Being Your Authentic Self – Chantäl Patruno – REINVENTION LOUNGE
Posted bystepheniewatts August 4, 2016 August 5, 2016 Posted inLeadership & Style	
Most of my work comes from the heart – that light inside my ‘wise’ self that has been developing since I was a child, fuelled by passion and determination to somehow make a difference in the world.
What I do and how I do it doesn’t rely on external validation anymore, rather I turn inward, checking and aligning with my internal compass to confirm direction. So my head and heart are in constant dialogue and guide my daily steps. And I’m really grateful for how these ‘parts’ of myself have shaped who I am today.
This compass has led me to work with people, the human condition, in meaningful ways while trying to make a difference within the corporate landscape and the teams and individuals working within that landscape.
I’m grateful that I’ve been able to be my authentic self, and work from a place of truth which is one of my top personal values. I couldn’t possible show up to a day of work (or to any aspect of my life for that matter) without being who I really am (not pretending), being honest with what I see and don’t see (from a consulting perspective) and being able to hold space for others to transform in self-directed ways (from a coaching perspective).
Life has shown me that success is directly connected with how you show up, and it’s less contingent on what you know.
This quote from Vishen Lakhiani, describes what I hope for my life’s work,
I am a big believer that the future of business will be driven by these principles. The way we show up to form small, collaborative and focused task teams to get amazing things done will supersede hierarchies and credentials. We need to foster creative thought, value vulnerability and authenticity, make failure an important part of learning … all of which can only lead to meaningful and often rapid outcomes for teams and businesses.
Being authentic is really about reflecting on your core values. At the heart of that is truth. Absolute truth. And I believe the world needs more of that. We need authenticity at every level, in teams, in companies, in countries and in economies. It is possible to be grounded in our true selves, and be able to achieve our personal goals and ambitions.
One area that has helped me in my career has been my propensity to be bold – I call a spade, a spade. That has worked well for me as I am often in situations where I am able to say the unsayable. The background to this is that I am genuinely curious and interested in why, and how things could be done differently. As a result, I am not afraid to ask questions, but I do it from a position of curiosity and seeking understanding. I put myself in the position of the person and look at the situation from their perspective. I’m not afraid to go there.
Rather than influence people and forcing a point or issue, I try to influence outcomes. I focus on creating space for discussion to happen. It is quite a different entry point. The intent is to create a space that is open and inviting, where people are able to speak more freely. This way you can share understanding, and help guide the conversation by asking questions such as, “How is that working for you?”, “In what ways could you see it working differently?”, “What’s the best of that?”, and so on.
At Blue Seed Consulting we talk about Change Intelligence – creating space for conversation to flow, for questioning and curiosity. It’s a creative process that allows many minds to come together, and to collectively come to new and better ways, allowing people to be their authentic selves in a safe way.
Being authentic also becomes very real in the face of a setback, but I’m definitely wired to see the more positive side. I will, of course, have the same and similar reactions as others such as frustration and disappointment, but I focus on how quickly I am able to bounce back from the situations. This may sound quite flippant, but I think about a setback as an opportunity to really question why it occurred. I do this from two angles, self-reflection and seeking feedback from others. I ask others, “Hey what do you think about that? Or how do you think I responded to that?” I definitely stay collaborative, open and humble when it comes to feedback.
To me, being authentic, is about being myself, and really showing up – being curious, open and reinventing myself through self-discovery. That takes courage, and makes me feel alive!
Key Insights: Being authentic is about your core values. Truth and honesty about who you are, are paramount. Being curious and interested in others, leads to open conversations and shared resolutions (Change Intelligence). When experiencing setbacks, self-reflection and input from others is key. Being open to self-discovery and turning inward, is the pathway to authenticity.
To find out more on finding your calling check out this article.
Chantäl Patruno
Chantäl’s passion is enabling change to happen really intelligently. Her passion for making a difference has propelled her through more than 18 years in Change Consulting. She is a seasoned and well regarded practitioner in the field of human potential – as a change management practitioner, a master facilitator and educator in change and a qualified leadership coach, helping leaders face into uncertain times and create readiness for change.
She is co-Managing Director of her own Change Management Consultancy, Blue Seed Consulting, which was listed on the top 100 fastest growing businesses in late 2015.
For the Global CMI Board she is the Thought Leadership Ambassador.
And as a practitioner, she is both strategic and practical – she helps shape sensible strategies and loves the nitty gritty of making change happen with entirely fit-for-purpose approaches, and is obsessed with sustainable business change outcomes.
Her approach has morphed from the early days of ‘doing and teaching’ to her current approach which is ‘questioning and enabling’. She tells me the latter is much more challenging and requires ‘change intelligence’, which she practices and talks about in her keynote presentations. Chantäl juggles being a working Mum, business owner, consultant and coach, which in itself requires full throttle change intelligence!
What I’ve heard about Chantäl is that she cares deeply about living with kindness and courage, especially in the corporate environment! Her life’s purpose is affecting change – not only at organisation and team levels but also at individual and personal levels.
The Blue Seed team is deeply experienced and passionate in change. As a boutique Change Management consultancy we care most about sustainable business outcomes during changing times. We thrive on partnering shoulder-to-shoulder with your teams to co-design and help embed integrated change programs that consider your whole system, and deliver business returns through people.
We do things differently and we call this ‘change intelligence’ – a blend of wisdom, curiosity, creativity and speed. We don’t have ‘one we prepared earlier’ and you won’t find us managing change from behind a computer screen. Rather, we use our deep expertise to assess what’s needed and apply fit-for-purpose approaches, delivering them flawlessly.
Published by stepheniewatts	
Imagine if you could gather insights from others' experiences, and apply that to your own life. Where you could be? This is the inspiration behind Reinvention Lounge.	View more posts	
One thought on “Being Your Authentic Self – Chantäl Patruno”	
Excellent article introducing a woman who challenges traditional ways of thinking and performing in the workplace.Thank you for this thought provoking interview. Regards Carol