314: 4 Ways to Expand Your Vision with Edward Francis

https://youtu.be/5rB45BEXQLU Edward Francis, executive coach, IBM alumnus, and doctorate holder in Management Consulting, is driven by four lifelong commitments—family, faith, the city of Atlanta, and experiential learning. That fourth commitment fuels his mission: helping leaders bridge the gap between theoretical competency and real-world performance through outcome-based, measurable coaching. We explore Edward’s distinctive EMF Coaching Framework, which integrates authenticity, mindfulness, equanimity, and neuroplasticity to help leaders develop soft skills for next-level leadership. Edward explains why authenticity protects your future self, how mindfulness deepens connection and listening, why fulfillment (equanimity) must replace “I don’t know,” and how managing the brain—rather than letting it run the show—creates space for vision and innovation. Edward also shares how he teaches passion for the future, why it can be acquired through practice, and how he measures intangible soft-skill growth with precision. For leaders seeking transformation, Edward describes what “serious coaching for serious clients” truly looks like. — 4 Ways to Expand Your Vision with Edward Francis Good day, dear listeners. Steve Preda here, the Founder of the Summit OS Group, and the host of this podcast. And my guest today is Edward Francis, a seasoned coach who provides soft skills for next-level leading with an outcome-based and measured approach. He’s an IBM alumni and holds a doctorate in Management Consulting, so he knows a lot. Edward, welcome to the show. Thank you, Steve. Glad I could be here. Yeah. Great to have you. I always ask our guests because I think it’s very important that we have a mission, a purpose in life. Because if we lean into it, then we are going to get a lot better results. So what is your personal ‘Why’, and what are you doing to manifest it? Good question, Steve. I like that. Well, my personal ‘Why’ are my commitments, and I have four of them. Oh. And those commitments are me, they make me who I am. The fourth commitment is why we are here today talking, but I’ll take a minute and touch on the first three because I think they’re worth touching on briefly. The first commitment, and not necessarily in order, is family. I’m a father, uncle, godfather, caretaker for a dog and cat — family. My second commitment of the four is faith. And obviously, I could talk a lot about that, but I won’t. But that is a big commitment that makes me who I am. The third commitment is actually to the city of Atlanta, because that’s where I am and where I have served throughout the years several boards of directors — the large ones that we all know about, some for profit, some not for profit, and some of the smaller ones that we haven’t heard about. I'm at that stage now where I end up doing on boards and doing things that nobody else wants to do, but I think it's very important. Share on X And so typically I’m raising money for this or helping to promote that, or the kinds of things that are very important. But they’re not the big boards, but I’ve served on all of them throughout the years. Done a lot with the arts community, the leadership community, the city government, some politics, but primarily community activism. But the fourth commitment, which makes me who I am and why I’m here, is to experiential learning. And that is that gap between competency and how it plays out in the real world—the bridge. Not just understanding the competency of business or the competency of consulting, but how does it really play out in the real world? I have a passion for that. And that bridge can be coaching, leadership development, mentoring, and so it is experiential learning. Share on X When I was with IBM, people would inherently come to me, especially young people. I think it’s this white hair, Steve, I don’t know. They’d come to me and we’d be talking about this and that. And I began to enjoy those sessions, but found that they really were important for the person coming as well as me, because I learned a lot as well. And then when I went on to study my doctorate and my MBA, I studied experiential learning, where I began to do research on soft skills. So what are soft skills? Earning trust. Can you teach someone how to earn trust? I prove that you can. Passion for the future. Can you teach passion for the future? Can that learn? Is that an acquired skill? Is that an acquired competency? Yes, it is. So experiential learning, I have a passion that comes into my coaching, which is why I coach at a business school, at a major university. And I have clients, private clients as well. Those are my ‘Whys’. And because that’s who I am. I am those commitments. Yeah, that’s fascinating. So let’s talk about some of the things that you do, because I find it very interesting. But I’d like to start with the framework that you developed, which is a unique coaching framework. I’ve not seen anything like that before, and I think you call it the EMF coaching framework after your name. And it involves authenticity, mindfulness, equanimity, and neuroplasticity. Can you explain what this is, how you discovered it, why it’s important, and how do you apply it? Well, my research brought it to the forefront, but my clients have really discovered it for me. When I work with a client, I take them where they are. Typically, it’s someone with a set of outcomes that they’d like to achieve, or outcomes that they want to develop. Sometimes we don’t know outcomes change, and I also have the ability to measure their outcomes, which is fairly unique. I mean, I give them measurements. People say they want measurements, but I can do them and do them well. But the framework is a way of communicating blocks that we build on, and blocks for active listening on my part. So what is the authenticity? How do you use authenticity in coaching? To make sure that you are aware of it, to help you measure your authenticity, to make you value your authenticity, to get you to focus on it as an important element of what you want to do and who you are, so that at the end of your career, or when you’re changing careers because you have one behind you, you can look back on it and feel good about it. And you’re not some sad old guy or sad old lady who wishing you had paid attention to your authenticity. Because what happens when you have that sadness, you end up impacting the people that love you the most. Your wife, your children, grandchildren. So you want to protect this period of time by making sure you pay attention to authenticity. And so we spend a good bit of time working on it, identifying, but more than anything else, letting you know how important it is. And of course, authenticity, I mean, we grow, we bend, we assimilate the cultures, but there’s still an authenticity that you want to measure, promote, and understand. I attempt to drive home that meaning, but more than anything else, I listen to what's important to you about authenticity, it's about listening. Share on X I have more questions than I have answers, but I do have some good questions. And where does authenticity fit, and how do you rate your authenticity, and what does authenticity matter to you are important questions. Okay. So there’s a lot there. We won’t be able to completely unpack authenticity. Maybe that’s what you do with your client so we don’t have to do it on this call. But let’s switch to the next one, which is mindfulness. So is it about meditation? What does it mean? Well, mindfulness is all over the place, right? We hear it all the time. It’s almost cache. I mean, it’s all over the place. But in coaching and in my building blocks, we want to examine the benefit to you as my client in achieving your outcomes. The benefit of just understanding and listening rather than making an impression. Share on X You want to listen rather than try to impress. Your listening skills, finding out where someone is before you engage with them. The idea of being mindful of the moment of where are they. So being present with the person? Not only present, but giving a lead to listening. What does that mean? It’s hard to hear them if you are talking. And this type of mindfulness, you want to make sure that you are being more listening than you are trying to impress or engage from your perspective. That type of mindfulness in that moment and in each moment. So we spend a good bit of time understanding that level of engagement, and if that engagement is even authentic to you, but the benefits of that. Can you give an example? Sure. You go to someone and you want them to help you with something, not necessarily small talk, but find out where they are at that moment, where they are mentally, where they are socially, how’s their day? It’s more than small talk before you engage because you’ll find that them even hearing you, if you show that you care about where they are, their level of listening can be increased. So an example is finding out where the person is before you engage with them. Okay. So let’s switch gears and let’s talk about equanimity, because that’s something I don’t hear people talk about. Mindfulness is a common topic—maybe not your brand of it—but what’s equanimity, and how do you use it in coaching? Sure. Equanimity means a lot of things, but when we talk about coaching in the framework, we’re really talking about fulfillment. Equanimity can mean how you handle stress or how you handle disturbances. Share on X But equanimity in coaching can mean fulfillment, your pursuit of a fulfillment what is it that you really, really, really want? And are you clear on distinguishing that from that tools to get there? The classic one is money, Steve. We all know people with lots of money, and there’s a question even in their mind, if they are really fulfilled. So, an equanimity is understanding fulfillment and that pursuit of fulfillment, and it can change. Share on X When you get to our age, “I don’t know” is not a good answer. What fulfills you? You say, “I don’t know.” I’d say, Steve, you’re too old to be saying “I don’t know.” You need an answer. You can change it as often as you want, but the problem with “I don’t know” is that it breeds “I don’t know.” And if you’re saying “I don’t know” at age 30, my fear is you’ll be saying “I don’t know” at age 45. So being able to pick a horse and ride it, have the flexibility to change whenever you want is critical. Plus, just think about it: let’s say you want help. I remember plenty of times people would come to me wanting help, and if they had a target, it was much easier for me to help them if they had a target. They say, I want this, it’s going to be available. Then this is the decision-maker. Can you help me with this venture capital team to see if I can get it swayed my way? They got a target. But if you come to me and say, Edward, help me figure out what I want to be when I grow up, that’s a whole other discussion. It’s very difficult to help you. So when you have a target, when you have an answer, other than, I don’t know, we have a direction to move in. So “I don’t know” is not good for most people. Yeah. And you can honestly not know, but you going to pick something. Because when you pick something, even if you’re going the wrong way, you may see what’s the right way. But you never would see that right way if you hadn’t taken that first step, even in the wrong direction. Give the information and then you can iterate from there. Yeah, I agree. And I love it. So let’s go onto neuroplasticity, which was also a very interesting concept that you talked about. Sure. How do you use neuroplasticity in coaching? Sure. Well, neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to create additional neurons, but in coaching it’s also the suggestion and the consideration that you move outside of your brain — that you don’t let your brain run you, you run the brain. That brain will get you in trouble if you are just running around following it. First of all, the brain’s number one job is to protect the body. That’s the number one job for the brain. So therefore, it often has a negative bias. The brain will think that things are worse than they are. That’s part of the way it protects you. You think a lion is going to jump out of the bushes and devour you when it’s just a little puppy dog who’s coming up to you. So if you keep going, most of the time you’ll see it’s not quite as bad as you thought it was — most of the time. So following the brain, you have to step outside of your brain and manage your brain. The front part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, is in charge of visioning and innovation. But the funny thing about the prefrontal cortex is that it wants to be filled. It doesn’t want empty space. So wherever you are, it’s going to fill itself with something. And you going to say to your brain, no, we are not doing that. I’m not going to let you get filled up. I’m going to keep room so that I can vision. Visioning and innovation takes time and it takes room, and the brain wants to stock in as much as it can to stay filled Share on X but you going to tell that brain, no, I’m going to sit here. I’m going to eat this ice cream and think about it. And so then that leads into what’s really a coaching dynamic is the art of delegation. In order to clear out that prefrontal cortex, you going to use resources, delegation, so that when that brain is filling up, you have a way of, as we used to say at IBM, getting those monkeys off your back. You create some free space. There was a time when professors, way back in the day, had their sabbaticals. Well, that was well-meaning. That was well-meaning — having that time for visioning. Well, as we have blueprints for business, as we have goals, as we look for moving forward, it requires vision, but vision takes time. Share on X It’s just not going to drop in your lap. Your brain won’t let you do it. Now, we both know people who carry the world on their shoulders, and yet they still get a lot of things done. And it can happen, but it’s just not the best way to do it. Yeah. And maybe they are giving themselves time. They go on a fishing trip, or a golf trip, or travel. And the best ideas come when you’re not in the office, right? But I’m talking about more granular than that. Not just vacations or climbing a mountain, I’m talking about just sitting still and breathing. I’m talking about family time, a meal, book, listening to some good music, a walk in the woods, things that help your mind empty out those monkeys, so that you can have space to take the time for the visioning and innovation that’s critical for moving forward. A lot of times you get to where you are by keeping that mind full. You’re always having fires to put out, and that’s fine. We’re experts at putting out fires. But at some point, to take that business to that next level — that soft skill for next-level leadership — you're going to have to manage your brain to create space so that you have time for vision and innovation. Share on X Yeah. I love that. And I often notice that I’m driving my car and I think, okay, I’m going to switch on the audio book or podcast. I say, no, I won’t do that. I just want to sit here and just daydream over the wheel and just let my mind go different places.  And actually I love that time, and I like the long drives, and I don’t take in information. And I guess that’s what’s happening. I didn’t call it that, but I am emptying out my brain and giving it space. Well, you have to manage that brain because it will get you in trouble if you just let it run the show. I mean, really, it’ll take you to some odd places. You have to say to your brain, “No. That’s not what we are doing. That’s not the plan.” Okay. That’s awesome. So your coaching framework is authenticity — being aware and living an authentic life so that you can look back on it with satisfaction. Mindfulness — being present, listening, giving space for other people. Equanimity, which is fulfillment and having that feeling of fulfillment, of living with purpose. That’s why I ask you about the purpose as well, so I totally relate to this. And neuroplasticity, I love that concept. I think few people talk about it, especially this way. It’s very powerful. So before we wrap up, I like to ask you about what you mentioned at the top of the conversation about teaching people passion for the future, I’m fascinated by this idea. I thought passion was more of an internally developed thing. Maybe there’s also talent for passion. Maybe it’s part of nurture, but how can you actually teach it, I’m very curious about that. Sure. Passion for the future. That’s when you want to be passionate about capabilities and opportunities for impacting your clients, impacting the world, and you deeply believe in the quality and breadth of personal, exceptional capability. And the key with passion for the future, when you really are doing it well, then you are energizing others about unique opportunities, and you are conveying passion for the future with them. I have an exercise—several exercises—that we go through and talk about. So, Edward, just a quick question. So does that mean that you are passionate about the potential of your own and the other people around you? So your passion is derived not from what the politics is doing, or geopolitics, and I don’t know, AI, and that stuff, but is it about the humanistic potential that you see is there and can be manifested? Actually, Steve, it is outcomes-driven. So it is outcomes-driven, but what I see—and when it works well, you see it—it spreads. It’s not that you start out saying, I want to have passion for this client, I want to have passion for this business, or passion for this opportunity. But once you grasp it—the wins or the losses, the yeses, the no’s, or the maybes—you take them all. And you are still passionate about winning. You create sense of pride, you’re seeking opportunities, you confront behavior that’s contrary to the values and to reputation. So we teach this and it can be fun, but I’ve also seen tears come from it as well. It can be a tearful experience, but it’s part of what we do, and we do it well. And it’s not cookie-cutter. I take my client where they are. So this is not just some rope that I’m going to take you through. We really have to see this as an outcome that's going to benefit you and an outcome that's desired, and an outcome that you're willing to invest in. Share on X Because look, a lot of people make it, and they are not passionate about the future. So it’s a lot of work. So you can turn a sheep into a wolf? Yes. If there is a real support in doing it. If there is personal support in doing it, or corporate support in doing it, or if it’s passionate support in doing it, yes, we can do it. There is a price, but it can be done. A personal price. A mental price, yes. But doesn’t the mentee or the  coachee have to be willing to pay that price, or can they get the passion without paying any price? Personally, the company will pay, but can they do it? Sure. Well, first of all, the person needs to be coachable. And it needs to be an objective, or it needs to be an outcome that you see now, or an outcome that you developed over your period of time in working with me. So we can start out that way or it can come, but yes, you have to see that it’s worth it because it does take work. But once you get it, I see it spread, and you in fact are passionate about the future, and you weren’t there in the first place. You might’ve been pessimistic, actually. That is amazing. I mean, if you can do that, then you can really empower other people that maybe would must be able to empower themselves or be empowered by the usual patterns and approaches. And we measure it. I have a measurement. I can measure your progress or lack thereof. And let’s be clear, every story is not a success story. But I can measure your progress or lack thereof, and we can agree on a matrix and see how you’re tracking towards that matrix for passion for the future. So how do I measure my passion, or how do you measure my passion? I’ll get you to give me an analysis, and I have some questions. And I’ll get you to give me an analysis of those questions, and then I’ll ask you those same questions another way. And then we’ll do training, and then we’ll come back to that and then we’ll do an analysis of where you were and where you are now that we are at the next phase. So that’s one way we can do, we can measure it to see your progress or lack of progress. Now, I also have a role play that we can do. So there's several things we can do. There's role play, there's reading, but primarily it's me listening. Share on X It’s active listening on my part. I don’t have the answers, but I have the questions. Well, the questions are more important than the answers. Because a lot of answers can pertain to one question. That is very fascinating. So if people would like to be coached by you — and I saw on your LinkedIn page that you offer serious coaching for serious clients, so it’s not like dabblers please don’t bother applying kind of thing. So what does it look like? Serious coaching looks like a commitment of time and resources from someone who’s coachable. It starts when you contact me to schedule a chemistry session. That’s typically can be as short as 15 minutes, most of them are an hour. So it starts with a chemistry session. Then once we get out of the chemistry session, it starts when you pay me, that’s when it starts. Okay. So if those listeners that are taking in this episode, they’d like to explore whether they have the right chemistry for you to coach them, or whether they are considered serious enough for coaching, where should they go and how can they find you? There are two places you can find me. Of course, you can find me on LinkedIn: Edward Francis. I think it’s Edward Francis, DBA (Doctor of Business Administration). So Edward Francis. Or you can go to my webpage, www.edwardmackfrancis.com. Awesome. So if you’re listening to this and you want a serious coach with serious coaching, and specifically want to be a more authentic person can be more present for others and feel more fulfilled, and have a bigger brain capacity through neuroplasticity, leveraging neuroplasticity, or you want to be more passionate about the future, then do reach out to Edward Francis. You will not be disappointed. And if you have a company and you want to grow it, then reach out to me at the Summit OS Group. So, Edward, thank you for coming, and for those of you out there, thank you for listening. And stay tuned because we have exciting entrepreneurs and thought leaders joining every week. Important Links: Edward’s LinkedIn Edward’s website