The Quietly Powerful Leader with Megumi Miki, Founder & Author of Quietly Powerful
“A leader is someone who makes a positive difference in the world while being present enough to be guided by their purpose and values and keep the ego in check.”
Are we stuck in a hierarchical, patriarchal, alpha dominant, hero view of the ‘strong’ leader? Are the quietly powerful leaders being overlooked and is the misuse of power preventing us from realising our potential in business, leadership and life?
Megumi Miki is the Founder of Quietly Powerful. Her journey and ideas have resonated with many (not just introverts) on wanting to develop a calm, inner strength to make the unique contribution they were born to make.
Megumi is an author, speaker and consultant in leadership, culture, diversity and inclusion, with a background in strategy, economics and finance. With a client list including Bank of New Zealand, Ernst & Young, JBWere, National Australia Bank, Roche, State and Federal Government Departments, smaller for-profit and not-for-profit organisations, Megumi helps leaders and organisations to unlock their hidden talents.
What’s one of your greatest accomplishments to date and what impact did it have on you, others, society or the world?
The moment I chose to take the opportunity where I walked into the unknown was a turning point and accomplishment in my career and life. Without this moment, I would be nowhere near where I am now.
When I was working at ANZ in 2000, the organisation started a major cultural transformation program where senior leaders and professionals were taken offsite on a personal transformation and leadership development workshop. I was one of the earlier, sceptical participants with a Strategy and Finance type of analytical mind that tried to discount what was happening in the workshop.
By the third day I had a transformational experience where I realised how conditioned I was, that I was living a life that was expected by others. A month later, an opportunity to be trained as an internal facilitator came up.
While I had very little experience in this work, I applied, somehow got chosen and took up the opportunity. The easier, known path would have been to stay in the Finance team, where I was offered a promotion. But I listened to my heart for the first time and decided to take the unknown path – to train to become a transformational facilitator.
It was a difficult training to go through, but the personal growth and the resulting ability to make a difference to others was very much worth the effort.
What’s one of the biggest challenges you’ve experienced and what were the most important or valuable lesson(s) you learnt?
One of the biggest challenges for me has been to find my unique voice. Whenever I participated in personal or professional development in skills such as facilitation, public speaking or coaching, I compared myself with other, more outgoing colleagues and felt I was not good enough. I struggled as I knew I should be authentic but could not find my own way to be effective. There were not many quieter role models to learn from, either.
While I intellectually knew that I needed to appreciate my own style and approaches, there were too many inner critics and conditioned thinking that got in the way.
I’d say it took a good 15 years before I learned to deal with the inner critics and conditioning enough for me to have a go at showing up more authentically. While I still have these inner voices, I can manage them enough so they don’t overpower me, most of the time. This is one of the skills that most of my coaching clients and program participants value the most. I feel I can help others because I had to deal with my own struggles.
Who do you turn to for guidance, advice or support AND/OR who would you like to acknowledge for their contribution to your life/business?
Two teachers who have had the greatest impact on my life and work has been Gita Bellin, transformational facilitation teacher, who opened my eyes to the spiritual world which is ever present and shapes what I do.
The second is Stephen Schuitevoerder, teacher in Process Oriented Psychology, who taught me the approaches and skills to uncover and address the deeply held beliefs, conditioning and inner voices that hold me back.
Connect with Megumi on Linked In and get yourself a copy of Quietly Powerful: How your quiet nature is your hidden leadership strength, awarded the Australian Career Book Award of 2020 and Start inspiring, stop driving: Unlock your team's potential to outperform and grow.