Change your Mind

Have you ever wondered what is going on inside your head?

Do you ever stop and listen to what’s going on inside your head?

Have you ever wondered who those voices are inside your head?

If you have then I’m hoping this article will help, even if it’s only in a small way.

How we think affects the way we feel, which in turn affects the way we behave. 

Consider a time when you were excited or happy and notice how you felt and how you behaved. Do you remember what you were actually thinking at the time?

Now consider a time when you were frustrated or irritated and notice how you felt and acted.  How were you talking to yourself at this point?

My guess is the way you looked, the way you sat and the tone of the voices in your head were different in both cases.

• What if it was possible to begin to make sense of these voices?
• What if it was possible to even quieten these voices?

You can!

All that is required is an investment of your time and a commitment to change.

I work with two models that allow you to do just this.

The first is a Creating your Future™ process which allows you to change limiting thought patterns and beliefs and set compelling goals to achieve.

The second is using the PMAI archetypal model to understand the essence of who you are, your identity, and what motivates you. This model will also allow you to put an archetypal name to those voices in your head and allow you to make sense of them.

Each of these help you get greater clarity about what may be holding you back and what you can do to move forward quickly and effortlessly.

If you’d like to know more simply email me and I’ll set up a call to discuss the opportunities and possibilities available you.

"The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence." 

Confucius

Winning Mindsets

We are in the second week of the Wimbledon tennis championships here in the UK and I was lucky enough to see two fabulous matches were the result required an absolute focus on winning. The game was as much a mental one as it was a physical one.

For those of you who are wondering which matches I’m thinking of, they were Serena Williams vs. Heather Watson match which went to 3 sets and Novak Djokovic vs. Kevin Anderson that went to 5 sets.

As a tennis fan, and observer, both of these matches were hard to call and for all 4 players I’m imagining the mental game was what saw them through.

I then read the following article by Patrick Cohn: http://www.sportspsychologytennis.com/?p=4349

Which looks at the mindset of champion players and talks about the choices you have, an excerpt is as follows:

Threat vs. Challenge

There are two mindsets a tennis player can choose heading into each match:

• You see matches as a threat: “If I lose, what will that loss say about me?”
• You view matches as challenges to overcome: “What can I do now to win this point?”

By viewing matches as challenges:

•   You will be motivated to go for it in tennis matches.

•   You feel psyched to compete, yet relaxed while playing.

•   You will be willing to put it all on the line and go for shots.

•   You will not become distraught by mistakes.

•   You will feel confident in your abilities to overcome obstacles.

•   You will be better equipped to focus on what you need to do in the moment.

•   You will have fun playing the game of tennis.

What mindset do you have?

Leadership is a 24/7 business and you are ‘on court’ all of the time. There are always people watching you. Some willing you on, some ambivalent and maybe some watching to see you ‘trip up’. 

How do you approach each day? As a professional tennis player focussed on this day and what needs to be achieved and how you need to play, or worried about what others may think, not wanting to make a mistake, playing it safe by keeping your head down?

We attract what we think about so if you are not getting the results you want maybe the first place to look is your own thoughts.

• What assumptions are you making?
• Are these assumptions enabling or limiting?
• Do you believe you can achieve what you have set out to do?
• If not what needs to shift, is it the outcome or your thinking?

We are programmed at an early age with some of our inherent beliefs and they are often outside of our consciousness. One way to uncover them is to take time to review your actions and your thoughts, particularly if you are not getting the results you want.

• What do you believe about the situation?
• What would you have to believe to get the result you want? 

I believe you can have everything you want out of life as long as you are prepared to do the work and have a positive mindset.

What can you do to have more of what you want? 

Where might you be limiting yourself with your thinking?

If you are struggling with this and know that you need to make some changes email me to set up a coaching clarity call and we can explore what action you can take.

“If you have the same damn thoughts, you’re gonna have the same damn day.”

Meadow Devor

3 signs that you are in a group not a team

Think about the last time you were part of a group, where someone proposed an idea that you thought was quite poor. However, everyone else in the group agreed with the person who suggested the idea and the group seemed set on pursuing that course of action.

When you see this happening it’s a pretty good indicator that groupthink is occurring and preventing creative thinking, effective decision making, efficient problem solving and goals being met.

What is Groupthink?

It is a psychological phenomenon in which people strive for consensus within a group. In many cases, people will set aside their own personal beliefs or adopt the opinion of the rest of the group.

People who are opposed to the decisions or overriding opinion of the group as a whole frequently remain quiet, preferring to keep the peace rather than disrupt the uniformity of the crowd.

Why does groupthink occur?

In many cases, people end up engaging in groupthink when they fear that their objections might disrupt the harmony of the group or suspect that their ideas might cause other members to reject them. Members place emphasis on everyone agreeing and want to be on good terms with the group no matter what the cost.

Situations where the group is placed under extreme stress or where moral dilemmas exist also increase the occurrence of groupthink, as does a strong persuasive charismatic leader.

Symptoms of groupthink

These fall into 3 broad categories:

Over confidence in the groups power
Limited thinking about a problem
Pressure to comply within the group

Over confidence in the groups power

You will see the group become overly optimistic and take big risks believing they are invincible. Alternatively you see members of the group rationalize thoughts or suggestions that challenge what the majority is thinking.  This causes them to ignore warning signs.

Limited thinking about a problem

There is a belief that whatever the group does it will be right as they all know the difference between right and wrong. This leads members to ignore possible moral problems and ignore consequences of individual and group actions.

You may also get members stereotyping. This leads members of the in-group to ignore or even demonize other group members who may oppose or challenge the group’s ideas.

Pressure to comply

The majority directly threaten the person who questions decisions by telling them that they can always leave the group if they don’t want to agree. Direct pressure to conform is often placed on members who pose questions, and those who question the group are often seen as disloyal or traitorous.

Alternatively, members of the group take it upon themselves to discourage different ideas from being expressed in the group. These "Mindguards" act as self-appointed censors to hide problematic information from the group.

This can result in people who have doubts to hiding their fears or misgivings.

How to Prevent or Minimise Groupthink

There are steps that you can take to minimize this problem when you see it occurring or prevent it from happening:

• Breaking up members into smaller independent teams can be helpful.
• As the leader of the group avoid stating your opinions or preferences when assigning tasks. Give people time to come up with their own ideas first.
• Discuss the group’s ideas with an outside member in order to get impartial opinions.
• Encourage group members to remain critical. Don't discourage dissent or challenges to the prevailing opinion. Encourage alternative views and challenging of ideas.
• As the leader be absent from many group meetings to avoid overly influencing decisions.
• Have a process in place for checking the fundamental assumptions behind important decisions, for validating the decision-making process.
• Utilise group techniques like brainstorming and six thinking hats when exploring a problem. 

It would be great to hear your stories on where you have overcome groupthink, so please share them. We can all learn from your success.

"The important thing about groupthink is that it works not so much by censoring dissent as by making dissent seem somehow improbable."

James Surowiecki

The single most common mistake of team development

The most common mistake I have come across is people saying they are part of a team when in fact they are really a working group and the difference between the two is palpable. You’ll understand this if you’ve ever been part of a high performing team!

When you are on a true team there is an energy and enthusiasm that can be felt, they are clear about their purpose and there is a commitment to deliver individual as well as collective results. 

Katzenbach and Smith define a team as a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves accountable.

• Do you consider yourself to be part of a team?
• If yes, do you ever spend time reflecting on how you are performing, or how you can make significant performance improvements?
• Do you hold yourself individually accountable and mutually accountable with your team mates? 

If you don’t consider yourself to be part of a team you’re likely to be a member of a working group where you interact with team members primarily to share information, best practices and make decisions to help each individual perform within his or her area of responsibility.  There is no common purpose that binds people together or joint work products that call for a team approach or mutual accountability.

So What?

All teams start out as a working group, an array of individuals coming together to get a job done. As a leader it’s important to recognise this as the development journey from working group to high performing team takes time and effort not just from you, but from every member in the team.

The question is do you want to harness the collective energy, skills and experience you have to deliver outstanding results? If you do then the journey is worth taking.

There is no one best place to start, or one best thing to do. What I would say is hire an experienced facilitator or team coach to support you and the team to get there.

As the team leader you need to be seen as part of the team which is why using an external facilitator is worth it – it also demonstrates that you are prepared to be led which signals to the team that any one of them can take the lead when necessary

Indicators of High Performing Teams

So where are you and your team on the scale from work group to high performing team?

Use these indicators as a starting point and use a 1 to 10 scale where 1 is low and 10 is high. It will hopefully give you some idea of where to start if you want to enhance performance.

1. Trust – the team trust one another to get things done
2. Healthy Challenge – the team are prepared to challenge each other to achieve the optimum result possible and accept this as an essential way of operating
3. Commit to action – when a decision is made they all commit to delivering and deliver what is needed when it’s required
4. Accountable - they hold each other accountable and are ready and willing to give each other honest feedback on contributions made
5. Focus on Results – they focus on what collectively has been agreed

If you know there is work to be done and you are not quite sure where to start email me and we can explore options to move forward.

 “When a gifted team dedicates itself to unselfish trust and combines instinct with boldness and effort, it is ready to climb.”

Patanjali

Are you a Change Manager or Change Enabler?

Last week I (with a colleague) presented at the International Coach Federations

UK event: Inspiring Coaching - the next 20 years.

The title of our session was “Harnessing the Dynamics of the Future’ and in it we referenced a couple of reports PWC 5 Global Megatrends, and the CIPD Megatrends – The trends shaping work and working lives.

The purpose of the session was to raise awareness of the huge shifts taking place globally and then reflect on what that means for us as leaders, because we are ALL leaders.

So my invitation is for you to do the same and feel free to read the reports in full, but for now here are the key themes:

• Economic power shifts are taking place and the gap is widening
• Technological breakthroughs are occurring with greater speed and less costs
• Global resource shifts – oil and gas reserves are depleting
• Changing demographics, there is now greater diversity in the workplace, a better educated global population and more people moving to live in cities.

The pace of change is increasing and most organisations are not changing at the same pace!

As a leader how are you preparing yourself to work in a world that is becoming more agile, complex and ambiguous?

Are you thinking about creating an agile organisation with a flexible, responsive structure to the management and conduct of work?

 

One thing is for sure the future requires a different way of leading, one that enables others to be more agile and responsive rather than manage others.

Which are you?

If not sure of the distinctions, use this rather quick and dirty checklist to do a little self-assessment.

  

Change Managers

1. Initiate change work to the plan where almost everything is prescribed
2. Invite only those of a certain grade to the table to problem solve
3. Manage change through a project office
4. Communicate major changes through a managed timetable with carefully honed scripts
5. Bring back any deviations from the norm back in line
6. Manage based on past experience and what has proven to work
7. Work through the hierarchy 

Change Enablers

1. Create conversations that generate problem-solving activity
2. Look for internal activist who want to be involved and have the courage to challenge the status quo
3. Invite and encourage commitment by asking people to get involved in the how of things from the front line not top down
4. Discard the notion of the right way
5. Learn as you go
6. Experiment
7. Encourage creative thinking

These two lists are not meant to be definitive. They are presented to initiate some reflection on how you are leading change currently, and hopefully, consider how you may adapt to be more enabling. Leading by harnessing the energies of those around you.

Making real change is a challenge for most of us – just think of all New Year resolutions that lapse after a very short period of time.

What one thing can you do to ensure the changes you’re leading come to fruition?

"To design the future effectively, you must first let go of your past."  


Charles J. Givens

My Top 10 Favourite Quotes on Change

I decided to do something a little different this week and share with you my top 10 favourite quotes on change and why I think they are relevant.

I hope they have some meaning for you too!

'Challenges are what make life interesting, overcoming them is what makes them meaningful.’
Joshua J. Marine

All change, whether organisational or personal, involves a challenge of some degree. That challenge may be how you influence others, how you overcome resistance, how you do more with less….. The important thing to remember is what you learn in the process that makes you a better manager, leader, person. 

‘You gain strength, courage, and confidence with every experience in which you look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot.’

Eleanor Roosevelt

It is easy to back away from things you don’t know how to do, or that seem overwhelming, or that we haven’t done before. Any growth, and I see change as growth, requires you to face up to your own fears, often they aren’t as scary as you make them out to be. What you learn in the process always feeds your self-esteem and self-confidence – so go for it!

‘To get others to come into our ways of thinking, we must go over to theirs; and it is necessary to follow, in order to lead.'
William Hazlitt

So often, in change scenarios, there is a sense of ‘pushing people’ to do something new and different with a bit of a one size fits all method of communicating.

If only we put ourselves in an others shoes. If you can find a way to understand what is going on from the others perspective you can tailor your message in a way that makes them feel heard and understood. They are then less likely to resist and certainly more open and engaged.

You may not always be the best person to lead on something, it may be one of your subordinates, or a peer. We all have to follow at some point and you can always learn from this position.

‘Whatever the mind can conceive and believe the mind will achieve.’

Napoleon Hill

Be open-minded. You are more likely to see possibilities and find alternative solutions. When you begin to think it can’t be done, sure enough you’ll find it can’t!

'Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right.' Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.'

George Herbert

I have never been involved in a change programme where the time is just right, or you have all the resources you need. Starting any change from this place can seem a little scary and maybe daunting and I’m a firm believer in taking a step forward. The moment you start moving circumstances change and you can then adapt along the way.

'One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.'

Abraham Maslow

Change brings transitions that will often require you to let go of things that no longer work. This may be people, processes, parts of your business, or systems. You have to ‘let go’ of those things that no longer serve you to provide space for the new to emerge.  

It is easy to hold on to the things we know, they provide us with a sense of comfort.Moving forward into the unknown can evoke fear and resistance, take comfort from this as it's a sign you are heading in the right direction. 

'Nothing is terminal. Everything is transitional. What looks like the end of the road will turn out to be a bend.'

Robert Schuller

You may think you have arrived at the end of your change programme, systems implementation or new product development but there is always work to be done. You will be able to slow down for a little while and catch your breath. Then consider the fine-tuning you identified, or additional improvements and adaptations required to meet customer needs. Change is constant.

'The biggest problem with communication is 
the illusion that it has been accomplished'

George Bernard Shaw 

You can never communicate enough. Communicate, communicate, communicate!! To groups, one to one, face to face, in writing, via the internet etc.

'If one desires a change, one must be that change before that change can take place.'

Gita Bellin

As a leader you have to be prepared to model what you are asking others to do and be congruent about it.

'To design the future effectively, you must first let go of your past.'  


Charles J. Givens

We can often limit ourselves with our thinking, relying on past experiences and beliefs we have. This can actually be a block to creating the ideal solution and you could inadvertently recreate existing problems. Sometimes you need to get out of your own way and be creative to see what could be possible.  

I hope some of these have resonated with you and it would be great to hear any of your own stories or favourite quotes around change, so please share.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Ending your Day on a Positive Note

How do you end your day at work?

Do you rush out of the office to ensure you catch the train knowing there are still things to do and you’ll do them once you get home, feeling stressed?

Do you finish your task and then prepare for the next day carrying forward the things you didn’t get done today?

Do you finish what you are doing and then switch off to now focus on what needs to be done at home?

Or

Do you spend a few moments reviewing your day recognising what has been achieved and feeling good about it?

A lot has been written about positive emotions and how they enhance cognitive, affective, and physical resilience and broaden our repertoire of thoughts and behaviours.

Hundreds of studies have reported associations between positive emotion and tangible outcomes such as higher wages, customer satisfaction, and creativity, big picture thinking, physical health, quick cardiovascular recovery and work engagement.

So what can you do to begin to think in a more positive way?

As human beings we are all very good a identifying what is wrong, what hasn’t been done, what is unfinished, so you have to make a conscious effort to look at the positive and recognise it.

An end of day practice

To help you create a new habit, and to end the day on a positive note, here are some things you can do to establish an end of day practice:

1. Write down 3 things that went well about the day. This has been shown to increase happiness.
2. Write down everything that you have achieved today. We are all very good at thinking about all the things that didn’t get done rather than pat ourselves on the back for all the things that did get done.
3. Where did you perform at your best today? We often take these for granted and overlook them and yet they are the things that make our reputation – our brand.
4. If you are angry with someone and you feel the need to counterproductively chastise him or her – STOP! Identify things the employee has done to inspire you, that you are grateful for. Take a more balanced approach of the individual and then decide on the best course of action.
5. What did you really enjoy doing today? Savouring life’s pleasures both subtle and spectacular can enhance wellbeing.

You may choose to do all of these or just one and if every day is a step to far start with doing this at the end of the week and make it a regular practice.

Cultivate a ratio of positivity that will generate success.

“Don’t let people; places and things determine your moods. Take charge of how you feel each and every day.”

Michael Barbarulo