What Happens When Your Emotions Are High?

What Happens When Your Emotions Are High?

by | Aug 3, 2016

Today’s Wednesday Wisdom has been inspired by my horses as we have been involved in a number of near “misses” over the last few weeks, which could have gone spectacularly wrong and had a very different outcome if the horses hadn’t stayed calm when their emotions got high.

Charlie was the first to demonstrate the importance of staying calm in a crisis because what tends to happen is that when our emotions get high – through either fear or joy – then our rationale brain can stop working and we forget to think logically about what is happening, and as a result intelligence goes down.

At this time of year the grass has been growing quite fast so some areas of the horses paddock are fenced off with electric tape to prevent them entering the area.  Within my two fields I had an area that needed reseeding so I had put up some electric tape (although it wasn’t electrified) to enable the grass to grow.

As I went into the field to get the horses for an event with a private client I saw Charlie had his head over the electric tape in an attempt to get the lush grass on the other side.  Immediately, however I saw the problem.  He had also managed to step over the bottom electric tape meaning that the tape was between his front feet. As I entered the field he stepped backwards but forget to lift his front foot up. The result was that the electric tape was wrapped round his foot.

I saw the panic rise in his eyes and calmly I told him to stand still. There was a urgency and directness in my tone and bless him he stood still so I could try and remove the tape.  The challenge was the tape was so taut that I could not release it. (Now I know why cowboys carry knives!). It was exasperating trying to figure out a way to help him. In that moment I had to keep my emotions in check so that I could use all my intelligence to help find a solution to release him. The obvious solution would be to get him to walk forward and so slacken off the rope but Charlie was literally sitting on the floor with all his weight pulling against the rope. Luckily I managed to pull up some of the posts which gave me enough slack to get the rope off his foot. What a relief.

Charlie suffered a mild rope burn to his fetlock, just above his hoof, but when I think what could have happened we were so lucky. Charlie clearly demonstrated that in a difficult situation he could contain his emotions and trusted me enough to allow me to help him. He kept his intelligence in the face of adversity.

Bracken too has had her fair share of challenges over this last week. The first was during a demo I was holding for a group of local business owners. As we often do we start with a herd observation exercise where the group observe the horses and figure out which horses they are most drawn to and why. The horses were in the arena and as usual there were a number of obstacles in the arena for use in other exercises were doing that morning.

As we observed the herd Bracken decided that it would be a great idea to go and rub her backside on a jump wing that was holding up a pole.  Everyone was laughing at her as she played her usual joker role and entertained the crowds. Not unsurprisingly the pole fell to the ground. No worries there but then the terror came over me at what happened next. Bracken has a really big, bushy tail and in rubbing her butt on the jump stand she got the jump cup that the role rests on stuck in her tail. So as she moved away from the jump post she dragged it with her.  My heart leapt to mouth as I knew the consequences of what could happen. If Bracken panicked and started running she would think she was being chased by the jump stand and all hell could let loose.  Thankfully again I called to Bracken to stand still and she did.  Then as I approached she started moving but thankfully the jump cup became disentangled from her tail and fell away. Another serious accident – one none of us could have foreseen – averted.

Contrast this with her sheer joy this morning at being able to get into the field with lush grass.  As some of you might remember from my previous post Sometimes You Need A Different Perspective, the horses currently have to really think to find the exit from their field. This morning Bracken and Toby couldn’t figure out that they needed to retreat 50 metres into the field to get onto the other side of some other electric fence so they could and then get out the field.  So I went and caught Bracken and Toby and led them back into the field so I could lead them out into the lush grass.  As we turned the corner Bracken immediately realised she could get the lush grass. It was just 50 metres ahead of her. What she forget in her sheer excitement was that she had a halter on and I was on the end of the rope.  In that moment of her emotional high all her intelligence left her as she decided to try and run away and the dance on two back feet!.  Not very clearly. I calmly asked her to stand still and dropped my energy so as to calm her. She stood still but when we started to walk she decided to run again. I asked her to stop and we stood still. It took a long time to reach that lush grass simply because in her excitement she had lost all perspective and intelligence and forgotten how to behave.

So my question to you today is how do you respond when things don’t go to plan?. Do you panic and forget any logical reasoning as your intelligence drops or can you regulate your emotions, stay calm and react in methodical way.

I love how my horses are always teaching me new things and this week I learnt how I can stay calm in an emergency and respond in a measured way that keeps everyone safe.  I also learnt how by calming my energy I can help my horses manage their emotions. Plus I also love how much my horses trust my judgment in these challenging situations and know that I am there to help them.

As always share your thoughts with me on facebook or email me and let me know how this post has impacted you and you can put into place what you have learnt in the workplace.

Wishing you a flow filled week.

The 6 C’s To Successful Courageous Conversations

The 6 C’s To Successful Courageous Conversations

by | Jul 31, 2016

When challenged with having a difficult conversation many people simply do not know how to approach the situation. This is why I have developed a framework that I call the 6 C’s To Successful Courageous Conversations to provide you with a road map for navigating the conversation. Being able to have courageous conversations is a key skill of being a Joined Up Leader and I share more on this in my book The Alchemy Of Change.

Courageous Conversations

Centre

It is key that you stay in charge of yourself, your purpose and your emotional energy throughout any courageous conversation. Breathe, centre and notice when you become off centre and choose to return to centre again.

This is where your power lies. By choosing the calm, centred state, you’ll help the person you are speaking with to be more centred, too. Centring is not a step centring is how you are as you take the steps. Grounded and in the moment.

Step #1: Clarity

Be clear on the reason for the conversation and the outcome that you desire. Most courageous conversations falter because there is a lack of clarity about the real issue. Get to the root cause and focus on this matter rather than the symptoms that might be showing.

Consider how the behaviour you are addressing is impacting the team and the business. Remember this is not about you, so ensure that you control your emotions and approach the conversation in such a way that you do not contaminate it with unconscious feelings or mixed body language. (For most people this means doing some preparation work in anticipation of the courageous conversation).

Step #2: Curiosity

Cultivate an attitude of discovery and curiosity. Pretend you don’t know anything (you really don’t) and learn as much as possible about the other person and their point of view. Pretend you’re entertaining a visitor from another country, and find out how things are for them in that place; how certain events affect the other person, and what their values and priorities are.

Watch for their body language and listen for unspoken energy as well. What do they really want? What are they not saying? Let the person talk until they are finished. Don’t interrupt except to acknowledge. Whatever you hear, don’t take it personally. It’s not really about you. Learn as much as you can in this phase of the conversation. You’ll get your turn, but don’t rush things.

Step #3: Coherent

Coherent means showing that you’ve heard and understood. Try to understand the other person so well you can make their argument for them. Then do it. Repeat back to them what you heard so you can ensure you fully understood what they said. They will not change unless they see that you see where they stand. Acknowledge whatever you can, including your own defensiveness if it comes up. Acknowledgment can be difficult if we associate it with agreement., however keep them separate. Saying, “this sounds really important to you,” doesn’t mean that you’re going to go along with their decision but it does make the other person feel listened to.

Step #4: Congruent

When you sense the other person has said all they want to then, it’s your turn. What can you see from your perspective that they’ve missed? Help clarify your position without minimizing theirs. Seek clarity from the other person on how they came to the conclusion they did. And why that was not what you intended.

Step #5: Co-create Closure

Now you’re ready to begin building a new solution. Brainstorming and continued curiosity and inquiry are really useful here. Ask the other person what they think might work. Whatever they say, find something you like and build on it. If the conversation becomes adversarial, go back to inquiry. Asking for the other’s point of view usually creates a sense of safety and encourages them to engage. If the other person feels they are being listened to and can shape the outcome they are more likely to feel inspired to offer so solutions

I urge you to use this framework for any difficult conversations that you need to have rather than sticking your head in the sand and avoiding the issue and hoping it will go away.

Communication is essential in business and the latest 2015 Employee Engagement Trends Report by Quantum WorkPlace reveals that one of the biggest areas of uncertainty for employees remains the fact that there is not often honest and open communication with managers. So simply by addressing this issue head on, you should start to see trust and employee engagement levels increase.

Google On How To Create a High Performance Team

Google On How To Create a High Performance Team

by | Jul 29, 2016

A few years ago the guru’s at Google set out to determine what makes a high performing team. Now we all know how great Google is at finding patterns in data series but the reality is that after years of research and analyzing 150 teams they came to the conclusion that simply there was no pattern. Initially they had believed that putting the best people on a project would get the best results but this simply was not true.

So what ensures that a team is high performing?

The Google executives frustrated with the lack of patterns in the data they collected, the researchers delved further into reviewing past academic studies on how teams work. In the literature, they discovered that psychological and sociological research kept using the term “group norms” when describing successful groups. Norms are the traditions, behavioral standards and unwritten rules that govern how we function when we gather. It was becoming clear that the most effective teams had ‘group norms’ that added to their success.

The challenge that the Google researchers now had was figuring out which ‘group norms’ were the most valuable. With further research, the group norm that emerged as one of the most powerful was ‘psychological safety’.

‘Psychological safety’ has been described by Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson as a ‘‘shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.’’ “A sense of confidence that the team will not embarrass, reject or punish someone for speaking up,’’ Edmondson wrote in a study published in 1999

How to create Psychological Safety

Creating a psychologically safe environment for a team needs to be spearheaded by the leadership in the developing stages of a team. This is the reason that leaders play a more significant role in creating effective teams than the people who make up the team. I certainly know this to be true from my own experience. Some of the best teams I have been part of have been led by inspiring and compelling leaders. People who have been really inclusive and have led by example. People who have created an environment in which we have all felt valued, included and safe to share. A place where we can be authentic and be ourselves. A place were we don’t have to worry about putting on a our game face but rather can show up as our true self, devoid of any masks.

Leaders need to allow for the creation of an emotional safety net to develop within their teams. One way to create this environment is to carve out time for people to actually share their feelings and not just updates on the latest reports or budget numbers.

Leaders can take the time at weekly meetings to start by asking how people are feeling and why. The first few times these conversations happen, it will be beneficial if the leader shares first to set an example of the level and type of information to be shared. In one example from Google at an offsite retreat with a newer team, the leader started off the conversation telling his team that he had cancer and the effects it was having on his life. This opened the doors for in-depth sharing from the rest of the team.

As a leader showing up as authentic and vulnerable can really set the tone for the group and encourage others to open up and so have courageous conversations without fear of reprisals. (You can learn about the 6 C’s to Courageous Communication here). Being vulnerable goes a long way in developing strong trust bonds and trust is the basic building block of teams.

 

The Power Of Small

The Power Of Small

by | Jul 27, 2016

Today I want to talk about the importance of building trust with those you work with. Trust is that elusive quality that fundamentally impacts all aspects of our lives. It is easy to lose and difficult to gain but can be impacted by the power of small.

In his book The Speed of Trust, Stephen R. Covey describes the first wave of trust as self–trust. It is all about being credible and developing integrity, intent, capabilities and results that make you believable, both to yourself and others.

Building trust with yourself starts with the small things in life: doing what you say will do. For example, being on time to meet friends, not finding excuses for cancelling just because you don’t feel up to it, putting personal appointments in your diary and then making sure you keep them (e.g. going to the gym).

I know from my own experience how difficult it can sometimes be to keep those appointments with myself. It is so easy when the alarm goes off in the morning to find an excuse for not exercising today, or not getting up and writing my book. Over these last few months it has taken courage and determination for me to set aside time to start my running. Sure, there is always something else pressing to do, but I know that every time I fail to keep these commitments to myself I feel my self-esteem and self-confidence slipping away and I fail to inspire others to believe in me. They lose trust in me and
the net result is that my business suffers.

It is the small things we do that ultimately impact how people trust us. We might not realise it, but telling a white lie here and failing to keep an appointment there all impact our credibility. And if we are not credible then we are not trustworthy; people simply don’t believe that we will follow through on our actions. We lack integrity when we fail to keep our own standards, and when we fail to live up to our own standards our colleagues see no reason to meet them, either.

BUILDING TRUST WITH SMALL ACTION

Beaver Trees and Landscaping, a small company based in Christchurch New Zealand provides a perfect example of a company that has fully embraced the power of building trust by small actions. Given the nature of its business the company has many client appointments to quote for work.

So after hearing about the Power of Small from Paul Dunn of B1G1, the owner Bryce Robb implemented a policy of making all the appointments for quotations at unusual times, such as 10:25am. This was such a small change to the business but it had massive impact.

Firstly, customer’s surprise at the times of the appointments prompted them to be on time; they were then delighted when the Beaver Trees representative turned up on time. In fact, people are so surprised that they are often found waiting on their driveway for the representative. Now, of course, the Beaver Trees representative is always on time and just this simple act has built massive trust with prospective clients. The net result is that the company’s sales conversion rate has jumped to a massive 80% and they are not the cheapest game in town.

This proves the power of making a commitment and sticking to it. Furthermore, the company was recently judged to be the Best Company To Work For In the World with under 50 team members.

That’s the power of building trust by doing what you say you will do.  That’s the power of small.

So what small action will you take today to start building trust with your team, stakeholders and customers? Let me know.

The Entrepreneurial Journey: Ebbs and Flows

The Entrepreneurial Journey: Ebbs and Flows

by | Jul 20, 2016

The last few weeks have seen some major shifts happen in the UK and that has left many feeling very uncertain as to the future.  It’s natural to feel anxiety when we don’t know what is happening, however, this is a trend that I see happen more and more frequently as the world that we live in never stays still. It changes at lightening pace.

Who had ever heard of Pokemon Go two weeks ago and yet now it is a worldwide phenomenon.  I even read about how it triggered a road rage incident in Yorkshire!  No-one could have predicted this and whilst we can’t control the rapid change happening around us we can control how we respond to the situations that confront us.

And that’s the same with the entrepreneurial journey.  The one certainty is that when you become an entrepreneur your business will have ups and downs and it is how we respond to the down times that ultimately determines our success.

Typically when we launch our business we are ecstatic and highly motivated.  We are excited and that passion and excitement spills out into everything we do. The people around us get excited too.  Then inevitably, at some point, something doesn’t go to plan and we become disheartened.  This is the time that many people give up, complaining things are too hard.  But if you stick at it then things start to improve and you get on a high again, only later to have those feelings dashed.  This is the roller coaster of business. A continual ebb and flow of highs and lows.

The important thing to focus on at these times is how you rebound because just like the ocean the tide comes in and goes out and so does the success of your business. This is the law of rhythm.  And if you think about most of nature has an ebb and flow to it.  The flowers grow in the Spring, bloom in the summer and the rest and die off in the winter.  The seasons all have an rhythm too.  Even your heartbeat has a rhythm.  And the rhythm is required to allow time to rest and recuperate.

So if your business is feeling like it is in an ebb right now, don’t fret. Take a deep breathe, focus on what you can control and remember that in time things will improve if you just stick with it.

I know from my own entrepreneurial journey there have been many highs and lows, and whilst the lows can feel overwhelming at times, I know they build resilience and that in time, if I learn from the situation, my business will bounce back and be stronger than before.

So how can you embrace the rhythm of your business and allow this to support your success rather than hinder it?

I wish you an amazing sunshine filled week.

5 Habits Of Highly Effective Teams

5 Habits Of Highly Effective Teams

by | Jul 17, 2016

In today’s fast paced society the need for teamwork is paramount. We live in an era where the current leadership paradigm is changing. No longer do the command and control structures that typified the industrial era serve us. There is a need for more collaboration and co-operation and the need to establish agile teams that can respond to rapidly changing circumstances that business find itself in.

An incredible 92% of respondents to Deloitte’s Human Capital Survey 2016 noted that organizational culture needs to change and the power of teams is on the rise, but what exactly is a team as opposed to a collective of individuals.

A team is defined as simply as a group of individuals united in pursuit of a common mission or goal, often sacrificing personal agendas for the sake of team accomplishment. It is the fact that the group have a common mission that makes them a team.

In today’s complex world teams enable us to get stuff done. In addition teams also have:

  • More fun
  • Provide competitive advantage
  • Improve productivity and profitability
  • Enhance the business identity

Furthermore teamwork builds trust and trust build speed which decreases costs and profitability. In his book The Speed of Trust Stephen M.R. Covey notes that “Trusted companies outperform their competitors by 10x”

Having led and also been a part of many teams during my lifetime I believe that there are 5 essential habits that any team must have to be highly effective and successful.

1) Shared Leadership

Leadership is no longer the bastion of just those at the top and everyone within the team needs to be a leader of sorts. Increasingly, if we look to the natural world teams often contain two leaders who work harmoniously together for the good of the team. Take a herd of wild horses for example. At the front is the lead mare who sets the pace and direction that the herd will take whilst at the rear of the herd is a stallion who drives momentum from behind and matches the pace set by the leader. From this position they can immediately see what is happening and course correct as needed.

2) Clarity of Purpose

Teams work best in a compelling context when they have a shared vision. The more urgent and meaningful the rationale for the team the more likely it is to live up to its performance potential. Team members need to ‘believe in the cause’. If they can’t, they won’t be prepared to sacrifice their own interests in the interests of the team.

This is summed up well by John F. Kennedy who noted that “Effort and courage are not enough without purpose and direction”. You can put the best group of people together but unless they are united behind a shared purpose it is likely that they will just spin around, never achieving their potential or your business goals.

Naturally of course the team goal needs to be aligned to the organisational goal for maximum impact. I remember when I was volunteering at an Elephant Human Relations Aid (EHRA) in Namibia that the purpose of the organisation was to reduce conflict on the ground between elephants and humans. When the group of volunteers went out into the bush our goal was to build strong stone walls around the water wells to protect the water wells from destruction by the elephants and so mitigate any conflict between the locals and the elephants. Our specific goal was to build the stone walls but the reason we were doing it was aligned to the purpose of the company.

3) Open and Honest Conversations

For teams to be effective everyone needs to feel heard and be able to express an opinion. It is this honest dialogue that helps teams achieve more than the sum of the parts. Through honest conversations new ideas are created and innovation ensues. In fact the worst problem in a team is a team member that does not speak with and does not participate because in teamwork, silence isn’t golden; it’s deadly.

One of the reasons for encouraging full participation in the team is that it allows everyone to articulate clearly what outcome they’re seeking. It’s surprising how often team members assume they’re talking about the same thing when in fact they’re talking past one another. For example, if your discussion is about growth some may be referring to revenue, others to market share, and others to net income. Open, honest communication quickly brings these differences to the fore.

When open and honest communication is avoided it encourages team members to join the dots themselves invariably resulting in the wrong conclusion being made. And in my experience open and honest conversations sometimes don’t take place because we are concerned with how the other person will react. We need to become like horses and after we receive feedback go straight back to grazing and stop carrying around any attachment and negativity to what the other person said.

4) Understand Your Strengths and Values

Know yourself and what you bring to the table. Teams work best when everyone is working to their strengths and the team is in flow. There are no egos in an effective team, everyone values the contribution of each other – whatever the size.

An unclear division of responsibilities or a poor understanding of roles makes it impossible for the team to fully exploit its performance capacity. Lack of clarity in this area can lead to communication problems, disputes over matters of competence or responsibility and increased stress. These in turn reduce engagement , productivity and innovation

A great example of this in the African Bush is the Dung beetle. They are often ignored when people go on safari as they are so small and clearly not so impressive as the Big Five. However the dung beetle has an invaluable job in the bush as he cleans up the 50kg of dung that is released every day by the elephants. The dung beetle rolls the dung into a ball, lays his eggs in it and then buries it. Clearly a really important role in the ecosystem of the bush. Just Imagine what would happen if they went on strike!

5) Trustworthiness and Transparency

Great teams are built on trust and it is this that enables the honest conversations to occur and for the team to leverage the strengths of its team members. No group ever becomes a team until it can hold itself accountable as a team. At its core, team accountability is about the sincere promises we make to ourselves and our team mates; promises that underpin the two other critical aspects of effective teams: commitment and trust.

Teams enjoying a strong common purpose and approach inevitably hold themselves responsible, both as individuals and as a team, for the team’s performance. This is essential for high performance, but impossible without high levels of trust.

So are you engaging in these five habits of highly effective teams? Is your team working to its maximum potential? If not spend some time working on these five areas and watch the exponential explosion in performance because the power of teams definitely comes from knowing that 1+1=3.

 

 

What’s Your Desire?

What’s Your Desire?

by | Jul 13, 2016

I’ve recently joined a mastermind group where we are studying the work of Napoleon Hill and Think and Grow Rich. If you have never read this book I highly recommend it as it provides some fascinating insights into how to become rich, in whatever format rich means to you.

The research for the book comes from over 500 interviews that Napolean Hill conducted with wealthy and successful people to determine their formula for success. Although the book was originally published in 1937 the principles it rests on are as relevant today as they ever were.

The first chapter is all about desire and how that is the starting point for all achievement and for me my desire is my reason Why I do what I do. Your desire needs to become a consuming obsession, something you would do anything to achieve. It has to be definite and you have to believe that you can accomplish it.

As the book cites: “Wishing will not bring riches. But desiring riches with a state of mind that becomes an obsession, then planning definite ways and means to acquire riches, and backing those plans with persistence, which does not recognize failure, will bring riches.”

What I love above this quote is that it makes the desire actionable by requiring you to create a plan (a strategy) of how you will achieve this and then you need to take consistent action, day in day out to achieve it.

The book then goes on to share a 6 step plan for helping you achieve success:

  • Decide exactly what you want to achieve. Be very specific. If it is a financial target then state the exact amount of money
  • Decide what you are prepared to give in return for this. (There is no such thing as a free lunch)
  • Establish a definite date when you want this to have achieved this
  • Create a plan to achieve this desire and immediately get into action, whether you are ready or not.
  • Write out a concise statement of what you intend to achieve, by when you will have received it, what you are prepared to exchange in return for it and the plan by which you will achieve this
  • Read you statement out loud twice daily – once in the morning and once in the evening. As you read it see, feel and believe that you have already achieved it.

I’d like to invite you to grab a pen right now and do this exercise and then follow it through for the next 40 days, reading every morning and night your statement, and let me know what happens.

I’ll be posting mine in the Facebook group and I’d invite you to do the same. Who knows what you might manifest.

Hope you are having an amazing week.

Is Your Strategy Working?

Is Your Strategy Working?

by | Jun 29, 2016

As we reach the mid point of the year, this is a great time to reflect on whether your strategy is working.  Have you accomplished all you wanted to during the first six months of the year?  If not why not? What do you need to do differently during the next six months to meet your goals?.  Do you even have a strategy or any idea of where you are on the journey.

When I start working with many of my clients I often discover they don’t have a strategy in place. They don’t know what success looks like for them and they certainly don’t have a road map of how to get there. Without a strategy and plan in place about what you want to achieve how will you ever know if you are on track and being successful. How will you stay motivated to get going when things get tough?

Personally I experienced the challenge of not having a plan in place this morning and I was shocked about the impact that it had on me. You see I was out doing my morning run and listening to my podcast on when to run and walk. Now for some reason I didn’t hear the piece that told me how long to run for, so when the audio track told me to run I did just that. I started running.  The only problem was that I had no frame of reference. I didn’t know if I was running for 8,10, 15 or indeed 20 mins.  I can’t explain how challenging I found it not knowing what I was trying to achieve.  I was literally running blind, not sure how to conserve my energy as I didn’t know how far I was meant to go.  During that run I experienced anxiety and frustration at not just knowing when I would be done.

And as I was running into that blind void I realised that this is the same feeling most business owners have each day.  Maybe you can relate to that?. Without a roadmap and strategy you don’t know where you are going. You don’t know when you need to take corrective action, when you need to stop and when you need to push on and get the task completed. You don’t know when to celebrate because you don’t know that ave achieved all you set out to do. Without a strategy and plan you have no clarity and certainty on what is happening.

So if you are feeling off track and need some help getting focus and clarity for the remainder of the year, so that you can regain your confidence in the outcome, then please connect with me for a complimentary mentoring session during which we will identify the current challenges in your business and how you can overcome these.  Just book into my diary here. I can’t wait to connect with you.

Have a great week

5 Practical Ways To Create Successful Teams

5 Practical Ways To Create Successful Teams

by | Jun 25, 2016

Having led and worked in teams for more than 30 years, I thought I’d share a few key ideas that I have learnt that will you get a team of people to work more cohesively and effectively together. It is particularly effective to do some of these with a new team or group that about to embark on a project together. It can really pay dividends in the smooth running of the project.

1. Enable Them To Build trust

In my book The Alchemy of Change I reveal how trust is the glue that holds a business together.  It is that unseen factor in business that makes all the difference.  In his book on the five dysfunctions of a team Patrick Lencioni explains i it is really important for a team to develop ‘vulnerability-based’ trust. This means that they need to share things and understand more about each other. Personally I love using Talent Dynamics which is an assessment tool which helps team members learn more about themselves and their other team members in a non-threatening way. And of course when you understand the drivers of your other team members communication can be enhanced. Also by every team member focusing on their strengths the group collective is enable to achieve greater productivity and profitability than the sum of the individuals. This is the power of collective teamwork.

Another way to help team members build trust is by allowing them to share stories with each other about when they were younger. Here is a format that I got from Larry Reynolds, which I have used many times to great effect.

  1. Think of a time when you faced some kind of challenge. It can be a challenge big or small, and it can be something that happened recently or many years ago. Challenges you faced as a child or young adult can make especially powerful stories. The only proviso is that things worked out alright in the end, and that you are happy to share this experience with others.
  2. How did you feel when you encountered this challenge? It’s probably something on the spectrum between concerned and terrified.
  3. What unexpected help came your way? Maybe you drew on some inner resources, or maybe someone else helped you.
  4. How did things work out in the end?
  5. What did you learn from this experience?
  6. What does that say about your values and beliefs as a person now

2. Help Them Get Comfortable With Disagreeing

It’s really important, if a team are to make great decisions that they are comfortable with a level of conflict and disagreement in the team. Give them some tasks to do that involve disagreement and negotiation. Set a task where a decision needs to make and carefully facilitate a discussion where when a person states a point of view or puts forward an idea, at least two people must say specifically what they like or agree with and then at least two people must point out potential issues, flaws or reasons that they disagree. When a team can get comfortable separating the ideas and concepts from the person, they will be able to make better decisions. Also if issues are discussed properly, teams are able to commit to decisions that they don’t necessarily fully agree with if they can understand the rationale behind the decision and they feel that they have been fully heard.

3. Help Them Get Comfortable Giving And Receiving Feedback

Giving and receiving feedback effectively will enable the team to grow and develop faster and will also enable them to hold each other accountable for behaviours and results. Enable them to practise giving real face-to-face feedback by doing an activity such as ‘warm seat’:

A ‘warm seat’ is a little bit like a hot seat but cooler! Group members prepare questions to ask the rest of the group about themselves. These questions can be positive e.g. what is great about working with me? Neutral e.g. what is it like working with me? Or negative e.g. in what ways do I sometimes annoy you? Group members take it in turns to sit in the warm seat for a pre-arranged amount of time e.g. five minutes and ask their questions. Group members answer the questions (which can be general or specific) as specifically as possible with examples. They can only answer questions posed and at any time the person is free to vacate the warm seat if they’ve had enough.

4. Set Up A Team Charter

Another practical thing that a team can do is to set up a team charter, which includes agreements about ways of working. Get clarity first on the team’s vision, purpose and values. Then get clear about people’s different roles within the team by defining individual responsibilities and goals through referencing their strengths using Talent Dynamics.  They can then get into identifying appropriate behaviours for team members, communication and decision-making processes and agreements about the use of resources. Encourage the team to put forward ‘rules’ that they can all sign up to, for example, ‘we get back to e-mails from each other within 24 hours’ or ‘when we disagree, we express this calmly and openly’ etc. Once this charter is established, team members can be encouraged to hold each other accountable for both behaving in line with what has been agreed and for their responsibility areas. This should happen as part of every team meeting.

5. Practice Being A Real Team By Giving Them A Challenge To Complete

Overcoming obstacles to achieve a goal is something that we typically get all teams engage in during my leadership with horses workshop.  In this exercise the team members set the goal they wish to achieve and then build obstacles that could represent things that could prevent them from  meet the goal.  They then get introduced to a new team member (a horse) and have to all work together to get over the obstacles and achieve the goals. The team get all kinds of insights into how to communicate effectively, the different positions of leadership and how to co-operate and collaborate together to achieve success.  The celebrations that occur when the team is successful are incredible and every team has always gone back to the workplace with more confidence and certainty about their capabilities.

Since the team has had an embodied experience of how to work successfully together this physical or ‘muscle’ memory stays with them and also make them want to achieve that feeling of working in harmony and being jointly accountable again!. Once people feel what it’s like to truly work as a team and achieve positive results, they usually want to do it again!

To learn about how to develop your high performance team please connect with me for a complimentary conversation and lets explore what’s possible.

 

What’s Your Courageous Decision Tomorrow?

What’s Your Courageous Decision Tomorrow?

by | Jun 22, 2016

Tomorrow marks a really important day for the future of the UK with the upcoming referendum on Europe.  There has been so much said on the subject and I’m not hear to preach to you on how you vote, but rather my message today is please make a decision and take action to vote for whatever party you deem aligns with your values.

So often in life we fail to take action because we are afraid of the consequences. We are afraid of what will happen, how will others react, what will they think. But the one thing I know to be true is that when fear prevents me from taking action I always feel resentful after the fact. I spend ages wondering what would have happened if I had been courageous enough to do what I wanted to do.

And I don’t just mean for the big things in life. Often times when I look back on my life taking courageous action was easier with the bigger decisions in my life. Like going to live in America or moving to Yorkshire.  Sure these massive life changing events were scary and I had some fear and anxiety about what I was doing but I was able to rationalize my decision making by saying that I could always move again if I didn’t like the outcome.

However, what I have observed is that it is often the fear associated with smaller decisions in life that really hold me back.  For example, the fear that overcomes me when I have to pick up the phone and make a call to a new client.  As it is such a simple act I often overlook how failing to take that action could impact my business. And why didn’t I do it. The simple answer is because I was afraid of the outcome – afraid of what the potential client might say, afraid they might not like me. My fear prevented me from being courageous and potentially experiencing a great conversation and enrolling a new client.

The quote above I think so succinctly summarizes how we need to act in life.  It’s easy to overcome fear and be courageous when what we are doing is really important to us. When we are doing work aligned with our purpose, although the fear might still exist, our courage to take action is greater and so we in the words of Nike – Just Do It.

So next time you feel fear just step back, review the situation and see how being courageous and taking that action will get you closer to your goal and help you fulfill your purpose.

Pin It on Pinterest