To really understand another person’s point of view, you need to climb inside their skin and walk around for a bit.
There are 3 i’s in leadership
Leadership, like any skill, requires mastery. It relies heavily on continuous self improvement. Great leaders spend time reflecting on the way they impact others; they are self aware and know how to convey their message so that it is heard and acted upon – and they don’t give up. To lead, there are hundreds of things we are supposed to have our attention on. I like to think in threes – I can remember things in three, and I can keep them front of mind and take action on them daily. Inspire, Influence, Include, then do Include; Inspire and Influence then the other way around. Influence, Include, Inspire Either way, keep doing these three things. There are three i’s in leadership. Inspire: to breathe life into That is your job. Great leaders bring out the best in others. They will do this in the face of resistance. The day will come when you will be thanked for your willingness to push others through their limits. You, the leader, are the one who believed in them when they didn’t believe in themselves. Think of someone in your life who believed in you more than you did yourself or inspired you to take action when you […]
Decoding the wiring of males and females
Organisations are being pressured to put men and women together in teams. It’s a great idea the issue is we seem to be oblivious to the impact of our differences I think it’s the main reason this great idea has not got much traction. I have heard and believe that the strength of great teams is in the differences not the sameness. A platitude touted everywhere the question how do we translate that into the real world. Here is one small difference – Harvard neuro-psychiatrist Louann Brizendine found that it takes just one-fifth of a second for males to decide if a woman is attractive. And it takes women a lot longer, several meetings and a lot of interaction, to decide if a man is trustworthy. And it is no accident that the two different measures of attraction and trustworthiness are chosen to characterise males and females. Males and females’ brains are wired to work differently, and if we put males and females together in teams, we have to look beyond a purely rational model of behaviour. It’s not enough to say we’ve got the right skills and knowledge on the team. We have to see how males and females […]
One little secret that will change the game
Become Rich and Happy Without Going Anywhere or Spending Any Money When was the last time you celebrated anything, let alone something so simple and profound as getting out of bed. Ask most people in most offices across the country “When did you last celebrate anything” they will firstly look at you with a quizzical look as if you have lost your marbles. Next is a long thoughtful pause and then comes “Well my birthday 3 months ago we went out to dinner or when we won the big deal last month. Would you believe some people can’t even remember the last time they celebrated anything. Now that is really sad. So let me give you one of the most powerful and empowering known secrets to success that costs absolutely nothing, can be done instantly and will increase your chances of changing your game in what ever you do, Guaranteed. Celebrate absolutely everything that happens in your life, every day and every thing. Now that’s a lot of things. Waking up, getting out of bed, going to the toilet taking a shower, getting dressed, eating breakfast and on and on it goes. Arriving at work, getting a coffee, sitting at […]
Taking The Blinkers Off
“Jerry, just remember it’s not a lie if you believe it” George Constanza Not many of us are as deliberately flexible with the truth as Seinfeld’s George Constanza but we’re all guilty of lying to ourselves to some degree. From the battered wife who refuses to see her husband as an abuser to the rogue trader taking unacceptable risks, all too often we blind ourselves to the glaringly obvious. The reasons for this are complex and varied. Sometimes our refusal to acknowledge the truth is based on fear of rejection, rocking the boat or upsetting the status quo. Frequently greed blinds people to the folly of their actions as the spate of recent corporate collapses such as Storm Financial and Opes Prime, clearly demonstrates. In her powerful book “Willful Blindness” Margaret Heffernan illustrates how ignoring the truth of a situation can led to disaster on both a personal and a global scale. She points to a variety of shocking events from Nazi Germany through to the current climate change debate to build a compelling case. She delves into the psychology behind “willful blindness” and helps us to remove the self-imposed blinkers which obfuscate our lives. She concludes “that when we […]
Start With “Why”
What Is Your “Why”? Inspiration. It’s an intangible concept but according to the renowned author and motivational speaker Simon Sinek, it’s the key to exceptional and lasting success. In his breakout book Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, Simon demonstrates how inspiration propelled revolutionaries as diverse as The Wright Bros, Rev Martin Luther King and Apple. More importantly he shows how businesses and individuals alike can adopt the “inspired” thinking championed by such luminaries. Simon’s argument is elegantly simple. Lasting success is always preceded by a “Why”. The “Why” is an over-arching vision or calling which informs our actions. It is our core purpose, motivation or the reason why we get out of bed in the morning. To illustrate, he argues that Apple’s phenomenal success is based on their commitment to “challenging the status quo and thinking differently”. This starting premise is reflected in their design values. Apple’s products are always beautiful and user friendly. Their army of loyal customers are inspired rather than manipulated into buying Apple products because they personally aspire to the ideal of “thinking differently”. For any worthwhile enterprise it is vital to define the “Why” and then work outwards to […]
Inoculation Conversations
Inoculation – the pathway to powerful conversations Do Elvis’ words of wisdom sum up office politics for you? Do you need to confront difficult issues with your colleagues but struggle with expressing truths that need to be told. The ability to provide effective feedback is a crucial part of any successful leader’s skill set. However imparting fair and necessary criticism is fraught with pitfalls. It is at best awkward. At worst it hampers productivity. Over the course of our 25 years in the leadership coaching arena, Integrity and Values have developed a highly effective toolbox for handling with these tough conversations. What is an inoculation conversation? An “inoculation” is a technique pioneered by Integrity and Values which helps prepare the other person for news they may not want to hear. It makes the environment safe for difficult dialogues to proceed. For example when confronting a staff member about a performance problem we recommend that you open the discussion like this. Michael, I am going to be tough with you right now. Or Michael, there’s a fair chance you won’t like what I have to say. This prepares the recipient for bad news and lowers their resistance to the truth of […]