“Working Light was how I first came across Sarah's work online. As an executive coach, I’m really interested in the way people work and how they get the best out of themselves. And I’m also interested in how I can be more effective myself.”
Anna Reeve is an Australian executive coach, leadership facilitator and consultant. She coaches senior executives in large corporations, government, and professional services firms. She’s also a co-founder of leadership consultancy, Leaders Who Listen, and leads group coaching programs for senior executive women to explore and take action towards creating greater fulfilment in their careers.
Anna loves to bring out the potential in people and help them express that in the way they lead their teams and organisations and create impact in the world.
We chatted to Anna about her experience of Working Light and the impact it’s had on her life.
Why did you take the Working Light course?
“I was looking for inspiring ways to be more productive. I guess I equated working hard and deep preparation and perfecting things with high quality work, which obviously takes a lot of time and can be exhausting. When you run your own business you’re involved in a lot of different activities and need to be effective across different areas. So I was really wanting to find something lighter.“
“I was intrigued and motivated to find different solutions and found myself quite drawn to the energy component of “working light”. The notion that relaxation is the core of being able to do more at work made a lot of sense to me: that being more intentional and aware of your energy and what you’re bringing to your work at an energetic level can achieve better results. That intrigued me, and I thought it was worth putting in the time to develop the practices and see how it shifted my experience.”
What impact has Working Light had in your life?
Anna found that being more intentional and doing the relaxation practices included in the course really helped with her work.
“Rather than just rushing into your day on autopilot with a big list of things to do, it helped me to really think, okay, what are the few key things I need to get done today, and focus on how I needed to show up for those activities with more intention. Then, when I was in meetings and with clients, it helped me to be more present and in the moment, which helps you listen better, pick up on subtle things, and be more flexible and adaptable to what is unfolding and the best way forward.”
“It helps to be more aware of the energy that you bring to things, to your daily work, your tasks, to the people you're interacting with. Is your energy open and curious and inviting in what needs to happen? Or is it more closed down, rigid, and focused on a pre-existing plan? It helps you to be very present to the answers people and teams are searching for and to support them to find better solutions and ways forward.”
“When you're really working lighter and feeling grounded and relaxed in what you're doing, then work flows more easily, difficult moments and discomfort can be embraced more readily, more creative solutions can be found, and things are less exhausting and more enjoyable. The practices of grounding and relaxing are hugely beneficial in every area of life. They have ripple effects across all areas of your life and relationships.”
What did you enjoy most about Working Light?
“I enjoyed the freshness of the approach. It seemed quite different from the many tips and strategies on working smarter and being more productive. I think those are all very valuable as well, but they tend to come from the same frame of greater efficiency. Whereas this was a bit of a paradigm shift in terms of focusing on the quality of your energy and how that can be different, more refined - how grounded and open you are to what is happening in the moment?
I like different and new ways of looking at things, so it really appealed to me. And the way Sarah leads it and models it, is very compelling. I was drawn to the way I could see that Sarah works - very relaxed and present and neutral.”
Who do you believe would most benefit from Working Light?
I think everyone can benefit from this because it doesn't just relate to how you work. It relates to how you show up in life and how you relate to people and problems and opportunities. Certainly, anyone who wants to find greater balance in how they're working or who is not enjoying the way they're working will benefit. And anyone who is really motivated to step up in the way they work, work at a new level, and create and contribute more in the world, but finds themselves limited by the way they're currently working. I think working light will be a great toolkit to give people more energy to meet their aspirations.”
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