Case Study: Finding his true passion as a leader...

Meet Jeremy Khoo.

Jeremy works as a Communications Manager at an NGO, The World Toilet Organisation, whose mission it is to provide proper sanitation to the world.

Prior to joining the WTO, Jeremy was working as an operational executive director at a children's home. He was feeling stressed and frustrated with his job at the time and did not understand why. He had been working in the not-for-profit sector for some time and it was something he was passionate about and was getting a salary he was comfortable with. He was also doing meaningful work that resonated with his personality type and his spiritual life. He was at his wits end trying to understand what was troubling him. He approached Brian Lawrence for help at this point. Brian recommended the Intentional Leadership framework as the basis for helping Jeremy understand and resolve his frustrations. Jeremy tells it in his own words here...

“The Intentional Leadership process of identifying my immediate priorities and reducing them down to its essence really helped me find out what my true passion was. The process of cutting down the many areas of interest to just three key ones pertinent to the goal at hand was really challenging but it focused my interest and strengths to a laser point, which was essential."

As a result of the leadership coaching that Jeremy received using the framework, he discovered what his passion was in his work and felt as though a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He realised that advocacy was something he wanted to do rather than operational work which had been the focus of his previous job. He began looking for jobs which involved more advocacy work and even shared his Intentional Leadership goals during his interviews!

“The programme really gave me the confidence to focus on my key strengths and I successfully landed a job where advocacy was one of the key components. I am now enjoying my work much more in the industry that I love.

“Brian was really able to help me identify what was troubling me; helped me crystallise an optimal solution to suit my needs. Emotionally it was a great relief and it allowed me to move forward on my career path.

“It also helped me focus on my leadership skills, one of which, as someone with preferences for ENFJ, is having a coaching or mentoring style, which really helps me in my current job, working with my team. In fact, some of them even mentioned to me that I had good coaching skills. I thought that was great because it reinforced what I should really focus on.”

Jeremy’s current job involves advocating for proper sanitation especially in the developing world and it really resonates with him. He feels more energised at work and finds it far more fulfilling than doing the day-to day operational work that he found frustrating.

“I would definitely recommend Brian as a coach as I think his patience, empathy and professionalism are assets to him being a great coach. He has shown me results and I’ve done work with him on a few other things and each time, he helped me focus and realign back to my key strengths. I think it is vital for a coach to have the skills to identify the appropriate tool to help solve a client’s particular problem. This is something that can only be gained by experience, which Brian clearly has.”

To find out more about Intentional Leadership coaching and workshops contact Brian at brian@lifetrails.co.nz