Featuring:
Fiona Gomes Bhattacharya, ICF, EMCC, Executive Coach

Interviewed By: Sripriyaa Venkataraman
Curated By: Chandrani Datta

[If you are a manager or a leader in an organization, we believe that our Lamp, Ladder, Lifeboat series of interviews will guide you in nurturing the leader-coach within you, helping you make better choices for yourself and your team. In this series of thought leadership interviews, we have spoken to several esteemed leadership coaches who share ways of illuminating your path, holding onto the light within and navigate the choppy seas of life and changes]

In this enlightening interview, Coach Fiona Gomes Bhattacharya talks about her belief in faith-based leadership coaching to help coachees navigate their journey with clarity and centredness. She also shares how sessions often reinforce the power of patience and the value of a coach’s silent presence in facilitating a coachee’s self-discovery. She also focuses on embracing things as they come, guiding her coachees to move beyond finding a reason behind everything.

What is a metaphor that would define you as a coach, and also your coaching practice?

In the recent years, my approach has evolved significantly, with metaphors becoming a key part of engaging with clients and understanding their needs. This evolution reflects changes in both my clients and myself. I’ve developed a coaching module centered on the concept of path and witness, recognizing that life’s journey involves various paths and directions. This module is designed to accompany clients as they navigate these changes, focusing on purpose, awareness, transformation, habit modification, and the support needed for these shifts. Transformation, I believe, requires altering daily actions and habits, whether mental, physical, or behavioral.

Additionally, I’ve long embraced the metaphor of being a bridge for my clients—facilitating their journey from their current state to their desired future. This involves helping them navigate through their myriad thoughts and emotions along the way. These two metaphors—the path and witness, and the bridge—underline my coaching philosophy, emphasizing continuous support and guidance in the transformative journey of my clients.

As a coach, how does your lamp illuminate their purpose?

I view the concept of lamp in two distinct ways, integrating it deeply into my coaching philosophy, especially within the context of faith-based leadership coaching. Inspired by a verse from the Bible, “Be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path,” I embody this principle in my practice. This verse encapsulates the essence of what I aim to provide: support, guidance, and illumination for my coachees, helping them navigate their journey with clarity. The metaphor of illumination resonates broadly, symbolizing the role I play in shedding light on the paths of those I guide.

On a personal level, this metaphor also reflects on my needs as a coach. Comparing myself to an oil lamp, I recognize the importance of replenishing my own resources regularly. This replenishment ensures I can continue to serve effectively, offering light and direction. The concept of the lamp thus carries dual significance for me, representing both the support I offer my coachees and the self-care necessary to sustain my ability to provide that support. This duality underscores the depth and richness of the coaching journey for both the coachee and myself.

How do you ensure the lamp within you doesn’t get extinguished?

Currently, my method for personal rejuvenation involves a unique routine, reflective of my recent certification as a green apologist. This involves specific practices in reading, writing, and even health-focused handwriting. A critical part of my daily ritual is to write one page every morning in a precise manner. Regardless of what the day holds, this is a task I commit to completing before diving into other activities. While family responsibilities are a separate consideration, this writing practice is essential for me.

Remarkably, dedicating seven to thirteen minutes to this solitary activity each morning has a profound energizing effect. The discipline of sitting down to write, and the satisfaction of fulfilling this personal goal, significantly contributes to replenishing my ‘lamp.’ This practice, though it might seem small, plays a crucial role in my overall well-being and capacity to serve others effectively. It stands as a current example of how I nurture my internal resources, among other strategies I employ for self-care and professional sustainability.

With the lamp metaphor, shining light on various aspects reveals new opportunities for growth. How do you illuminate what truly matters for leaders, guiding them to focus on their core priorities?

One aspect of leadership coaching I take great pride in is my ability to meet coachees where they are, initiating our journey together with a focus on empowering them. This approach is grounded in the core coaching skills of listening, pausing, and facilitating transformation, which I find profoundly rewarding. A recent experience underscored this for me. A coachee expressed a desire for a coach who listens more than speaks. Initially, she was quite reserved, challenging me to balance providing space with the need for engagement, mindful of her preference for minimal coach intervention.

Despite long pauses and my internal dilemma regarding the value I was adding, I refrained from filling the silence. Remarkably, by the third session, she opened up significantly, sharing deep feelings and initiating meaningful conversations about her breakthrough. She expressed gratitude for the silence that allowed her to think in a safe space, highlighting a different way to “shine the torch” for each coachee. For her, my approach of remaining silent and creating a secure environment was the light she needed. This experience not only deepened my appreciation for the unique paths of transformation but also reinforced the power of patience and the value of a coach’s silent presence in facilitating a coachee’s self-discovery.

How do you assist coaches in overcoming this sense of stagnation or dimmed light during their time with you?

In a collaborative session with a fellow coach, I experienced significant personal and professional growth. The focus was not on dwelling in the past but on understanding the significance of a metaphorical extinguished light in my life. This process involved deciphering what that extinguished light represented and critically evaluating its current relevance. It was a journey of validation—acknowledging the importance of what was lost, yet questioning its value in the present.

This reflective exercise led me to realize that the significance I had attributed to this ‘light’ was perhaps more than it warranted. The key was in recognizing this disparity and then identifying a new direction or ‘light’ that aligns with my current values and goals. Letting go of what no longer serves us can be a powerful step towards moving forward.

This learning experience has enriched my approach to coaching, especially when engaging with clients who feel lost or hopeless. I emphasize the importance of centering oneself to assess whether certain aspects of their life still serve their best interest. For those elements that do, we explore pathways forward; for those that don’t, we work on acknowledging their diminished value to facilitate progression. This method of validation and reframing is not just a technique but a profound realization that can catalyze significant change and development.

In the ladder metaphor of coaching, clients often encounter challenges like fear of heights, feeling stuck, or balancing issues as they climb. Fiona, how do you assist leaders with these challenges in their ascent?

In my coaching practice, I draw inspiration from the traditional ladder metaphor, emphasizing the role of support and encouragement. As a coach, I see myself as the person standing at the base of the ladder, offering moral support and ensuring clients feel supported as they climb. This approach symbolizes my commitment to being present and encouraging clients as they navigate their journey, whether they face challenges midway or grapple with the decision to move upwards.

My primary role is to create a safe space for growth, enabling clients to take risks and explore their potential. Recognizing and celebrating each step forward is central to my method, emphasizing the significance of even the smallest progress. I also integrate challenge into my coaching, pushing clients to see the potential within themselves that they might not yet recognize.

Celebration, challenge, and reflection form the core of my coaching strategy, helping leaders recognize their achievements and the distance they’ve traversed. This approach not only aids in navigating the steep paths of their personal and professional goals but also instills a sense of accomplishment and confidence as they climb their metaphorical ladder.

How do we prepare our coachees for climbing this ladder amidst interactions with a potentially challenging ecosystem?

Facing challenges in the corporate world is more common than expected. I recall a client, Priya, who was initially confident and clear about his direction. However, he encountered a moment of crisis when he expected support from his team but found himself alone. This led us to employ the Johari window framework to uncover the disconnect between his self-perception and how others viewed him.

This process revealed significant insights, prompting Priya to confront his vulnerability and the reality of his situation. By openly discussing his experience of isolation and working through feedback with his team, Priya managed to realign his approach and perceptions.

His willingness to address these issues head-on, embrace feedback, and adapt his leadership style was commendable. As a coach, observing Priya’s resilience and growth through this challenging period was a testament to the power of self-awareness and the importance of being open to change.

How do you help the leaders you coach navigate choppy seas?

Facing challenges is akin to navigating choppy seas for leaders, who often anticipate and prepare for upcoming difficulties. In coaching, I guide leaders through strategic preparation, focusing on strengthening their core by reflecting on their strengths and past successes to build resilience. I also emphasize the power of gratitude, encouraging leaders to practice gratitude journaling and identify daily wins to foster calmness and resilience.

Utilizing tools from emotional intelligence, positive psychology, and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) helps in reframing perceptions and reducing fears, enabling leaders to approach challenges with confidence. Mindfulness practices and exercises, such as those from the Positive Intelligence program, are also crucial for building mental resilience, preparing leaders to face and navigate through anticipated choppy seas with readiness and strength. This comprehensive approach aims to equip leaders with the necessary mindset and tools to confidently face and navigate through their challenges.

How do you help your coaches seek clarity in the gray?

Navigating “choppy seas” in a corporate transition, I worked with a senior leader moving from a family business to a corporate role, facing a steep learning curve and an unfamiliar competitive environment. Her tendency to dwell on challenges amplified her struggle to adapt.

Our coaching focused on identifying her challenges and crafting strategies that aligned with her background, avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach. A turning point came when we revisited an initial setback: a document she submitted was rejected. Initially devastated, she later gained perspective, recognizing that rejection was part of navigating corporate dynamics, not a personal failure.

Through weekly sessions, we delineated her known challenges and developed personalized strategies, providing clarity and building her confidence to face unexpected obstacles. This tailored approach helped her transition more smoothly into her new role, demonstrating that with the right support and strategies, it’s possible to navigate through uncertainty and adapt to new environments successfully.

Do you have a transformative life story that continues to inspire you and serves as an anchor in your work with others?

My guiding philosophy isn’t a story but a belief that has strengthened with age: not everything needs a reason. This shift from competitiveness to acceptance has profoundly impacted my life and coaching. I’ve learned to embrace events as they happen, believing there’s a reason behind them, even if it’s not immediately clear. This approach helps me and my clients move beyond the constant search for ‘why,’ focusing instead on what can be learned or how we can grow from our experiences.

In my coaching, when clients dwell on why something occurred, I prompt them to consider how understanding the reason would genuinely benefit them. This often reveals that the pursuit of ‘why’ might not be as essential as finding a way forward.

Adopting this belief, I start each day acknowledging that there’s a purpose for my presence, embracing every experience as a gift. This mantra of acceptance keeps me centered, reminding me of the power of daily habits and the beauty in integrating our life’s lessons. It’s a daily commitment to living intentionally, guided by the belief that life’s unpredictability is what makes it valuable and rich.

Fiona Gomes Bhattacharya

ICF, EMCC, Executive Coach

Fiona brings over 25 years of corporate experience to her fulfilling role as a coach, partnering with individuals to unlock their full potential. Holding credentials as an ICF PCC, ICF ACTC coach, and an EMCC Senior Practitioner, Fiona leverages her extensive corporate background and coaching expertise to deliver authentic and impactful conversations. Her coaching philosophy is centered on making a significant difference in the lives of her clients, guiding leaders to discover their path and purpose.

Throughout her corporate career, Fiona has made substantial contributions in various domains including Talent & HR Operations, Client and Account Management, Hospitality Operations, and Program Management. Her ability to drive teams towards achieving greater heights and fostering holistic, sustainable outcomes has established her as a skilled Systemic Team Coach. Fiona’s strength lies in her collaborative approach and commitment to delivering value and outcomes through teamwork, making her a respected figure in both her coaching practice and corporate endeavours.