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Interview with Beatrix Eder: creating an inclusive culture as competitive differentiator

Beatrix, Transformational Coach and Founder of Beatrix Eder Coaching, shares with us how cohesive & creative teams thrive on diversity & change.

What is your background?

 

My name Beatrix has its roots in the Latin word viator, meaning “traveler, voyager”.

Nomen est omen” as the saying goes and travelling has indeed been part of my life. My journey has been both outward and inwards to my own center.

Before the age of 30 I have lived and worked in 5 countries, obtained passports from two and learned 5 languages to a level of working proficiency. For the past 16 years, I have shared my life with my husband who is from a different culture and we raise two third-culture kids.

With this background, I understand some of the challenges that the exposure to other environments can bring. I have experienced both the pleasant and difficult sides of diversity. Living across different countries, I have always found ways to feel at home and connect with people on a human level.

 

What is your business activity?

 

I am a certified and ICF-accredited Transformational Coach, and I work with seasoned and emerging leaders in Fortune 500 companies. Many of my clients are managing teams across different geographic locations, with differences in gender, race, generation and culture.

There might be challenges in integrating different team members, effectively solving business problems or having hidden or overt conflicts that arise from differences… within these situations they also have to guide and inspire the various stakeholders of the organization.

By fostering cohesive and creative teams that thrive on diversity and change, my clients can create an inclusive culture as a competitive differentiator.

My workshops and trainings focus on the themes of

  • Inclusive Leadership 
  • Non-verbal Communication (body language and micro-expressions) in a business setting.

 

How do you help your clients?

 

I do transformational coaching, which guides my clients to a deeper level of inner work and create more sustainable changes that last even after ending the coaching journey. Instead of focusing on the problems or goals of my client, I will concentrate on the person: their internal way of Being, their mindset and their potential for growth.

In my coaching sessions, I invite clients to get out of their comfort zone and question conventional thinking. Through my questions I empower my clients to be in alignment with their values and cultivate a collaborative, creative and compassionate leadership. By being more centered in who they truly are, they are empowered to make courageous choices and build connections across differences.

 

What is a common feedback you get from clients?

 

After working with me, clients often say that they experience inner alignment and outer expression of their vision. Feedback I have heard several times about my coaching include:

  • That I am able to quickly and thoroughly observe what makes people tick: what’s their style, their motivation, their habitual pattern
  • I can sense what’s going on for other people and notice their emotions. I hear unvoiced questions and understand hidden needs. That I help my clients give a voice to their emotional life.
  • Being clear and candid in my communication and creative in my approach to clients.

 

Why did you set up your business in Singapore?

 

There have been two elements that moved me to setting up my own business:

  1. Becoming a mother brought me (like many others) the dilemma of how can I have both a meaningful professional activity that contributes to our household financially and being present for my kids to witness their development.
  2. I have also searched long time for a different type of power than the individualistic, independent, competitive and dominant type of power we usually see in the world. In my quest for a more collaborative, compassionate and creative embodiment of power, I have examined dynamics of human relationships on different levels: patterns with oneself, within the unit of our families and in the collective dynamics of the workplace and society.

These two threads have led me to launching my company, even though I never aspired to be an entrepreneur.

 

What was the most difficult challenge to overcome in your entrepreneurial journey?

 

The biggest challenge was probably to embark on this journey. I am an eternal learner and often feel that there is yet something to adjust and improve before I’m ready to go. So launching a business even though I knew I was not fully ready required a good dose of courage.

I had to become aware of my habits and the instances when these habits do not serve me. Then I had to jump over my own shadow to start something totally new and for which I did not have a definite plan or a step-by-step process.

 

What are the next steps for your company?

 

My core service is and remains individual coaching, as it is a highly effective method to creating awareness and moving people into action.

The COVID-crisis has given me the opportunity to coach not just individuals but also groups, both with people who know each other and others who don’t. There’s an incredible energy and collective wisdom when doing group coaching and in some situations this approach can be very useful to leverage differences between teams in an organization.

Finally, I am also accepting more speaking engagements around the theme of inclusive leadership to support organizations communicating their values, stimulate new ideas and inspire action.

 

A few tips for new entrepreneurs?

 

Know yourself well: how you function, what you are amazing at and how you want to contribute to the world.

Don’t wait for validation: Once you have your answers to the above questions, go for it! Follow your heart and don’t wait for others to validate your choices.

Be courageous and take risks: Success is never guaranteed, so act in alignment with your values. Then you know why you have done something, even if it works out differently than planned. 

 

Your motto in life?

What a liberation to realize that the “voice in my head” is not who I am. Who I am then? The one who sees that.

Eckhart Tolle

 

Your motto in business?

 

Courage is not being “fearless”.

Courage is shaking at the knees,

Choking on your words,

Heart gripped by uncertainty,

But stepping forward

On your journey anyway.

 

Find out more on Beatrix Eder Coaching

www.beatrixedercoaching.com

beatrix(@)beatrixedercoaching.com

+65 8251 7960

 

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