Ikigaï, the time for questions and also for answers…
One day, sooner or later, there comes a time for questions: you wonder about what makes you unique, your vocation and what you can bring to the world. Although this is essentially an individual undertaking, it is also relevant in a collective context, meaning an organization or a company.
And to this questioning, here is the clear answer from Aristotle: “Where your talents and the world’s needs meet is where you will find your vocation”.
The Japanese in Okinawa have a word to express this “confluence”: Ikigaï.
Experiment and then provide guidance
Ikigaï evokes both the purpose of our vocation (become a committed entrepreneur, engineer, inspiring professor) and the deep joy that we get from doing this activity.
In the end, we speak about the principle of alignment and also of leadership. Indeed, it is primarily thanks to their expertise and influence that the leader gains in presence, depth and power.
To carry out this endeavor, I followed the process myself and then I took a training course with Stéphane Dieutre, the founder of the Institut Aristote. He has developed a comprehensive and original process, which is based on simple principles which I agree with: Appreciative Enquire; positive psychology; uniqueness, flow, creativity, achievement and responsibility principles.
One of the key steps of the process, after you have discovered your strengths, is the creation of talent characters®. These are archetypes which are specific to each person and which are brought out and embody a facet of our personality, a particular talent, a specific energy.
Then, the general idea is to become the maestro of your characters in order to activate them at the right time and intelligently according to the situation.
Unlike most of the known corporate models which offer profile types which you cling on to, here you create your own talent characters®, which leads to a profound and operative model.
Consistency and presence to generate charisma and power
In practical terms, after having worked on your needs, aspirations and ensured your alignment, you can can start developing a vision for the future, for a project and the action plan to implement it.
Development of self-confidence, detection and optimization of your special strengths, complete alignment (head/heart/body): this dynamic of personal transformation generates more consistency, presence, and ultimately more charisma and power.
Note also that this process requires a personal investment as it takes several months with alternated work sessions (together and alone).
The organization’s “vocation”
In my coaching interventions, I first developed this ikigaï process on an individual level for managers and leaders.
Now, I also offer it to steering committees or teams: following a shared individual effort, we will collectively look for the organization’s vocation with the aim of mobilizing all the energies in the same direction and multiplying the power. ■
