‘Authentic Leadership With Mind And Body’ With Yan Masche

The Destiny Awakening Interviews is a podcast with Andrew Wayfinder and his guests.

Every week (sometimes more) we have a short focused interview with an expert, author, speaker designed to bring you powerful insights, inspiration and ways to break free, live life by your vision and values, and make a difference in our changing and challenging world.

Listen to the podcast at: https://www.andrewwayfinder.com/blog/DA0029

Andrew Hryniewicz

So hello, everyone and a very warm welcome to another edition of the Destiny Awakening Interviews.

I’m Andrew Wayfinder Hryniewicz and I’m joined today by Yan Maschke, speaker, author, executive coach and strategist.

And a very warm welcome to you Yan. And where are you hanging out tonight?

Yan Maschke

I’m in Cleveland, Ohio in the U.S. Good to be here, Andrew.

Andrew Hryniewicz

It’s great to see you. So let’s get on to the work that you’re doing and the book you’ve written, which I think is really fascinating one.

Yan Maschke is the founder of yanmaschke.com and an award winning executive and team coach, speaker and author of “Leadership Unlocked: Unleash the Power of Your Body for Impact and Fulfillment”.

For more than 20 years, Yan led strategy and execution in Fortune 500 environments, and managed multiple global businesses with revenues of more than 100 million each.

Now she coaches leaders and teams worldwide to achieve more, while doing less, in a style that feels authentic and inspiring to them.

Yan is known for her experiential style that actively engages mind and body to deliver deeper insights and faster results.

And the industry authority, the International Coaching Federation, selected Yan as the only coach in North America to be featured in their video of success stories for 2020.

So thank you again, for your time today. And the topic we’ll be diving into is “Authentic Leadership Through the Mind and Body”. And Yan is going to unpack that by answering six questions.

So the first question, I guess we’re looking both at your clients, but more importantly, your readers. So who is your ideal reader, and what is the transformation your work and book would help them to achieve?

Yan Maschke

So I’ll probably answer in two ways.

The ideal client that I work with, typically, are corporate executives and executive teams. I work with them on either one on one executive coaching, or leadership team coaching, or strategy facilitation for the team.

But in terms of the book… the book has a much broader audience, not just the senior leaders and senior teams. I wrote the book because I can only take on so many clients in my limited time in life.

So I wanted to be able to share the message of “Mind Body Leadership” with a broader audience.

And it’s written for any leader, in any industry. And a leader can be leading in work, can be leading in a community, or could be leading your own family household or leading ourselves.

So it really can be for anyone. I say, if you have a body, it’s probably going to help you. So that’s what the book is for.

And in terms of the transformation that I help people with, in the client work I deliver? Typically, the transformation that they try to achieve is… to find the connection with their “Authentic Self”.

So that they have a sustained power to welcome any change thrown at them. And to be effective in their leadership at work — be it effectively leading a team, emotional intelligence, or leadership presence and influence.

So that’s really the transformation for the client that I work with: “To access that inner power to be more effective.”

In terms of the book. It can also…

Similarly, even though not everybody needs to be a corporate senior executive. But if you are leading your own life. Or in any other way, leading others in your community or workplace, this book can help you find that shortcut.

The body is a shortcut, to more effective leadership and authenticity by disrupting the habits of the mind, and the habits that are stored in our body.

Andrew Hryniewicz

Very interesting. Yeah, that sounds very relevant to… I do a lot of work with the body and bodily awareness. So I think this sounds very congruent.

Yan Maschke

Yeah. It’s fascinating to see the work you do.

Andrew Hryniewicz

Yeah. So question number two with these clients, what’s the biggest challenge they’re facing? Or someone who’s reading the book, what would you say is the biggest challenge that the book would help them address?

Yan Maschke

I would say that when you think about having a fulfilling life, and typically involves some kind of “positive change”. Behavior change in leadership is always about positive behavior, changing the Leadership around.

Or if you’re just leading yourself, it’s also about more positive behavior change to help us achieve our goals, whatever that change may be.

And this book is going to show you that our traditional way of thinking about the change is good, but may not be the fastest way for you to get there.

By incorporating the Mind and the Body, then you can access a shortcut to accelerate that speed of change. I don’t know if you want me to give you an example. I’m happy to do that if you like.

Andrew Hryniewicz

Well, I think that probably ties into question number three, what’s the number one insider tip you would share with people to help them right now? So I suspect it would tie right into there

Yan Maschke

Yes, well, speaking of “Positive Behavior Change”, the number one insight is— pay attention to the habits that have been stored inside of our body.

And so neuroscientists believe… most neuroscientists believe that 90 to 95% of our daily decisions are made not from the conscious mind, right? So a lot of our actions and decisions are really stored in our neuro-biological system.

And so, if we’re trying to drive a change in our lives, or in a workplace, for example, we want to be more strategic in our thinking or action.

If you want to delegate more… I want to be more emotionally intelligent… I want to be able to lead change more effectively… Whatever that change we are trying to drive.

We may not necessarily be able to make that change from the thinking and the mind to the actual behavior that we embody quickly.

So, it’s pay attention to the habits that are stored in our body, in our neuro-biological system, and to be able to interrupt that.

Not at the thinking level, because we always think about the change we want to make. But really interrupt that at a physical level. And so we can accelerate that change, make that happen.

Andrew Hryniewicz

Okay, great. So question number four in your own development, what concept, book, program, talk or experience has had the greatest impact?

Yan Maschke

A couple of things that come to my mind.

As part of my coaching training, I attended an elective training program called “Body Centered Coaching”. And that’s when it really… that’s what ignited my passion inside of myself too.

And that really resonated with me, because I grew up in a culture in China, where it really is more about a holistic view, about the person or about the system of any sort.

And so that body centered coaching allowed me to really deepen that commitment to that holistic approach to leadership. The second thing I want to give credit to is Dan Siegel, he’s a neuroscientist.

When I was considering the path, to become an executive coach and team coach, I was a corporate executive myself. And I wasn’t finding the fulfilment I was looking for when I was really achieving all the success I wanted.

And I wasn’t sure if executive coaching is the right path. Because, while I am an executive, I work with a lot of executives in the corporate world.

I don’t know that they would really want to talk about this soft stuff of leadership, and emotional awareness, and presence. And how do we cultivate the self, right?

We’re more about the results.

And can I really… really get clients to… to want to explore this in the coaching realm.

And Dan Siegel, through him, I learn a whole lot about neuroscience, and how the science or the emergence of science… we’re really in the early stages of science.

And this really started to prove the benefits of all of this stuff that I’m talking about, and really resonated with me in terms of how I grew up in this holistic way.

And really, the light bulb went off and said, “Yeah, I am the bridge between the West and the East”.

That’s something I thought about since high school, “I’m the bridge between the West and East.”

And I think that in executive coaching, I can bring that holistic view, and to allow leaders like myself, who not only can have success, but can also have their highest impact and feel fulfilment and also be very authentic.

Andrew Hryniewicz

Great. Well, that reminds me of when I was talking with a business coach friend of mine. And I was complaining a little bit, like you, of being on the squishy end of the scale of results and what you can promise the client.

It’s not like coming in and saying, “Well, I can make the following changes to your bottom line by improving your accounting procedures”.

And he says, “Yeah, but remember, all business problems are personal problems.”

Yan Maschke

Very well said, and you know, working with the clients… the clients I work with are very senior, and they typically bring a presenting challenge.

But when I work with them and I’m coaching with them, I don’t really coach the issue… I coach the person “holistically”, because when we can access, surely what’s authentic to ourselves and really find that conviction behind the change you want to drive.

Whatever that needs to be done in the “Doing Side”, I call it “The Being and The Doing”, it comes naturally, the client already knows how to do it.

I really work on the whole person and support the whole person. Allow them to really come through with that higher power.

So I totally agree with you, it’s not directly working on the bottom line. But it would very much powerfully impact the bottom line.

Andrew Hryniewicz

Yeah, very much so.

So question number five, what’s the free resource you’d like to share with the audience to help them?

And I think we mentioned about electronic excerpts or pieces of your book. And that will be available on your website… just go to www.yanmaschke.com. And there will be a link or an offer there in the book page.

Okay, so the last question, Yan, is what should I have asked you that I didn’t?

Yan Maschke

Well, since we’re talking about “Authentic Leadership to the Mind and Body”, maybe one thing you could have asked me is, what’s a small tip or strategy to have more authenticity as we strive for our success?

Is that something that you will ask me?

Andrew Hryniewicz

Yeah, so what’s your secret tip for us?

Yan Maschke

There is a small little tip, and it’s also in the book as well. I call it “ Mind, Body Aligned Decision Making.”

So, usually when we are hesitant about something… when we’re procrastinating about something, or we don’t know how to make a decision, or if we make a decision, we don’t feel right about it.

And when we feel that hesitation, I believe there’s something that’s misaligned between the four things. Those four things are: “What we think. What we feel. What we speak. And what we do.”

And the little tip here, the strategy here is to check alignment between the four things. What we think… What we feel… What we speak… And what we do…

And go through that one by one, and check where we have misalignment.

And from there and see, “Hmm, what does that mean? What would I do differently? How can I ensure more alignment? How do I bring them into alignment, when can we do that?”

We have the confidence behind whatever we decide to do. And we have the conviction to go forward. And the energy that comes from that is extremely sustainable.

So check for the alignment between the four things.

Andrew Hryniewicz

That’s a great tip, and I can really echo that. I mean, the question of alignment is, it’s a big part of my work. It’s a different form of alignment. But it has to do with aligning your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies.

Yan Maschke

Yeah. Well, if you think about it, right? It’s very similar. What you think is mental… What you feel is your emotional… What you speak and do is with your body, right? I’m just thinking that speaking to the spiritual side, in the leadership around as much as clearly as you are.

Andrew Hryniewicz

But I also think that, procrastination gets a bum rap. I mean, sometimes it’s resistance. But sometimes it’s your unconscious saying, “This isn’t completely thought through. We don’t have everything we need.”

Yan Maschke

It’s just telling you that, “You know, let’s take a little bit of time.”

Just figure this out when they’re aligned. When we are aligned, we are most powerful and authentic and inspiring.

Andrew Hryniewicz

Yeah. Well, that’s a great place to stop Yan. Thank you so much for your time tonight.

Yan Maschke

You’re welcome. It’s my pleasure.