Coaching for Success: Uncovering Blind Spots and Achieving Leadership Goals

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Stone Payton: Welcome to the High Velocity Radio show, where we celebrate top performers producing better results in less time. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. This is going to be a good one. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast Director of Executive Coaching and Leadership Services at Weaver, Roshmi Dalal. How are you?

Roshmi Dalal: I’m doing good, Stone. So happy to be here with you today.

Stone Payton: Well, it’s a delight to have you on the show. Tell us a little bit about your role at Weaver and what you find yourself doing these days inside that organization.

Roshmi Dalal: Yeah, I’m very excited to talk about that. So we at Weaver, um, are launching our newest practice in leadership and executive coaching services. Um, so these will these services will involve individualized coaching team coaching. We’re going to, you know, offer some emotional intelligence training. I know that’s really in trend these days in addition to wellbeing coaching. Um, any any challenges with succession planning or even outplacement services? Um, and we have our very own, um, coach training program that we are offering our clients. So yes, I am the director of these external services for our firm. We are a CPA firm that offers audit, tax and, uh, consulting services.

Stone Payton: Well, it sounds like good work if you can get it. Tell tell us a little bit about the journey. How did you find your yourself on this path?

Roshmi Dalal: Yeah, that it is quite the journey because, um, I, you know, started my career as a CPA. So it’s it’s like it’s all coming, you know, to one big circle now with this position I’m in. Um, so I started my, my career as a CPA. Oh, gosh. About 25 years ago. Um, coming out of the University of Texas at Austin. Um, and, uh, leaping into the world of the big four public accounting firms. One very famous kind of actually infamous, infamous known as Arthur Andersen is where I started my career. Um, and I was there for almost five years with, um, another infamous client called Enron being, uh, my main client over there. And, you know, early this was very early on in my career that, you know, I experienced, um, such a curveball as both companies, as you know, went went down in the early 2000. Um, and we had promising careers. Um, my husband and I actually both worked for these companies, and we we just saw it all come to an end within five years of being at these firms. Um, so from there, I went on to work for an oil and gas company called Occidental, and I continued on providing or, you know, servicing in accounting, finance and specifically in Sarbanes-Oxley at the time, which was very hot off the press due to the situation at Arthur Andersen and Enron. Um, I became their technical accounting lead. And then life happened. Stone um, we started to experience some, uh, personal setbacks, which caused me to take a break from my career in, um, in oil and gas accounting for a bit.

Roshmi Dalal: We started a family at the same time. And our our extended family, um, meaning our parents really experienced some health issues that I had to take a break for and be and be a caretaker? Essentially. Um, for a few years. Um, so as I was experiencing those setbacks, I was, you know, kind of exploring my own personal growth at the time and noticing how much I, you know, had to turn to mental fitness tools. You know, essentially, that’s what I call them to recover and jump back, uh, and move on from these setbacks, whether they were health as they were, my parents both had, um, serious health issues that I was trying to combat or, again, with my career. Any other area I was noticing myself in those instances and how I was recovering, and I was taking the help of meditation practices, mindfulness tools, all to kind of help me move on from these setbacks. Um, I did try to go back during this time to my accounting career. And, you know, as we all believe in destiny would have it. It just wasn’t working out because I was a caretaker for a few years. Doing both was, you know, very, very hard on our families and was difficult to find a part time situation that would accommodate that. Well, lo and behold, we, um, experienced loss, uh, due to those health issues. And, um, we also experienced devastation from our home being flooded in Hurricane Harvey in 2017. And once again, instead of spiraling because of those setbacks, we did something very, um, out of the ordinary.

Roshmi Dalal: We took a position to go to the other side of the world, to the Middle East, and work for Saudi Aramco. Um, that was certainly a a brave leap of faith, uh, from some of the, again, challenges that we faced here back at home in Houston. But we just saw some real possibilities for our career as well as for our family. And it was in the Middle East where, um, I was assigned to come up with a positive mental wellbeing program for a sizable oil and gas company. And it was there that I discovered the world of coaching, and I was coaching on the job without even knowing I was a coach at the time. And, um, and, and because of, you know, the world becoming more virtual at the time, this was soon after, uh, the pandemic hit. I was able to start my own global coaching practice, um, in the Middle East and, um, service clients at large oil companies that were in leadership roles as well as the community over there. Uh, that was going through so much progress, um, with males and females being on, you know, the same page or on the same plane, rather both at work and in, um, in, in the In the local communities. Um, and then, uh, I took my practice back here in Houston. We moved back a few years ago and resumed my, um, private practice and then got, uh, an exciting opportunity to work for, for Weaver and launch their external coaching practice, which is what I’m doing right now.

Stone Payton: It’s never a straight line, is it?

Roshmi Dalal: But that’s what makes life so interesting, I think.

Stone Payton: But what a tremendous amount of, uh, street cred you must have in your day to day work. Are you finding that mental fitness resilience that it’s analogous to physical fitness in that you really can impact it with some discipline, some rigor? There are ways to to increase this. Yes.

Roshmi Dalal: Yes, 100%. I mean, I do believe and through my own personal and professional setbacks and challenges that, you know, we are in power of our destiny in a way. Um, as long as we can get out of our own heads, as long as we don’t allow ourselves to spiral in response to major setbacks and challenges, and these mental fitness tools and practices that I was so privileged to have by my side when practiced regularly and with intention, can definitely help you with that resilience that’s needed. Um, whether it’s a, you know, decision that you’re having to make in a leadership role or, again, whether it’s something personal that you’re trying to recover from, such as a loss of a loved one. Um, you know, when practice regularly, it can do so much, uh, in terms of that recovery, in terms of seeing the possibilities ahead even when things seem so bad. Um, so I, I draw huge parallels to physical fitness, as you mentioned. Um, and it of course it depends on the size of the challenge, but the more regular we are with our mental fitness practices, uh, the easier we’re able to hand handle the challenges, no matter the size.

Stone Payton: So with that, as an overarching framework, what are some other key topics or practice areas that you find yourself working with, with people and teams on? Or there are a few that just are almost always part of the process for you guys.

Roshmi Dalal: A lot of clients come to me for just developing their emotional intelligence. And emotional intelligence covers so many competencies. You know, uh, self-awareness, emotional self-awareness, self-control, self-confidence, um, growing initiative, flexibility. Um, again, that resilience. Empathy. Very key to emotional intelligence. Um, and, you know, all these competencies, uh, are used in leadership, um, in, at on executive roles as they’re managing teams, as they’re, um, you know, trying they’re challenged with, uh, a merger or acquisition bankruptcy, um, trying to, uh, engage their clients, retain them, trying to develop productivity tools, uh, time management tools for their employees. So, you know, all of these, um, emotional intelligence, um, tools are being used to address client needs in the areas that I, that I work in.

Stone Payton: And the people you’re working with, I’m operating under the impression. I mean, these are they’re in high stress, high stakes roles, right? I mean, this could have a heck of an impact on the everything from mental fitness to bottom line, right?

Roshmi Dalal: Oh, yes. Absolutely. I mean, you know, there’s strategic planning involved. There’s high stake decision making with lots of stakeholders involved. Um, communication is so key. So, yes, uh, depending on the challenge, of course, all these areas of development are needed in, in, you know, highly, uh, high profile leadership roles. I’ve seen it with, with my own clients.

Stone Payton: So I think you mentioned earlier a phrase like, you know, I have clients who come to me or to us for this or for that. And I was kind of thinking, man, it would be great if they are coming to you. And it must be tremendous value in having them engage in the work. But is that sometimes a challenge? Because I can think that there it would. There are people in my life. Let’s let’s put it that way. I can only speak to what I observe. That boy, I really feel like they would benefit from something like this, but I don’t know that they would be real quick to come to any. Like how do you get the new clients new the new business?

Roshmi Dalal: Now, that’s a great question, Stone, because often people don’t realize that they have the need, right? Or it’s difficult for them to talk about. And, um, you know, I’m a big believer in listening to to to the, the challenges that my prospects have, uh, before trying to offer what I, you know, what I can do for them. So being a very keen listener and really trying to take a deep dive on what someone’s needs are, I think are extremely important, um, for them to build awareness on, you know, how we as a service provider and coaching can help them. Um, and of course, we take the help of assessments as well. Um, I have emotional intelligence assessments that I offer. Um, I’m trained in Harrison, which is a very robust leadership, um, assessment where people understand, again, at a deeper level, you know, where are they? What are their own roadblocks? Where, where how are they getting in their own way of progress? You know, the famous saying, our minds can be our best friends, but they can be our worst enemies. And a lot of times, these assessments are a great indicator on helping people figure out, um, you know, what they can do for themselves to, to get ahead.

Stone Payton: I could see where some of the people that you’re working with, maybe many of the people would feel feel alone. I don’t maybe even like you got people aiming at you. But I can see in leading an organization of any real size and complexity feeling that way. And then I can also see the person really kind of getting down on themselves when it doesn’t go right. I mean, you’re dealing with all of these dynamics at once, I suspect.

Roshmi Dalal: Leadership roles as as you can imagine, are different from management roles, traditional management roles. I mean, you are, as a leader, having to really, you know, um, address those curveballs that are coming at you a mile a minute at the same time, uh, with very, very deep consequences if if those decisions are not made right. And so, um, there is there is so much to, uh, you know, there’s so many benefits of developing oneself by the time you get to that point, um, to be able to handle a company in distress, you know, or a company that’s restructuring, um, or going through, um, major growth even, you know, how do you take that company in the right direction in a way that’s, um, calm and effective and influential, inspiring as well for, you know, your employees.

Stone Payton: So what’s the most rewarding thing about the work for you these days? What do you what are you enjoying the most at this point in your practice and your career?

Roshmi Dalal: Well, I think, you know, taking my clients through the journey of coaching can once again just reveal so many blind spots that they didn’t know they had in their, um, in their own way of thinking. And I think, you know, taking that deep dive with them to really understand, um, their past to some extent. Of course, as coaches, we don’t go into their past as much. But but to really understand the present level, um, in a much more deeper level is impactful for them to make the changes that they want to make and seeing them make those changes and get closer to achieving their goals for me is is absolutely rewarding. I mean, that’s why I entered this profession and to begin with, um, I’m so, uh, fulfilled as I offer this trusted, uh, quiet space for my clients to do the deep reflection that they do and to, you know, lay out their their action steps to get closer to achieving their desired outcomes has been very rewarding for me as a coach to see.

Stone Payton: Well, I’m glad you mentioned, uh, a trusted space, because I was thinking, as you were talking the level of trust, the depth of relationship that you must have to cultivate for the to to really help these folks as much as possible. I mean, they have they have got to feel safe when they’re engaging in this learning, don’t they?

Roshmi Dalal: Oh, that level of safety is one of the most important things to build that, you know, trust, uh, and vulnerability, um, you know, in this coaching relationship, I start, uh, with six months of coaching to begin, and we meet twice a month. And believe me, the first few months, I would say, yeah, we’re just getting to know each other. You know, we’re just continuing to explore one another and, um, get those very uncomfortable, get to those very uncomfortable places. Um, that that’s not easy to always talk about, you know, looking at patterns and for myself, making observations. But even being able to be very transparent as we go along in our coaching, it just takes time and trust and, um, again, creating that safe space in our coaching relationship. But that can lead to phenomenal results.

Stone Payton: Well, I suspect there’s tremendous value if your clients choose to take advantage of it That in watching you model behaviors, maybe even strategies and tactics and tools to build trust because, wow, how much more powerful might they be as a leader if they take some of what they see you doing inside their organization? Yeah.

Roshmi Dalal: What a great point. You just made, stone. Um, that’s really that’s a lot of what happens during our coaching conversations. We marry each other in a way. And so it is important for me to show that empathy that that leader wants to grow in for his or her team. You know, it is important for me to show active listening where I’m completely present to, to what my client is telling me versus being distracted on the phone or trying to do something else. Um, again, if that client wants to work on his or her presence and productivity. Um, so yes, as we are engaging in these conversations, I am doing my best to model and project the behaviors that my client wants to see and develop.

Stone Payton: So do you run into I got I’m going to call them myths, misconceptions, just preconceived notions about what this work is. You know, maybe early in the in the in the course of engaging with people, do you find that you have to kind of educate through or work around to sometimes people have some pretty, um, off the mark ideas about things like mindfulness and, and mental fitness and emotional intelligence and these kind of things.

Roshmi Dalal: Oh yes, there is always misconceptions. Sometimes, as you know, the the mindfulness. And these areas are perceived as being woo woo, you know, uh, by many. Um, but, you know, I, I take the time and I think it’s important for coaches to do this to to clarify, first of all, the coaching tools that I use and the meaning behind them and what they’re able to bring for my clients when I do demonstrate, for example, mindfulness practices during the coaching sessions, I do it with permission. First of all, I ask my clients for permission to to engage in these practices, and then I love to explore what those practices did for them so that, you know, it’s not just a one sided approach. They’re receiving it and feeling the difference. Um, and then I, I want to ask them, has their, uh, perception of these tools change? And nine out of ten times it’s a resounding yes. Um, they see the impact, they see how calming the effect is. They see the clarity that it brings in their, um, approach to thinking and decision making and and most of all, they see the long term resilience that they gain from doing these practices regularly. And of course, the emotional intelligence competencies that they’re building over time. So, um, again, early on, I do like to clarify, you know, a little more about what these practices do, will bring them, will do for them and what they’re all about and how they’re relevant to our coaching. I also try to clarify what coaching is in general and how it’s different from therapy and mentoring and counseling, because many times when I do have a client that wants to work with me, they want to know the answers. They want advice, um, specifically if they’re in the same area of business, which is the finance industry, you know, if they’re CPAs that are wanting to develop that emotional intelligence. And, um, of course, my answer to them is, is that coaching is not advice. It’s about us engaging in a series of thought provoking questions and conversation that helps allow for you to bring the best solutions to your challenges.

Stone Payton: Well, this brings me back. I don’t want to dismiss this at all, because it’s kind of a I don’t know, revelation may be strong, but it’s certainly opening my eyes to this this idea of capability transfer and thinking about return on investment from having senior leadership participate in something like this. But with this capability transfer, I’m going to call it for right now, whether it’s conscious or not. I mean, that could have an exponential impact on going like the, you know, like the ripples in the pond thing when I get back to my ranch. Right?

Roshmi Dalal: Yes. Are you referring to the ROI, the return on investment? Yeah.

Stone Payton: Coaching to me, you know, and like, I’m. I’m the number two guy in a pretty successful media company, right? So if I’m in there working with you. We’re working through some of my challenges. I’m building that trust. I’m watching you model that behavior. I’m practicing on these skills in a safe environment. And, um, you know, I could certainly have other people in the organization come to you as well. But now we’ve got a we’ve got me going back to the ranch Business RadioX and behaving this way and being a model for people in my world, that’s a a multiple return. It seems to me like.

Roshmi Dalal: Yes. And, you know, to kind of corroborate that, to back that up, you know, we encourage our clients to do 360 reviews with their with their teams, you know, do a set before the coaching, do a set after the coaching so they can really realize from the feedback, the changes that their teams are experiencing, um, with their leadership. So there are definite return on investment numbers to back this work up. Um with improving leadership competencies, uh, for our clients.

Stone Payton: All right, I’m gonna switch gears on you for a moment, if I could. I am genuinely interested, and I think our listeners will be, too. Uh, hobbies, pursuits, interests outside the scope of your work, anything you have a tendency to nerd out about or really enjoy that doesn’t have anything to do with any of this?

Roshmi Dalal: Well, I am a very extroverted social person, so I, number one, love people. And, uh, I, I love just, um, you know, engaging in all kinds of, uh, clubs, like book clubs. I love to read. I love to discuss books. Um, sometimes they’re on coaching since it is a place of passion for me. And sometimes they’re on various topics. Um, I am quite the spiritual person, so I love topics on spirituality. I enjoy, um, teaching yoga. That’s one of my passions and mindfulness. Um, and it again brings me closer to that spiritual path that I, you know, um, take very seriously. I love children, so I teach Sunday school, and, uh, I love, you know, being able to engage with kids. I love traveling in the Middle East. We got to travel quite a bit, just being geographically in a very central location. Um, and of course, my family is number one. I’ve got two teenagers, 19 and almost 17, who I adore and would love to spend every waking minute with if I could. So I’m very grateful I have a very full life in addition to this, um, wonderful job that I have at Weaver.

Stone Payton: Well, I find you remarkably calm and evenly keeled for a mother of two teenagers. So, uh, congratulations on that.

Roshmi Dalal: I’ve had lots of tests there, so.

Stone Payton: Hey, before we wrap, I’d love to leave our listeners with a pro tip for producing better results in less time. But, you know, in the context of of this conversation, whether it’s, it’s, uh, their own development or trying to look at their organization and look, gang. The number one pro tip is reach out and have a conversation with me or someone on the team. But let’s give them a little something, whether it’s something to read or to think about. Uh, let’s leave them with a pro tip.

Roshmi Dalal: Yes, absolutely. You know, I go back to we are often the ones that get in our own ways. So instead of looking at challenges as just being external, whether it’s in your professional or even personal life, um, take a deep dive and look into developing your own self, you know, building that self-awareness, taking that pause. More importantly, when you are faced with a challenge and, you know, doing some reflection on what is what is it that that it continues to get in the in your own way regarding your thought patterns? And what are some neat ways that you can help change that with the help of a coach or someone that could hold that trusted space for you as we work on ourselves? I believe in so many more possibilities, and I think we deserve to give ourselves that pause and do that reflection and work on ourselves as we move forward in our lives.

Stone Payton: I think that’s marvelous, counsel. All right. What’s the best way for our listeners to continue to tap into your work, maybe have that conversation with you or someone on your team. Let’s give them some coordinates to do that.

Roshmi Dalal: Yes, absolutely. Please do check out our company website at Weaver. Com and specifically, if, um, anyone wants to reach out to me, shoot me an email at roshmi. That’s spelled r o I dot. I’d a l a l at Weaver Comm.

Stone Payton: Rosemead. Thank you so much for investing the time to visit with us this afternoon. Thank you for your insight, your perspective, and thank you for the work you’re doing. It is so important and impacting so many and we are sincerely grateful.

Roshmi Dalal: O Stone, this was so much fun. I really appreciate the opportunity and time you’ve given me to talk about a topic I absolutely love.

Stone Payton: My pleasure. All right, until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Roshmi Dulal with Weaver and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying, we’ll see you in the fast lane.