The School Of Unlearning With Elisa Haggarty

EP 69: Michael Norton on The Enneagram

For another episode on “The Art of Coaching” we zero in on The Enneagram with Conscious Leadership Group Coach and Enneagram Expert, Michael Norton. 

He emphasizes the Enneagram's role in personal growth and coaching, explaining its nine-pointed system as a tool for understanding personality structures and spiritual development. Norton shares his background in music and theater, highlighting how these experiences shaped his attunement skills and facilitation style. He also delves into the Enneagram's practical applications in coaching, including its ability to enhance communication and trust within teams, and its role in personal transformation by addressing core delusions and unconscious defense mechanisms. 

We cover: 

• Michael’s earliest influences that helped shape his creativity and ability to be attuned the room
• How Michael found devotion in music and in acting which forged a path 
• How taking on leadership roles within the acting world helped hone his ability as a coach and led him to The Enneagram
• Michael provides a historical overview of how The Enneagram came to be 
• Michael describes the Enneagram as a nine-pointed system that represents nine different personality structures and stages of spiritual development.
• Michael emphasizes the Enneagram's role as a tool of spiritual awakening and its ability to help individuals understand their motivations and blind spots.
• Michael discusses how the Enneagram has been useful in his coaching and theater work.
• He explains how understanding different Enneagram types can improve communication and trust within a team.
• Elisa and Michael jam on the high sides and low sides of being an Enneagram 4 
• Michael explains how the Enneagram can help individuals understand their core delusions and unconscious defense mechanisms.
• He discusses the importance of recognizing and letting go of the belief that there is something missing within oneself.
• Elisa and Michael talk about the broader implications of the Enneagram, including its ability to challenge and transform personal identity.
• He explains the different strategies for working with each Enneagram type, including specific homework assignments and areas of focus.
• Michael highlights the importance of using the Enneagram to create a more trusting and collaborative environment in coaching.
• Michael shares a case study of a client who is a type eight, focusing on the client's journey of self-discovery and personal growth.
• He describes the three subtypes: self-preservation, sexual, and social, and how they influence the behavior and motivations of each type.

To learn more about Michael Norton and The Conscious Leadership Group, please visit www.conscious.is. 

Resources mentioned: Beatrice Chestnut and her podcast Enneagram 2.0. “The Complete Enneagram” by Beatrice Chestnut 

If you are a leader, business owner, entrepreneur looking to deepen your leadership capacity, step into embodied leadership for the sake of what is most important to you - schedule time with me at www.elisamaryhaggarty.com 

EP 68: Deb Katz on The Art of Coaching

For episode 68 on The School of Unlearning, I sit down with Conscious Leadership & Executive Coach, Deb Katz. Deb brings a wealth of experience, fire and devotion to this series on The Art of Coaching. 

Deb Katz shared her journey from political activism and anger-driven leadership to presence-based coaching, emphasizing the importance of challenging clients to see beyond their armor and strategies while staying with discomfort. The conversation explored how coaches can develop their "loving challenger" capacity by tracking their own signals and being willing to get it wrong in service of client breakthrough. This episode is for seekers, for coaches, therapists and humans devoted to waking up to their relational "racket". 

We explore: 

• Deb's early shaping story, including the loss of her mother at age 6. 
• How deb channeled her passion, fire and heartbreak through political activism for much of her early life. 
• Deb shares having the "good fortune" of experiencing heartbreak, periods of unknown and even loss. 
• Deb shares some of her key influential mentors, including Rainbow Hawk and Wind eagle in the late 90's and learned more about the wisdom of nature, consciousness and the intersection of spirit and form. 
• Deb and Elisa explore the journey of individuation in consciousness and within relationships. 
• "It is a revolutionary act to let that which one is be enough"—trusting one's natural design like a tree trusts being a tree.
• Deb encourages leaders to "eat their shadows" owning how their fear and projections will impact their presence in a room.
• Deb explores The Upper Limit to resistance and pleasure, how it's biological, and that we create a "cocktail" or stress and love hormones when happy hormones increase. 
• How we use shame and sadness to block access to pleasure and maintain familiar patterns. 
• Signals: Deb urges us to tune into our own signals within the body, and how to use the signal as a way to move with the moment both in coaching and in life. 
• Coaching: Coaches often enter the field wanting to help from the "hero" position on the drama triangle. And, there is a widespread avoidance of discomfort in coaching culture and society at large. 
• Deb shares her love for helping coaches hone their "signal" to detect the client's acrobatics to avoid vulnerability and transformation 
• Loving challenger is explored, more a way to be in communication with the coach's own tracking system, honoring where attention is going and not being committed to being right about the challenge.
• Deb reminds us all about the mess of being human, the mess of growth, of birth and death and to wade in these waters.
• Deb and Elisa explore how we use relationships to fortify rackets: people train others how to relate to them in ways that keep their structure intact. (staying connected, staying apart, staying safe etc). 
• "I can't live another day doing this relationship the way I've been doing it"—examining how you've shown up, not using the relationship as scapegoat
• Deb shares why "widening the aperture" as we explore our aversions/projections is essential to conscious change and conscious leadership in the world. 

Quotes:

• "The mind is not the source of suffering, but the uninquired mind" 
• "My job isn't to get it right. My job is just to reflect what I see.”
• "Shame might be what comes in as your upper limit to pleasure and desire."
• "I might have to feel some things that make me uncomfortable. But being in devotion to that more than anything else, that's a life of integrity."
• "Staying with the thread where the activation is, because where the activation is is the way through."

To learn more about Deb Katz and her coaching, visit https://debkatz.com. 

If you are a leader, business owner, entrepreneur looking to deepen your leadership capacity, step into embodied leadership for the sake of what is most important to you - schedule time with me at www.elisamaryhaggarty.com 

EP 67: Katie Hendricks on The Art of Coaching

Katie Hendricks is one of the pioneers in the field of transformational coaching and somatic awareness. Katie joins us as the fourth guest in this series dedicated to exploring the art of coaching and brings decades of wisdom and experience to the podcast. This episode is fantastic for anyone who is a coach, therapist, facilitator or people oriented leader. Katie brings her intuitive wisdom and bodily awareness to the episode which are superpowers to how Katie sees the world. We cover the world of whole body learning and how the loop of awareness is a powerful presencing technique for coaches. 

We explore:

• What and who shaped Katie growing up
• The power of movement and bodily awareness, or "whole body learning" as Katie names it.
• Katie shares how she challenged academic environments growing up and how she ended up shaping the world of mind body realms 
• How dance movement therapy was born out of a desire to follow the wisdom and insight of the body. 
• Katie and Elisa explored the power of presence and essence pacing as a tool for awareness and connection.
• Katie talks about the use of "presence, connect, play" and how she uses everyday moments to be connected and alive with others. 
• Katie discusses how we create and interact with "the field" of energy all around us. And, how creativity is born out of conscious awareness and how it's accessible to move through us if we are in connection with it. 
• Katie defines and explores the power of a core coaching/facilitating tool, the loop of awareness. 
• Katie encourages coaches to "be with and go with" clients on the level of essence and energy. 
• The benefits of the loop of awareness for the coach, the session and as a way to prevent burn out. 
• Katie helps the listener orient to the art of coaching very much being about both the coach and client in shared space. That the coaches presence as a transmission contributes to the experience of the client. 
• Katie describers herself as a "human engineer". 
• How play is the most effective way to get out of drama/reactivity - using sound and movement to bring the issue to life 
• Loving with a spine: Katie shares more of what she means to love with a spine, to be in her own energetic integrity. 
• Katie describes a love for the word, imbue, as a sense of soaking into the ground, a deeper and more felt sense of presence. 
• Katie shares more of the impact that contempt and fear have on people's relationships and presence. 
• Katie explores how she experiences completion as "a signal on the horizon", then describe completion as "an exhale." 

To learn more about the work of Katie Hendricks and The Hendricks Institute click here. 

To learn more about "Essence Pacing" click here. 

If you are a leader, business owner, entrepreneur looking to deepen your leadership capacity, step into embodied leadership for the sake of what is most important to you - schedule time with me at www.elisamaryhaggarty.com 

Next up on The Art of Coaching is Deb Katz. 

 

EP 66: Jerry Colonna on The Art of Coaching

Jerry Colonna, “The CEO Whisperer” joins us for the 3rd episode in this series called, “The Art of Coaching”. Jerry is the author of two books, “Reunion: Leadership and The Longing to Belong” and “Reboot: Leadership & The Art of Growing Up” and is the founder/CEO of Reboot io. 

This is a passionate and fiery episode where Jerry challenges us to wake up, step into the art of growing up. And, Jerry shares how his heartbreak for the world has influenced the passion in which he approaches coaching and building a more conscious compassionate world. 

In this episode, we explore: 

• The influence of Jerry’s upbringing for his shaping/way of being 
• How his wounds have formed his superpowers 
• How business endeavors shaped his growth as a person and coach 
• Jerry explores the dissonance in venture capture and his emergent curiosity with personal growth and buddhism 
• “The inner me and outer me were out of sync” 
• Jerry shares his journey with depression and mental health, and the influential people in his life who helped him find ground within himself 
• Jerry has a provocative and honest view of leadership: “Leadership is the art of growing up” 
• The daily practices that sustain self-inquiry, peace and equanimity are shared by Jerry 
• The role and importance of naming current conditions is shared a way to connect with clients/people
• Jerry gets fired up about the moral and spiritual obligation of using his power and 
• Elisa and Jerry share and explore the role of joy and pleasure in maintaining capacity and connection 
• Jerry shares his wishes for the world 

To learn more about Jerry Colonna and Reboot, visit www.reboot.io and if you are wanting more of his writing/voice, please check out his LinkedIn Newsletter. 

If you are a leader, business owner, entrepreneur looking to deepen your leadership capacity, step into embodied leadership for the sake of what is most important to you - schedule time with me at www.elisamaryhaggarty.com 

EP 65: Jim Dethmer on The Art of Coaching

For the second episode in this series on The Art of Coaching, we sit down with Jim Dethmer, the co-founder and author of The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership. Jim brings decades of experience as a masterful coach, coaching over 150 CEO’s, a speaker and thought leader in this field. Jim lives in Chicago with his wife Debbie, and in Michigan, their soul’s home,  when they’re recharging during the summer months. You can learn more about Jim Dethmer and The Conscious Leadership Group at www.conscious.is 

In this epsiode, Jim explores his origin story, the influences, both in life and in mentorship and how they shaped his first 40 years. This is a powerful episode, exploring the role of acceptance, the hero’s journey, the stages of development for a coach and how we must all move through our wound in order to heal and develop into the person we are longing to become. We explore the role of the socialized self and how it shows up in life and in coaching, and 

In this episode, we explore: 

• Jim’s origin story 
• Jim discusses his early pursuit of a relationship with Jesus within evangelical Christianity, which provided initial peace and a sense of connection.
• Jim highlights the influence of Gay and Katie Hendricks, who taught him how to have deep, transformative relationships, impacting his marriage and other relationships.
• He also mentions Hale Dwaskin and the Sedona Method, which helped him understand the concept of no problems and no self, leading to a profound sense of peace.
• Elisa and Jim discuss the importance of acceptance in CLG's work, emphasizing the need to see oneself clearly, including the good, beautiful, dark, and messy parts.
• Jim explains that awareness must be met with acceptance to avoid re-traumatization and to foster a ruthless compassion for the next piece to emerge.
• He describes the journey of waking up and becoming liberated, which involves removing blinders and seeing oneself more clearly.
• Jim emphasizes the role of coaches in embodying acceptance and creating a safe space for clients to explore their own messy, crazy things.
• Jim shares the devotional practices that still light him up. 
• Jim explores how nearly anything done with awareness can be a soiritual practice of connection and waking up. 
• Jim explains the four states of consciousness in coaching: me, by me, through me, and as me, each representing a deeper level of presence and transformation.
• He emphasizes the importance of coaches cultivating their own beingness to create a transformational field for clients.
• Jim highlights the role of coaches in being the vibration of acceptance and compassion, which allows clients to feel safe and open to transformation.
• Elisa and Jim discuss the significance of body awareness in coaching, as the body is the first line of awareness in the world.
• Jim emphasizes the importance of coaches being aware of their own body signals to stay present and compassionate in their work.
• Jim expresses a desire for ultimate liberation and freedom, acknowledging that he is always seeking something more. There is a call from Jim for more compassion in the world. 

If you are a leader, business owner, entrepreneur looking to deepen your leadership capacity, step into embodied leadership for the sake of what is most important to you - schedule time with me at www.elisamaryhaggarty.com

EP 64: Wendy Haines on The Art of Coaching

This series features master coaches who are devoted to the work of inner transformation across various methodologies. These episodes are designed to be a wonderful resource for any coach, therapist, facilitator and or practitioner of the human experience. And, this series is also designed for anyone seeker more aliveness in their life. 

Wendy Haines joins the podcast on a series centered around the art of coaching. Wendy is a master coach and facilitator through The Strozzi Institute for Somatics. Wendy has 15 years of transformational coaching experience, is certified with the International Coaching Federation and is a Certified Somatic Coach. She has a particular passion for Somatics for embodied change. 

In this episode, we explore: 

• Wendy’s origin story 
• How family shaped her experience, and what protective parts/tendencies arose during that time
• The role of acting in giving Wendy visibility 
• How Somatics has further shaped Wendy and how its influenced her parenting and relationships
• What a “coach body” is and why it matters in the container of coaching/facilitating 
• What a “CT” or Conditioned Tendency is and how it shows up 
• Wendy shares what is the thing that impacts her when coaching/facilitating 
• Elisa and Wendy explore current longings around relationship
• Wendy ends this juicy exploration with her own unlearning 

To learn more about Wendy, visit her at www.wendyhaines.com 

If you are a leader, business owner, entrepreneur looking to deepen your leadership capacity, step into embodied leadership for the sake of what is most important to you - schedule time with me at www.elisamaryhaggarty.com

EP 63: Centering for Embodied Leadership

Hi friends, this is a special episode dedicated to sharing a powerful somatic tool and practice with you: centering. 

Centering was created by the founder of The Strozzi Institute, Richard Strozzi-Heckler Phd who brings together 5 decades of studies in eastern and western medicine and healing to his work. Centering is a somatic practice to be present, open, connected to what matters most - it begs us to awaken from the trance of life and access our embodied imagination and build capacity and welcome whatever arises. 

Timestamps: 

Introduction, attribution and lineage: 0:00:-5:52:

Centering practice: 5:52-16:36

16:37: debriefing and application of this practice

Length: our length, from toes to head and up the spine, represents our dignity. Our dignity is not something we have to earn or effort for, it's something we are born with. 

Width: our width from the edges of our bodies, from left food to right foot, represents our belonging. Centering in our width also invites us to consider our collective belonging. 

Depth: The third dimension we center in is our depth, or our safety. Our depth is found in the belly, the pelvic region and sacrum. Feel into and even visualize all the systems in place within your body that keep you safe.

Back body: your back body, found in your shoulder blades, sacrum, heels represents your history, and all of those who have shaped, loved, informed your journey. Your back body also holds the former versions of yourself and you can presence everyone you love behind you. 

Front body: your front body represents your present and all that you long to move towards. 

Throughout this centering practice, notice the sensations, emotions, thoughts, images, memories or thoughts that arise through you.

Leading from center opens a doorway to the realms of intuition, perception and expression. 

As you get experience being led through the center, ask yourself what is possible if you are able to return to your dignity line, belonging and safety throughout the day? How would your actions and experiences shift? 

If you are a leader, business owner, entrepreneur looking to deepen your leadership capacity, step into embodied leadership for the sake of what is most important to you - schedule time with me at www.elisamaryhaggarty.com

 

EP 62 Play and Improv for Embodied Leadership with David Westerlund

This episode explores the impact and art of improv and play in the workplace. David Westerlund brings his zone of genius to The School of Unlearning podcast and provides insights on the tenets of applied improv and invites listeners into 5 improv games. This episode is great for leaders of teams who wish to create more play and connection in their teams and helps debunk the myths surrounding productivity and play. 

Watch on Youtube!

Books referenced: 

"Improvisation: The Drama of Christian Ethics" by Sam Wells 

"Play Date Deck" by Sara McMahon

Improv Games Played: 

1. Bumper sticker

2. Don't get me started: ranting or raving

3. I couldn't have done it without you

4. Remember when: act as if we have a shared memory, ”remember when…"

5. 7 things

David delights in supporting leaders who want to intentionally learn, grow, and develop and want the same for their teams. Who are we being invited to be and become in order to collectively face the complex challenges in front of us? is the question that enlivens his own growth and his work with clients. He finds joy in designing and facilitating highly-interactive retreats that weave together connection, play, and transformative learning for leaders and teams who want to thrive. David’s work as an executive coach, learning designer, and facilitator has led him to work with teams in health care, business, nonprofits, government, and schools locally, nationally, and globally. He’s called Bellingham, Washington his home for 20 years and finds delight in walking in the Arboretum, Saturday breakfasts at Old Town Cafe, and visiting his daughter in NYC where they delight in improvising their way through the day. His website is: https://davidwesterlund.com/

Elisa Haggarty is a Conscious Leadership Coach who works with executives and teams to shift the way people relate and collaborate through radical responsibility, curiosity and emotional intelligence. You can follow her work HERE and follow her on Instagram. 

 

EP 61: On Friendship with Jackson Kroopf

For episode 61 of The School of Unlearning podcast we sit down with podcast producer and filmmaker, Jackson Kroopf to explore how we can all foster better friendships as adults. Our first memories and some of the most influential relationships growing up are friendships and as we grow older, friendships prove to be even more essential than we may have realized. COVID and social media have changed the landscape for how we interact with each other and our friendships in adulthood are in major need of a reframe.

In this podcast, we explore: 

• The richness and value of friendships in adulthood
• The importance of community and emotional support and how this comes in various forms in adulthood
• New friends and how they hit differently than old friends
• How old friends bring up nostalgia and belonging, they form a map of our lives 
• How to address rupture in friendships 
• How our relational patterns or attachment styles show up in friendships
• Friendships in all forms of intensities and make ups, ones that allow for idle time and ones that can also allow for spontaneity 
• The value of low touch points with friends 
• How hosting and gathering will keep us healthy and connected

To learn more about Jackson, click here to visit his website and follow them on social media.

Elisa Haggarty is a Conscious Leadership Coach who works with executives and teams to shift the way people relate and collaborate through radical responsibility, curiosity and emotional intelligence. You can follow her work HERE and follow her on Instagram. 

EP 60: Longevity & Meaning with Andrea Nakayama

For episode 60, we sit down with Functional Nutritionist, Andrea Nakayama to explore the gaps in the ever present conversation around longevity and health. Andrea posits that storytelling, meaning and fulfillment are essential to a life well lived. Andrea is a prolific writer and storyteller in her own right, crafting a newsletter called, "Mending" and runs a book club called, "The Longview" exploring the intersection of storytelling and health and longevity. 

What we cover: 

• Andrea’s new terrain in longevity, meaning and the role of storytelling 
• Control vs influence
• Shift in perspective, a diagnosis isn’t a blame, fault overlay 
• Reimagining longevity: longevity, and a life well lived isn’t about length but about meaning, fulfillment
• The role of narrative medicine within health and functional medicine 
• Why pathologizing health is limiting and the role of storytelling in reclaiming health
• The role of interoception: how did this land and move within in me?  
• Exploring completion: how our loved ones carry on with us 
• Life and longevity, and legacy, and legacy can be defined however we wish to define it. 
• How longevity and storytelling have inspired Andrea’ vision and presence within the Functional Medicine realm 
• Why optimization at every turn Is limiting and draining vitality
• Connection has as many anti-inflammatory benefits as some of our top anti-inflammatory supplements
• Health and longevity has less to do with the things we take, things we do and things we measure 
• Andrea shares some of her non-food and health activities that feed our soul and turns us on 
• “Optimization tools are not appropriate for stabilization” 

Mentions: 

Andrea Nakayama website

Share Blackie: Hagitude: Reimagining the Second Half of Life

Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin 

 

Elisa Haggarty is a Conscious Leadership Coach who works with executives and teams to shift the way people relate and collaborate through radical responsibility, curiosity and emotional intelligence. You can follow her work HERE and follow her on social at www.instagram.com/elisamaryhaggarty and www.instagram.com/thesoulpodcast