Coaching: Resilience in Art and Emergency Management from Nia D’Emilio

When we were launching our Resilience Innovator Coaching and Consulting Program (RICCP), we had conversations about the merits of coaching and how it had benefited us in the past. I listened to my colleagues discuss the coaches and mentors in the industry that had impacted their lives and their careers. Besides being intrigued and inspired by the anecdotes, I was envious. And honestly, I felt a little behind.

As I’ve written before, I don’t come from the world of emergency management. I’m in a position where I’m still learning some important acronyms, a far cry from being in a position to be coached through major natural hazards or the process of gaining institutional buy-in from the people in charge of my OEM (I know that one). I really felt like I couldn’t contribute to the conversation, bogged down by the industry details of our own coaching program. But then I realized that I’ve had plenty of coaches in my life, even if they didn’t carry that official title.

Growing up in the performing arts, I had plenty of technical coaches–dance, voice, acting, and movement teachers–and all of them provided a basic level of critique that you’d think would come in a coaching environment. My form changed here, my breathing technique there. But after only a few lessons or rehearsals, my personal bond with all of those folks grew, and that’s when another level of coaching really began.

Providing technical advice is, of course, a key element to coaching. But none of it really matters–or ever really sticks–if you don’t build a relationship with that coach. You may be getting coached in a particular area of your life–career, relationships, sport–but you’re still a whole person, one with several things on your plate and goals in all and more of those areas. Coaches can provide you with skill training, but they can also provide you with encouragement, accountability, or just a listening ear. They understand the complexity of goal-reaching, which often takes a couple of gears from a couple different aspects of your life to start working together.

This industry can be stressful; after all, we’ve got people’s lives in our hands. Resilience Innovators are trying to solve some of the most complex challenges facing the world today, and we often find ourselves siloed in our own institutions. Coaching is the first step in finding a support system that will help you not only reach your goals, but surpass them, maybe even change them. Programs like the RICCP will elevate your ideas to new heights and empower you to tackle even your most difficult obstacles.

If you’re anything like me, you might not even realize that a lot of the people in your life have helped coach you through something, big or small. If you’re getting bogged down in the details, it might be time to get that outside perspective, someone you can trust to be both supportive and challenging, encouraging and enthusiastic. It takes a lot of help to change your corner of the world; let us coach you through it.

Want to find out if you’re a Resilience Innovator? Check out our coaching offerings here: resilience.epicenter-innovation.com