter so much in coaching?
The coach guides her clients' awareness to whatever needs their attention, and holding them in that awareness lets the thing heal naturally. During the conversation she realized that her clients get massive results because she is fully present with them, and that her presence is alchemizing for others.
What does sustainable, unstoppable energy feel like?
The coach described two kinds of unstoppable: one of hustle and doing that feels unstoppable but is short-lived, and another that comes from feeling supported and knowing she can trust that support. She called the second less like a charging horse and more like an ocean that just keeps going, and Niiamah Ashong reflected it back as evergreen, sustainable and replenishing.
Why do people so often give what they most want to receive?
Niiamah Ashong believes people teach what they most need to learn and offer what they most want to receive. He listens for longing, because people become amazing at what they long for and give it to others, knowing it's what they themselves need.
How can a leader bring more presence into everyday conversations?
Niiamah Ashong says many people wait for a safe place before they show up with presence, even though people are longing for others to step into what is actually there. He says it can feel radical to bring that level of presence to a conversation, and he does it himself, even at barbecues.
In their words
Conversation is really the bedrock and the starting point for any new future to be obtained.
Niiamah Ashong
The medicine that we think we need is also the medicine that we give.
A participant
We teach what we most need to learn.
Niiamah Ashong
Key moments
00:01 – Conversation as the bedrock
02:36 – What Niiamah sees in her
09:52 – Looking back from a year ahead
15:37 – The alchemy of presence
18:14 – Why her clients get massive results
25:34 – Two kinds of unstoppable
30:13 – The medicine people give
35:24 – Teaching what people most need to learn
39:01 – Experiencing it in this conversation
45:11 – Bringing presence to every conversation
About Niiamah Ashong
Niiamah Ashong is a coach to outlier leaders, host of the Outlier’s Edge Podcast, and founder of the Trailblazer Collective. He coaches leaders who are creating something only they can make: a company, a body of work or a movement. Make a difference with your difference.
Work with Niiamah: 1:1 with Niiamah | World of Difference
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