Episode Description

How does the ego impact a coaching relationship? In this episode of Coaching Revealed, Eric Kaufmann, executive coach, consultant, and zen practitioner explores his journey with mindfulness and coaching. Eric is interviewed by Institute of Coaching Executive Director, Dr. Jeff Hull on how mindfulness is a revolutionary tool in promoting presence, agency, and self-leadership. 
 

Episode Summary:

How does the ego impact a coaching relationship? In this episode of Coaching Revealed, Eric Kaufmann, executive coach, consultant, and zen practitioner explores his journey with mindfulness and coaching. Eric is interviewed by Institute of Coaching Executive Director, Dr. Jeff Hull on how mindfulness is a revolutionary tool in promoting presence, agency, and self-leadership. The episode covers Eric’s life journey into a 30 year long Zen practice and reintegrating his knowledge into corporate environments. 

Having engaged in a lifelong journey of mindfulness, Eric emphasizes the importance of engaging with a mindfulness practice of one’s own when helping others become more mindful. Although not required, Eric’s personal Zen practice involved an entire one year silent retreat in a mountain log cabin he built himself. Eric shares how mindfulness allows for individuals to honor the miracle of existence and cultivate a zest for life.

Bringing this mindset into corporate environments has been a journey, with Eric citing how organizations have become more accepting of mindfulness and Zen inspired trainings over his years of practice. In today’s constantly evolving world, executives are hungry for tools that assist in navigating uncertainty.

Eric notes that not only has the environment adjusted, but his own personal journey has helped develop and prepare him for engaging with individuals, specifically ‘ego myopia’. Within ego myopia, Eric addressees the challenges individuals have in facing their own ego.

For individuals, Eric sees multiple areas for challenge in becoming mindful. On a broader scale, the chaos of one’s environment can make it hard to center. At the individual level, Eric voices how he experiences coaching as working simultaneously with helping a client balance the needs of their past, present and future. Regardless of where your clients are coming from, this episode of Coaching Revealed focuses on helping indivdiauls arrive to the coaching space through mindfulness practice.