Impactful Transformation Begins With Small Steps
Subscribe to Podcast:
Find us on your podcast app by searching for 'coaching in education'.
Interview with Elena Joli & Annette Gray
Transcript
Leigh Hatcher (presenter):Hello and welcome to a very special Growth Coaching International podcast. I'm Leigh Hatcher. I've been really looking forward to this Skype conversation. We're taking you back to Bologna in Italy for a follow-up conversation with Italian Science teacher Ellen Joli. We last spoke to her just before she joined a quite remarkable journey as part of the Homeward Bound Project. 80 women from around the world explored Antarctica for three weeks, as part of the leadership programme influencing climate change. They all have a background in STEM. Elena also has a PhD on the black hole.
Annette Grey, one of our directors at Growth Coaching International, was one of 80 coaches, volunteering their time to coach the women on the voyage, on leadership, resilience and wellbeing, and how having a coach helps to prepare for the journey of a lifetime. So, how did it all go?
Elena Joli
It was amazing and wonderful. I think that amazing was the most common word during the trip. I could add, life changing, inspiring, unique and very instructive. I definitely suffer from a kind of Antarctica blues. There's a beautiful expression in Italian, which is [Italian 00:01:24], a kind of deep home sick for Antarctica.
Leigh Hatcher (presenter):
What would you say you enjoyed most about the voyage?
Elena Joli
I can say that it has been really an epic experience, I'll never forget, because Antarctica gets in your bones, in your blood in a sense. Both from a personal and a professional point of view, it's hard for me to establish the ranking of the most significant experiences during the trip. I cannot forget the iceberg for example, these ice sculptures, these ice cathedrals with such a chromatic beauty, undisputed rulers of the southern ocean. I cannot forget the quiet time spent in the middle of a colony of Adélie penguins for example, I cannot forget the visit to the science stations and the interactions with the scientists from all over the world. Obviously, I will never forget the life on board with 80 wonderful women, working together on the science communication, on leadership, on personal strategy and on the beauty of our environment.
Leigh Hatcher (presenter):
It sounds epic, it's great. Were there actually many or any surprises on that Elena?
Elena Joli
Surprises? Let me say that, the universe was quite benign and kind with us, because for example, the Drake Passage, if you remember, I was afraid of being sea sick before leaving, but the Drake Passage, this 800km long body of water between Cape Horn in South America, and the Shetland Islands in Antarctic Peninsula, was quite calm. We were really calm. It waves less than one metre high, that's what the sailors called a Drake Lake, that is to say calm lake. So, this was a good thing. The weather was good, we had snow storms or strong winds, because it's normal in Antarctica, but the temperature was warmer than expected. It was never below -15 Celsius degrees.
Maybe the only difficult time was when we had to go south, to visit and to get to the English station of Rotherham. We had to sail a very narrow passage, completely covered with ice pack. It took us almost four hours to travel three miles. But at the end, everything was okay. Our captain and our expedition was an expert and trustworthy.
Leigh Hatcher (presenter):
I want to ask you how prepared you were for this trip but, this is where I'll bring Annette in first, just to refresh our memory about how she prepared you. Annette?
Annette Gray
As coaches, we were briefed on the self-care perspective of how important that was for participants to look after their own self-care, because there's nowhere to have alone time on the ship, say with 80 people 24/7. The other aspect was because of the daylight, it was a big percentage of the day, there was a, what's it called, fear of missing out. So, that was a perspective. So, I'm really curious to hear how Elena went with looking after herself during three weeks of being with people the whole time.
Leigh Hatcher (presenter):
Give us a couple of examples about how you equipped her with self-care. What did you talk about?
Annette Gray
We talked about how we should go in to cope with being with people for that amount of time, and not having alone time. Particularly when you're not extremely extroverted, that can be hard to not have that. We talked about some of the bedtime routine of how you would relax at night, being able to have headphones or meditate or whatever things you could do to actually rejuvenate yourself to be able to go back out and be with people again.
Leigh Hatcher (presenter):
Elena, how did you manage yourself on the voyage, the relationships to self-care, in such a closed environment, over those weeks?
Elena Joli
I have to say that, before boarding on the ship, we spent three days in which, you have to get to know each other, and to sit and share some ground rules. For example, be present, be kind to yourself and to others, respect yourself and others, be open and curious. On board, we had always a safe space to dialogue, where all voices were equally important. This was very useful for me. I think that it's very important to know what you need to function well. My daily routine, as Annette Grey just said, was very respectful of my physical and psychological wellbeing. So, every day, we had one landing to visit, some science stations in the morning, and the other part of the day was devoted to collective activity and training regarding science, communication or leadership.
So, at the end of the day, after an intense work day, got some interacting with others. In the evening, I needed to be by myself, I did yoga, I went to sleep early, because I know that sleep is crucial for me to function well.
Leigh Hatcher (presenter):
All of us.
Elena Joli
Yes. In the evening, I had time for myself to keep a travel journal, to reflect on all the many solicitations I received during the day.
Leigh Hatcher (presenter):
I remember you expressing some curiosity or even concerns about spending so much time with so many women on board, for that period of time. How did that go?
Elena Joli
Yes, you're right, you remember well. Before leaving, I was excited and scared, how would it be to live with so many women, unknown people for 24 hours a day for a month. But really, working with Annette Grey my coach, according to the result of my lifestyle inventory, I decided that I had to be open to everything that was to come during the journey, to be resilient and to try to stay connected with others. I know that sometimes I have the tendency to withdraw, as a defence strategy in front of unknown situations. But, being aware of this aspect of my behaviour, I was ready to take some risks.
For this reason, unexpectedly, at the start of my journey, I felt very well centred and balanced, and my experience was really positive under every point of view, because maybe I gave myself the opportunity to live and appreciate fully, the present moment.
Leigh Hatcher (presenter):
You're listening to a very special Growth Coaching International podcast conversation with Elena Joli. Now, I must say that, Annette Grey has been very restrained up until now. This is actually the first time she's spoken to Elena about how it all went since her return. So, how's she feeling about such a story?
Annette Gray
When you're ever in the privilege of being a coach, when you hear people, the coachee, putting into place some of the things we spoke about, it makes me feel really, really proud.
Leigh Hatcher (presenter):
I bet, I bet.
Annette Gray
Using the language of the tool, the LSI, the LifeStyles Inventory, is wonderful. She's living and breathing it, because you can't get a more heightened stress environment than what she had to experience. Putting your best self forward is what we were setting her up to do, which it sounded like she did. So, that makes me really, really proud as a coach and really excited that she was able to do that.
Leigh Hatcher (presenter):
Bravo to both of you. Elena, there was a range of collaborative and collective activities on the trip. What did they amount to, and how did they play out for you and for others?
Elena Joli
I may say that we were a real community of women, aged between 27 and 64, from 15 different countries in the world. We looked after each other. So, I immediately at ease, in a safe space. For this reason, I think that I had a favourable location to know about myself and to share feelings, ideas, professional projects, with other women with the same commitment as me. It was like I was of the protection of the environment. Then, we had real and genuine collaboration. I experienced what I call a cultural biodiversity, which enriched me so much, because I gained a deep scientific knowledge on our environment and climate change, and I forged new skills. As one of the slogans Homeward Bound declares, "We are stronger together," this is true.
I cannot not remember the words of George Bernard Shaw, the English writer, he said, "If you had one apple and I have one apple, and we exchanged our two apples, then you and I will still each have one apple. But, if I have an idea and you have an idea, and we exchange these ideas, at the end, each of us will have two ideas." This is the lesson of collaboration that I learned from Homeward Bound.
Leigh Hatcher (presenter):
That's terrific. But as a leader as well, how would you say this whole experience developed you as a leader?
Elena Joli
I had incredible lessons. I think that this experience gave bright and authentic new meaning to the words leader and leadership for me. When I was a child, I rarely was the first to voluntarily step up to lead. But, at the end, I was often unhappy and frustrated when things didn't go the way I wanted. I think that the words and the concept to leadership, is challenging for me. We had great discussions with Annette Grey about this concept before leaving.
During the Homeward Bound, I realised that I needed to find a different meaning, a constructive and active one to this word leader or leadership, which could be relevant for me. I was pushed to become and to behave a better human being, and at the end, as a better leader. How many times did I say to myself, "I'm not prepared for this and for that?" Now, I feel ready and enabled, to shift into a constructive frame of mind, because I applied my expertise to make the difference.
Leigh Hatcher (presenter):
I really need to ask you about the issue that was front and centre of this whole endeavour, climate change. Elena, what is done to direct or influence your commitment to the cause, beyond which you had a couple of months ago?
Elena Joli
Homeward Bound is a global project for women in science, and it aims to develop leadership capabilities to influence relevant issues including climate change, global warming, and the quality of life. Visiting such a remote place and delicate place as Antarctica, made me aware that every little change, for example in earth's atmosphere, has huge consequences for the Antarctica ecosystem, due to its extreme conditions. So, for example, a new recent study has found the steady growth of moss and lichens in Antarctica, over the last 50 years, as temperatures increase. The continued retreat of glaciers will make the Antarctic Peninsula a much greener place in the future, because, the Antarctic Peninsula is often thought of as a very remote and possibly even unattached region. But, this clearly shows, and I saw it with my eyes, that the effects of climate change are felt there.
So, time has come to take action as soon as possible, to protect our environment, for example, reducing plastic pollution, using renewable energies. With a group of women, we are developing a project in science communication, about the science and the impacts of climate change.
Leigh Hatcher (presenter):
Wonderful. I bet everyone back home was excited to ask about your trip. How are you sharing what you've learned, with your own school and community Elena?
Elena Joli
When I came back home, I had a lot of interest from national and local press, I had a few newspaper articles, radio interviews. The mayor of my city invited me to meet him to illustrate my journey. He proposed to me some kind of collaboration about environmental local issues. Of course, my friends, my colleagues, my students, everyone wanted to know the scientific, professional and personal impact of this experience. I gave some presentations and others are still to come, local schools, at the department of physics of the University of Bologna, and now I'm writing an article for a science magazine about Homeward Bound and my journey.
Leigh Hatcher (presenter):
Now, just to wrap up, I might actually step out of this conversation, and leave you two to sign off together. I'd love you to talk to each other, Annette and Elena, about what this has meant first for you Elena, and also Annette, for you to be part of this amazing and transformational journey.
Elena Joli
I am very, very grateful to Annette, because the coaching sessions before leaving, were important for me to identify, to learn, as I said, my things, as in my behaviours, and being able to discuss with a personalised coach, my results, for example, the results of my LifeStyle Inventory, was invaluable for sure. I had to say that, Annette is a wonderful person, not only a wonderful coach for me now. I may say she's a friend, a very lovely person for me. When I was on the ship, I remember clearly, very great conversations I had with Annette about the need to be conscious of what things trigger me, to learn how to respond to that. So, the coaching sessions and the fact that I had the opportunity to meet her, was invaluable, really important and precious. So thank you Annette, from my heart.
Annette Gray
A big thank you to you as well Elena. I was so excited to be able to actually follow the trip on Instagram and Facebook and see the wonderful pitches of what was coming through on the trip. So, I felt like I was there with you as well. This is a great example of being able to apply learning straight away, in such a highly, really stressful environment, that only the stress is short-term, but it's long-term. You've got to be with those people for four weeks. So, you were really pushed to the limit I think, in terms of applying your learning every moment of the day. It sounds like you did absolutely beautifully. It's been easy working with such a high achiever as Elena, who already had all these qualities, and it was just about reminding you that you have these, and to be conscious of applying them in the moment. So, pleased you were able to do that.
I should add, when we're talking about change, change happens from very small steps, but, they make a huge impact. So, just being present, just being in the moment, just being conscious, is a small step, but it's a huge leap that has such a powerful impact. So, this is a great demonstration of take small steps to have huge impact.
Leigh Hatcher (presenter):
Elena, can I ask you one more question? What advice would you have for others embarking on their own journey? Now, it doesn't have to be something like you did, it might be a real journey, a career journey, perhaps even an inward one. What would your advice be?
Elena Joli
The journey is in itself, a transformative experience. If you go into it with a calm and open heart, and if you are willing and able to take some risks, I think that you will be rewarded. Every time that you go out of your comfort zone, every time that you start a journey, you have the possibility to know your authentic self. That was my experience, with Annette and with Homeward Bound. Thank you.
Leigh Hatcher (presenter):
There's a fest of coaching resources on the GCI website. And if you'd like to check out Homeward Bound for yourself, head to www.homewardboundprojects.com.au