What do we need for successful change?

My previous post dealt with the importance of organisational change, this one goes on to look at how change leadership is needed for effective transformation.

People don’t necessarily find change easy but change is essential.  Organisations have to change, it is inevitable, but managing that change effectively is another matter.

To deal with change we need positive forward momentum. Starting to do something can help us both practically and psychologically as we face change (Johnson, 1999).  But it is important to note that activity needs a purpose.  Dr Spencer Johnson, in his excellent book ‘Who moved my Cheese?’ is not saying that meaningless activity is the answer; but when there is change, we cannot ignore it, we need to get busy.

The importance of change leadership

But where does our purpose come from? This is where leadership is so important in the change process.  And here we are not just talking about top-down leadership, we are talking about leadership at every level and by everyone within an organisation.

The structure and culture of many older businesses and institutions is based around a top down, bureaucratic and process driven style of management.  This can be very efficient for managing large-scale organisations when change is slow paced but this structure does not have the agility to deal with faster paced change.

This is one reason why organisations need to re-think their approach to leadership and ensure they are developing leaders at every level.  When the pace of change is high then decision making needs to be delegated.  Individuals need to be able take the initiative and higher level managers need to be comfortable with their teams taking risks. Everyone needs to take ownership for the greater vision and values of the organisation.

How coaching can support effective change

Leaders and managers may have received some formal training but many have not.  The idea of providing little or no training, and just a yearly appraisal for feedback, is not a good formula for effectiveness.

The world of sport demonstrates the contrast. Roger Federer has dominated men’s tennis for much of the last decade and is recognised as one of the best tennis players of all time.  So why does he still need a coach?  Surely he knows more than anyone else alive about winning tennis competitions at the very highest level?

Just as a professional sports person is always looking to improve their game, Professor Hansen, from Berkeley University has done research to show that the same can, and should be applied in the workplace and shared his findings in ‘Great at Work’ (2018). If we really want to improve we need to look at one aspect of our work, analyse our performance and get quick and regular feedback to support improvement.

This is one way in which executive or leadership coaching has a strong parallel with sports coaching. Coaching provides the most effective way of creating a regular opportunity to reflect on work and provides a framework for improving performance.

The Evidence for Coaching

I have always been quite proactive in reading, attending courses and developing myself and for a long time I was dismissive of coaching.  Experience has now taught me otherwise.  And it is not just me, empirical evidence has also shown that one-to-one coaching is more effective than self-coaching, team coaching or team teaching in increasing performance (Losch,Traut-Mattausch, Mulberger, Jonas, 2016).

As professionals we all reach a limit as to how far we can improve without external feedback from a coach or equivalent (Gawande, 2017).  Therefore it is important to coach and develop leadership as broadly as possible. In this way the overall effectiveness of a corporation or institution improves, as does it’s ability to manage complexity and adapt to change.

Coaching is a tool to support change management

As George Bernard Shaw said, “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” (1944:330)

If an organisation has to change then people’s thinking has to change.  Every team member needs to grasp the opportunities of change, overcome their fears and take ownership for change.

Coaching, particularly in one-to-one contexts, ensures that people feel heard and appreciated, it supports the development of individuals, facilitates good thinking and assists in aligning behaviours to the overall vision and values of an organisation.

Regular coaching helps to develop leadership and keep the impetus for change.  Increased leadership helps to maintain momentum in the implementation of strategy across an organisation.  This is essential for effective change management as without direction and drive there is no process to manage.

If you would like to read more about change leadership I highly recommend Leading Change by John Kotter.

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References

Adair, J (1973) Action-Centred Leadership, New York: McGraw-Hill

Collins, J (2001) Good to Great, London: Random House

Covey, S R (1989) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, London: Simon & Schuster

Darwin, C (1859) The Origen of Species By Means of Natural Selection, London: John Murray

Downey, M (2003) Effective Coaching: Lessons from the Coach’s Coach, London: Texere.

Duhigg, C (2013) The Power of Habit, London: Random House

Hansen, M T (2018) Great at Work: How Top Performers Do Less, Work Better, And Achieve More, New York: Simon & Schuster

Heraclitus (c.600 BCE, cited in 2008) Fragments, London: Penguin Classics

Hawking, S (1988) A Brief History of Time, London: Bantam Press

Gawande, A (2017) TED, Ideas Worth Spreading, https://www.ted.com/talks/atul_gawande_want_to_get_great_at_something_get_a_coach#t-988662(accessed 08 Apr 18)

Johnson, S (1999) Who Moved my Cheese: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life, London: Vermilion

Kline, N (1999) Time to Think.London: Ward Lock

Kotter, J P (1996) Leading Change, Boston: Harvard Business School Press

Losch, S; Traut-Mattausch, E; Mulberger, M D; Jonas, E (2016) Comparing the Effectiveness of Individual Coaching, Self-Coaching, and Group Training: How Leadership Makes the Difference.Frontiers in Psychology, 7, pp.629

Shaw, B (1944) Everybody’s Political What’s What, London: Constable

Sinek, S (2009) Start with Why, London: Penguin

Van Nieurwerburgh, C (2017) An Introduction to Coaching Skills: A Practical Guide, London: Sage

Whitmore, J (1992) Coaching for Performance, London: Nicholas Brealey

I love coaching because I am passionate about equipping people to more effective in whatever it is they want to achieve.

It is a pleasure to work with smart, motivated people who have high aspirations and the drive to achieve their goals.  The people I work with generally are looking for improvement, balance and success in all spheres of their life, knowing that getting this right makes them happier people as well as better leaders.

I know coaching is effective because, as well as scientific evidence, as I have seen the positive changes in my life and others as a result of coaching.

For more on the evidence on coaching, have a look at this scholarly article:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4853380/

Or watch this TED talk:

What is Coaching?

Coaching for me is all about facilitating effectiveness.  As Sir John Whitmore said, it is ‘unlocking people’s potential to maximise their own performance’.

You can read more about the definition of coaching and how it differs from mentoring here:

The Importance of Values

How we think and act, the decisions we make, are largely dependent upon our assumptions and beliefs.  Therefore our values become our compass as we navigate through life.  I think it is very important and rewarding to explore values, in order to understand ourselves.

For me, this is expressed in:

• Being adventurous. Relishing challenge, always learning, and having the desire to explore and pioneer.
• Being values centred. Understanding and living by core beliefs and knowing the values that shape our decisions.
• Coaching effectiveness. Developing the full potential of self and others.
• Being mission focussed. Keeping the end in mind; being focussed on the next goal and determined in gaining progress.
• Providing diplomatic leadership. Serving to lead; by example but with humility.
• Having an international strategic outlook. The world is at our front door, so travel light and leverage small tactical gains to win long-term strategic success.

You can read more about the importance of values by following this link:

What are values and principles and how do they determine why we do things?

Coaching is a Relationship

To understand coaching you have to experience it.  That is why I get the vast majority of my clients through referrals of people that I have coached.  When someone is referred to me I offer an initial session of at least 90 minutes where they can experience coaching first hand and all parties can decide that the coaching partnership is the right thing.

Coaching is a relationship developed by 4 Cs:

• Competence keeps it professional,
• Character keeps it effective,
• Chemistry makes it fun, and
• Confidentiality maintains trust.

Who do I coach?

Due to my other commitments, and my approach to coaching and mentoring, I only do one-to-one coaching for a maximum of 10 individuals at any one time. I also only coach people who are equally dedicated. People’s mind-sets and motivations mean more to me than seniority, sector or any other demarcation.

The people I coach or mentor depend upon the answers to the following questions:

• Do you have an adventurous mind-set?
• Do you want to be challenged?
• Do you want to develop as a leader?
• Do you want to unlock your creativity?
• Do you want to make better decisions?
• Do you want to achieve better balance across all aspects of life?

If the answer is yes to all the questions above please do drop me a line and we can talk further.

Coaching Should Provide a Thinking Environment

I am primarily a coach, rather than a mentor.  As a coach, I am not seeking to impose my answers but rather I endeavour to create the best thinking environment for the coachee.  I have been greatly influenced by Nancy Kline’s approach to coaching as outlined in her excellent book, Time to Think.

You can find out more by reading my post:

How do you create the best thinking environment?

Walking Coaching

I coach in many and various ways, both in-person and remotely, but my preferred way is coaching one-to-one while walking.

Part of this is because I love getting outside and being active.  But it is not just personal preference.  We spend a lot of time in offices, on devices and caught up with the busyness of life.  Getting out for a walk is an antidote to all of that and therefore can open up new perspectives.

The metaphor that life is a journey is a popular one because it is true in so many senses.  Coaching is about going on a journey together and walking helps to embody this sense of purpose, direction and forward momentum.  This physiological approach has a positive effect on our psychology.

If you like this approach you are in good company.  Many highly respected and successful people have discovered the power of going for a walk to think, be creative and productive.  Famous examples include businessman Steve Jobs, Nobel Prize-winning scientist Daniel Kahnemann, and poet William Wordsworth.

You can read more about the benefits of walking here:

The Surprising Power of Going for a Walk

Continual Improvement

Coaching is a journey for the coach as well as the coachee.  I continually seek to develop myself and therefore I have my own coach.

I have leadership responsibilities outside of being a coach.  As well as running my own business I lead in various other contexts to make sure that I am keeping relevant and putting what I say into practice.  As per Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, this is part of my work to ‘sharpen the saw’.

How Long and How Many Coaching Sessions Should you do?

There is no one size fits all approach to coaching.  I do not have a fixed number of length of sessions; instead, I tailor a programme that suits the coachee and what they want to achieve.

I prefer to book sessions for longer periods of time, most frequently 60-90 minutes, in order to give space for some really good thinking, but this is a guideline, not a rule.  Sometimes it will take a day to explore an issue in-depth, at other times a quick 5 to 10-minute phone call is all someone needs.

Because of this bespoke approach and the desire to commit the appropriate time to them I keep my number of clients small.  This means I have to be selective in whom I coach.

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If you would like to find out more about coaching and have an initial free coaching consultation then please email us using the contact page. Just click on this link: Contact Form

To be an Executive is to be a decision maker

Being an Executive, by definition, is someone who makes decisions and puts them into action. Board members generally have a lot of experience they can lean on when making decisions but being at the top, particularly being the CEO, means that you will face choices and situations that are outside of previous experience.

Even with some prior knowledge the stakes are higher.  Take conflict management for example.  A break down in relationships may have a small operational effect at a lower level whereas at board level it can literally bring a whole organization down. This is where the opportunity to talk through decisions can be vital.

Vision and strategy require time to think

The higher you climb up the leadership ladder the more demands there are on your time.  Above other demands the most important thing as a leader is to set the direction for the team.

It takes discipline to carve out time to think in a busy schedule and yet most people would agree that you need quality head-space in order to refine the vision and strategy for an organization.

Coaching should provide a thinking environment (Kline, 1999).  A good coaching experience should be a place where a person feels completely at ease. It provides more than just a sounding board, it is a creative exercise.  Coaching is a place where assumptions can be challenged and overcome. Visionary leaders such as Steve Jobs, Eric Schmidt and Bill Gates new this and used coaches (Eckfeldt, 2017).

We can always be better

You may well have heard the phrase ‘Every day is a school day.’  In other words we always have something new to learn.  Even the wisest and intelligent people realized their limits.  Socrates said “The one thing I know is that I know nothing.”  Einstein encouraged us to never to stop questioning.  Benjamin Franklin noted that success has no meaning without continual growth.

Why does Roger Federer still have a coach?  Surely he knows more than anyone else about winning tennis tournaments?  The fact is that all top sports men and women know that they can always improve their game and the better they are, the more targeted they need to become.

At this level multiple small improvements can have dramatic effects.  As proved by the multiple Olympic Gold winning British Cycling Team, it is the aggregation of small gains that makes the difference over time in both individual and team performance (Harrell, 2015).

The leadership expert John C Maxwell defines leadership as influence.  Therefore it is no surprise that executives want to hone key attributes such as decision making, relationship management and communication.  In the same way a top sports person refines one part of their game with a specific coach, so a senior leader can improve one key skill if they can get the feedback they need (Hansen, 2018).

The higher you go, the harder it is to find a mentor

There are differences between coaching and mentoring.  There is a lot of overlap but generally a mentor is someone more senior or experienced in your sphere of work.  A mentor is generally someone who can guide you and open up new opportunities in your line of business.  It therefore goes without saying that the higher up you go the harder it is to have a mentor of this type.

When you are forging your own path it is important to develop relationships with other people facing similar challenges.  But in the business world it can be hard to be truly open and honest about all our concerns. The confidential nature of a coaching relationship can provide the safe environment to explore any issue.  It can be very hard to show vulnerability, even to good friends, within a working environment.  In a good coaching relationship any challenge can be discussed without judgment or unsolicited advice.

It can be lonely at the top

Even at the top of the pyramid you need a good team.  Within an organization the number of people who you can reach out to support you are fewer and therefore senior leaders have to have a network that expands beyond their immediate situation.

At the top level, especially as a CEO, there may be no line manager to lean on.  It may be harder to have a mentor.  Family and friends therefore become ever more important but at the same time it is often unfair to overly burden them with work concerns.

There are many important issues that are hard to discuss with work contacts, family or friends. Take for example talent management. When you are considering the sensitive subject of hiring and firing people it requires a level of confidentiality and objectivity.  Many CEOs find that a coaching environment can provide the appropriate context.

Maintaining life work balance

Being a CEO is rarely (if ever) a 9-5 job.  Even if you can contain your office hours then the concerns and demands of leadership will go far beyond the average working week.  The lines between work and other aspects of life can become blurred. Balancing priorities of leading an organization alongside other roles we have – be that spouse, parent, friend, or whatever – can suffer in the competition.

The phrase ‘work-life balance’ makes the decision sound binary but for those with significant management responsibility this is rarely the case.  It is more akin to spinning multiple plates than just choosing between two things; work and everything else.

Coaching, for people at boardroom level, can help take this into account.  Life has to be looked at holistically and coaching can help explore how our values and priorities and played out in every area of life.  It is also a major concern of most employees which is another good reason the coaching relationship can benefit more than just the person being coached (Colbrese, 2018).

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If you would like to find out more about coaching and have an initial free coaching consultation then please email us using the contact page. Just click on this link: Contact Form

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References

Cambridge Dictionary (2018) Executive, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/executive (accessed Sep 2018)

Colbrese, Julie (2018) Six Reasons You Should Work for a CEO Who Has a Coach, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/04/19/six-reasons-you-should-work-for-a-ceo-who-has-a-coach/#3143d64c7d6a (accessed Sep 2018)

Eckfeldt, Bruce (2017) How Great CEOs Like Steve Jobs, Eric Schmidt and Bill Gates All Used Coaches, https://www.inc.com/bruce-eckfeldt/how-great-ceos-like-steve-jobs-eric-schmidt-and-bill-gates-got-even-better.html(accessed Sep 2018)

Hansen, M T (2018) Great at Work: How Top Performers Do Less, WorkBetter, And Achieve More, New York: Simon & Schuster

Harrell, E (2015) How 1% Performance Improvements Led to Olympic Gold, Harvard Business Review, https://hbr.org/2015/10/how-1-performance-improvements-led-to-olympic-gold(accessed Sep 2018)

Kline, N (1999) Time to Think. London: Ward Lock

Maxwell, John C (2007) The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Nashville: Thomas Nelson

Plato, Tarrant, H; Rowe, C (2010) The Last Days of Socrates, London: Penguin Classics

Book Review

Having recently listened to Good Strategy, Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt on Audible I am reminded by why it is considered one of the best books on thinking strategically. Not surprisingly it’s a top 10 best seller on Amazon in Strategy and Competition and is widely recommended as a must read for leaders and CEOs.

One thing I particularly like about the book, is that it can be applied very widely. Many books on strategy are, perhaps unsurprisingly, specifically focussed on business and competitive advantage (such as the seminal work by Michael E. Porter). Rumelt, in contrast, develops a strategic theory and approach  that spans sectors and can be applied to pretty much anything in life. At the same time it is not as complex as Game Theory or as hard to apply.

The author has an academic background but he combines his analytic analysis with practical application and writes in a clear and engaging way. In the book Rumelt clearly defines what he means by both good and bad strategy and then illustrates both with insightful examples. His strategic approach is to assess the situation and provide coordinated action to overcome challenges. This is reflected in his approach to the book as within the pages he assesses bad strategy and gives actions to assist the development of good strategy. In essence the method is very simple, and this simplicity is another one of the books strengths.

Book Summary, Quotes and Analysis

Essentially Rumelt defines strategy as a coherent response to a challenge based on insight.

“A strategy coordinates action to address a specific challenge.”

This definition slightly differs from the norm. A usual definition, as found in the Oxford Dictionary, might read: “A plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall goal” (2019)

Between the definitions there is commonality on coordinated action but Rumelt emphasises the need to overcome challenges, rather than considering timeframe, in his definition. This is important as he describes what he considers to be either ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

Part 1: Good and Bad Strategy

In Part 1 Rumelt outlines what he means by good and bad strategy and discusses why, in his view, there is a lack of the good. At the end of the section he presents his theory of creating good strategy.

Good Strategy

In the book good strategic design is described thus:

“A good strategy defines a critical challenge. What is more, it builds a bridge between that challenge and action, between desire and immediate objectives that lie within grasp.”

Bad Strategy

Whereas a bad stratagem is explained as:

“Bad strategy is long on goals and short on policy or action. It assumes that goals are all you need. It puts forward strategic objectives that are incoherent and, sometimes, totally impracticable. It uses high-sounding words and phrases to hide these failings.”

This type of stratagem is described as a “dog’s dinner of strategic objectives” and full of “fluff”. Fluff a string of complex sounding words “masking an absence of substance.” On closer inspection, fluffy words and strategies do not actually amount to anything.

One problem highlighted is that poor planning often stems from a focus on vision and values statements (which as also often fluff) without acknowledging the situation or actions needed to progress. This I would agree to, but I also still believe that vision and values statements are very important (when done well) to help inspire action and give a framework for decision making.

Poor strategists also fail to identify and overcome challenges:

“Bad strategy may actively avoid analyzing obstacles because a leader believes that negative thoughts get in the way. Leaders may create bad strategy by mistakenly treating strategy work as an exercise in goal setting rather than problem solving. Or they may avoid hard choices because they do not wish to offend anyone—generating a bad strategy that tries to cover all the bases rather than focus resources and actions.”

Again, this is something I would agree with. The emphasis on situational analysis (identifying the challenges and opportunities) is key to the Strategic Framework in the Right Questions approach to ensure that there is not vision without an overarching plan.

The Kernel of Good Strategy

The core thesis in summed up in chapter 5 in this way:

“The kernel of a strategy contains three elements: a diagnosis, a guiding policy, and coherent action.”

Firstly Rumelt outlines the importance of situational analysis. He argues that the key question to situational awareness, and therefore crucial to effective strategic thinking, is: what’s going on?

The opportunity is this: “The big ‘aha’ to gain sustainable competitive advantage—in other words, a significant, meaningful insight about how to win.”

Then, in Rumelt’s words:

“To obtain higher performance, leaders must identify the critical obstacles to forward progress and then develop a coherent approach to overcoming them.”

The author does not suggest any particular approaches, apart from using good questions, to do the situational analysis. I think that the SWOT analysis – although being so well known it is often scorned – can be a really useful tool to help accomplish this stage.

Once this diagnosis has taken place the next step is to create a guiding policy. A guiding policy is about coordinating and focussing action.

“The core of strategy work is always the same: discovering the critical factors in a situation and designing a way of coordinating and focusing actions to deal with those factors.”

The third part is about coherent action. Rumelt states:

“Many people call the guiding policy “the strategy” and stop there. This is a mistake. Strategy is about action, about doing something. The kernel of a strategy must contain action.”

There is an interesting comparison to make between Rumelt’s kernel  and John Boyd’s decision cycle, the OODA loop. Rumelt has approached a process from a strategic and longer-term view, Boyd from a tactical view, based on the quick decisions needed by fighter pilots, but the overlap in terms of decision making is obvious. The Diagnosis of Rumelt’s approach relates to Observation and Orientation in Boyd’s model. Subsequently Guiding Policy can be seen as equivalent to the Decision stage of the loop. The similarity of Coherent Action to Action is self-explanatory.

Part 2: Sources of Power

The next section, Sources of Power, outlines practical strategic approaches and how they can be applied. The principles expounds are:

• Using Leverage
• Proximate Objectives
• Chain-link Systems
• Using Design
• Focus
• Growth
• Using Advantages
• Using Dynamics
• Inertia and Entropy

In the final chapter of the section, Putting it Together, Rumelt applies his own theory and ‘sources of power’ to the case study of Nvidia, the computer company who rode the curve in demand for 3D graphics in their surge to success.

I have included some comment below on the chapters and concepts I found most helpful.

Using leverage

 “A strategy is like a lever that magnifies force.”

He describes strategic leverage as the having the following:

•  Anticipation
• Insight as to where to apply
• Focussed application

In this idea he somewhat unifies the approach to strategic thinking across the corporate and military or political spheres:

“The most basic idea of strategy is the application of strength against weakness. Or, if you prefer, strength applied to the most promising opportunity.”

Focus

The idea of leverage links nicely to the concept of focus, which is another chapter that had key insights. As Rumelt notes:

“Strategy is mainly about focus.” And “the deeper meaning of focus—a concentration and coordination of action and resources that creates an advantage.”

Focussing resources, be that time, money, people or anything else is key. Many so-called strategies actually just spread resources thinly across an organisation in an uncoordinated way. This might maintain operations but it does not seize an opportunity, press an advantage or create growth.

Growth

The concept of growth is important, but growth is not strategy in itself: “(The CEO’s) “Grow by 50 percent” is classic poor strategy. It is the kind of nonsense that passes for strategy in too many companies. First, he was setting a goal, not designing a way to deal with his company’s challenge. Second, growth is the outcome of a successful strategy,”

Inertia and Entropy

Growth can bring it’s own challenges, as seen in the chapter on inertia and entropy as large organisations frequently suffer from negative sides of these inertia.

The downside of focussing resources to one part of an organisation is that some other parts of the same organisation will have less. I have found that effecting change in large, institutional organisations, there is considerable inertia that limits the speed of change.

Most of the most damaging things can be internal departments competing due to their fear of losing out. This undermines the focussed application of resources. To overcome this you need to crisis and sense of urgency that Kotter states that you need to lead change (1996). As Rumelt points out:

“Strategies focus resources, energy, and attention on some objectives rather than others. Unless collective ruin is imminent, a change in strategy will make some people worse off. Hence, there will be powerful forces opposed to almost any change in strategy. This is the fate of many strategy initiatives in large organizations.”

Achieving coordinated action is the key. When a large organisation is pulling together in the same direction you get the positives or inertia – a momentum that is hard to stop.

Part 3: Thinking like a Strategist

The final part of the book takes the approach from ‘doing’ to a way of ‘being’. Developing a stratagem is a process but being a strategist encompasses a way of thinking.

An element of that thinking is being alive to opportunity:

“In a changing world, a good strategy must have an entrepreneurial component. That is, it must embody some ideas or insights into new combinations of resources for dealing with new risks and opportunities.”

There is a science to thinking strategically, but the art of strategy comes through experience (Dixit, Nalebuff: 2008) and applying knowledge gained through lessons and mistakes.

Conclusion

“A hallmark of true expertise and insight is making a complex subject understandable.”

In this sense Rumelt shows his true expertise as a strategist as his book makes the subject matter clear and easy to digest.

The simple concept of the kernel of a strategy and the three elements of: a diagnosis, a guiding policy, and coherent action, sum up his approach and provide a useful model for those wanting to develop strategy or think strategically.

To that end Good Strategy Bad Strategy should be on every leaders’ reading list. Leadership, strategy and decision-making are all intrinsically linked and any reading and research into one will aid the others.

For further reading or listening you can check out these resources:

The Best Books on Decision Making and Thinking

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References:

Boyd, J R. (1995) The Essence of Winning and Losing, 28 June 1995 a five slide set by Boyd.

Dixit A K and Nalebuff B J (2008) The Art of Strategy, W W Norton and Company

Kotter, J P (1996) Leading Change, Boston: Harvard Business School Press

Oxford (2019) Lexico, Dictionary, https://www.lexico.com/en

Porter, M E. (1980) Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitor, New York: Free Press

When coaching individuals and groups one of the most common areas for development that people ask for is around improving public speaking or presentation skills. This reflects the fact that, for all the advances in technology, most jobs require that we stand up in front of other people and have to talk to them coherently. Even with all the power of social media and other multiple communication means, nothing can beat the persuasive power of a good speech delivered in person.

Not all of us are going to be the next Martin Luther King Jr, Steve Jobs, Winston Churchill or Chris Rock, but we can all improve our public speaking and presentation skills, no matter what our existing level. Whatever your role, improving your verbal communication will help you in the future. If you want to progress as a leader then refining your public speaking will be of particular benefit.

Here are some techniques and resources that can help you. Whether you are a beginner or relatively experienced, these tips that can aid you immediately and demonstrate how you can develop in the future.

Overcoming Stage Fright

Public speaking can be scary. Various surveys have placed public speaking as one of the top ten fears, frequently showing that people are more anxious about presenting to a group than about their own death!

That means that the first battle in public speaking is overcoming stage fright. There are some good evolutionary reasons why standing up in front of a group can feel scary; there are also some great physiological hacks that can be employed to overcome this anxiety.

Having the right posture and body language can immediately change the way you feel and improve the quality or your public speaking. Walking confidently towards an audience, looking directly at them with a smile and an open posture, will set you off on the right start (even if you are not feeling necessarily confident and happy inside).

By holding our bodies in a certain way and projecting openness and confidence, not only do we reassure the audience, we also calm ourselves. Simply put, the physical signals from our body start to tell our brain that everything is ok and you start to overcome the ‘freeze, fight or flight’ response to stress.

Early on in my speaking career I was encouraged to study stand-up comedians, as they are the masters of public speaking. For a good stand-up comedian it is not just about giving a message or even telling a joke; it is about reading the emotional temperature of a room and then connecting with people to up that temperature. That is why people talk about a ‘warm-up act’ and why comedians are often used as compères or master of ceremonies at events.

Here is an excellent TED talk that highlights some of the key approaches in turning stage fright into stage fun:

Charisma versus Stage Fright

The Importance of Body Language

We have already seen how important our posture and body language is in overcoming stage fright, but this importance does not decrease once we start to speak. This is because our sub-conscious is fine-tuned to pick up non-verbal signals from people. When we listen we also observe to check that people’s body language match what people are saying. If there is a mismatch we are unlikely to engage with that person or trust what they are saying.

• Here are some examples of negative body language and posture:
• Folding arms (can appear defensive)
• Wringing hands or fidgeting (appears nervous)
• Avoiding eye contact (appears nervous or untrustworthy)
• Can’t keep still (appears anxious and projects avoidance)
• Face and eyes downcast (appears unhappy, reduces energy and volume)

In the same way that mirroring body language helps to build rapport in one-to-one conversations, actively ensuring good body language helps to build connection with an audience.

Here is another excellent TED talk that builds on the theme of body language and how our psychology and physiology are intrinsically linked:

Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are

The Power of a Story

Humans love stories. We can’t stop making and sharing stories; we gossip, we read novels, we watch films. Story telling has been the method, and stories the structure, for passing on knowledge, wisdom and insight over millennia. Telling a good story is a sure way to engage with an audience. What’s more, it is easier to remember a story than a list of bullet points and is much more fun for both the speaker and the listeners!

Personal stories can be particularly good as – when told with humility – they are genuine, heartfelt and build empathy with a crowd. Your own stories are also the easiest to remember, which can reduce concern about forgetting what you want to say. Therefore, even if you have to cover other information in your talk (particularly dry or potentially dull material) a light-hearted or pertinent story can be a good way to draw in an audience at the beginning of a presentation.

Whatever the story it is worth thinking about the structure of the story and how to tell it in order for the main learning points to be self-evident. First, a good tale sets the scene, starting calm and giving the background. Then, the narrative introduces some sort of challenge that needs facing. Tension builds to a peak and then the story illustrates how the conflict is overcome and brings a resolution. This is a basic story arc and can be used whether your story is three minutes or three hours long.

Here is another great TED talk from Andrew Stanton on stories:

The Clues to a Great Story

How to Structure a Presentation

When you are creating a structure of a presentation you should remember to KISS. In other words: Keep it Simple Stupid! One of the best ways of doing this is having no more than three points to any talk or presentation.

There is something very powerful about the triptych or three-point approach. We have already seen that the story arc provides one three-part structure. Another is the ‘tell them what you are going to say, tell them, then tell them what you have said’ method. This template, that encourages repetition to drive home the main point of a talk, has been accredited to various luminaries from Aristotle to Dale Carnegie. No matter who first came up with it, the approach remains very popular, whether it is a preacher giving a 3-point sermon at church or a CEO delivering a keynote at an annual conference.

To do this well you need to crystallise the key idea that you want to convey both in your mind and in the mind of others. This will need the correct framing and explanation, and here again the use of story can be very helpful. As you progress through your structure make space to pose questions and leave pauses. These can heighten the emotional and intellectual connection with the audience. Also think about the ‘why?’ Why is this subject important? Why should people care? Why are you the person to share this information? Simon Sinek’s book and TED talk ‘Start with Why’ can be very helpful on this subject.

In terms of communicating a simple and powerful message, this TED talk is a great place to start:

TED’s Secret of Public Speaking

How to Further Improve Your Public Speaking

There is always more to learn and ways to improve both the art and science of public speaking. As with any skill, the best way to improve is to practice and therefore I encourage you to take any opportunities that come your way.

There are of course classes and courses that can help you too. Individual coaching can also provide a safe and more relaxed environment to learn and practice. There are debating clubs and public speaking forums such as Toastmasters that you can join to create more opportunities to speak. One thing you can do yourself or with a friend is to film presentations or talks you are practising. In the age of smart phones this is really easy to do and the immediate feedback you get from watching a film is second to none.

There are even apps available that can help you improve your public speaking. One such app is Gweek that uses the camera on your phone and machine learning to help you improve your verbal communication. Gweek provides a great way to improve and get useful feedback without the pressure of anyone else looking at you.

There is always room for improvement so finally, to give some ideas for development areas you might want to concentrate on, look at this TED talk on some of the core skills that have been identified for good public speaking:

The 110 Techniques of Communication and Public Speaking

A Final Encouragement

As your practice improves, so will your confidence, and with confidence you will embrace vulnerability, manage your nerves and hopefully come to truly enjoy (or at least not give in to fear) of public speaking.

Do you have a story about overcoming stage fright or improving your public speaking? Please do drop me a line or share as a comment below!

There are many times in life when difficult conversations come up. Many of the most challenging chats happen with family or friends, but most people – and especially leaders – seek guidance for uncomfortable discussions that come up in a work context.

What is the most difficult conversation you have ever had?

One of the most difficult conversations I have ever had at work was having to tell my line manager that I did not think they were the right person for promotion.

I was working for a fast-growing start-up. We had started as a small team, all good friends, with quite a flat structure, but as we grew there were different demands on the team and evolving approaches needed from us leaders. My line manager was highly talented but some of the things that made this person so good at being a leader at the early stages of the organisation could start to become a problem as the team grew. Other members of the team asked me to share my thoughts and opinions with the leader concerned.

I still remember that talk vividly. Sitting down for coffee, the feeling in the pit of my stomach, the look of hurt and betrayal in their eyes as I was speaking. It was tough, but we had a conversation.

The result? He did not get the promotion.

But do you know the amazing thing? Although it was painful, and that later on, we both ended up moving on to other organisations and roles, we are both better off, and even more amazingly, we are both still friends.

I cannot guarantee that you will always have such a happy ending to a difficult conversation but here are some tips, gained from my experience and others, can really help in those tough exchanges.

What is a difficult conversation?

Here are a few issues that you are likely to face in the workplace, particularly if you are in a position of leadership: What’s the best way to challenge poor performance? How do you let someone go from a position? When do you say no to a superior? How do you stand up for a value, idea, or project when you face opposition? What should you remember when you answer challenging questions in times of crisis or failure?

Fortunately there are some approaches and tips that can help you deal with all these circumstances.

How do you prepare for difficult conversations?

Envisioning

The first thing to do is to mentally and emotionally prepare. You don’t want to be overly emotional in the moment, you want to remain as neutral as possible, and envisioning the difficult conversation can help this. Running through the conversation in your mind, imagining any questions and objections that might arise, can help you both mentally and emotionally before an interaction.

Pick your ground

In the military I was taught to ‘praise in public, criticise in private.’ You may not always have the choice but if you can, think about the environment you are going to have the difficult conversation in. A private space, a neutral one away from the office, is often a good choice.

Getting the balance right

There is a balance to preparing for a challenging exchange as over planning can make things feel rehearsed.  Too much preparation and you can lose the authenticity of the message or diminish your empathy and compassion for the other person. If you establish calm and know your main message then have the courage to take the initiative and have the conversation.

How do you stay calm?

If you have followed the preparation steps above these will aid you in starting and maintaining calm through your meeting. Here are a few more tips:

Mindfulness

Something that will also help is remaining mindful and centred. Start with your breathing. Ensure you are breathing slowly and deeply. If you feel yourself losing your calm, take a pause and breathe again.

Be mindful of your environment. This is where a neutral space can help be a calming influence and give a broader perspective to your conversation, rather than the intense magnifying glass effect of a busy office.

Pay attention to the other person. Pay attention to their body language and truly listen to what they have to say. Giving someone real attention demonstrates your respect for that person and their views, even if you disagree on something.

Be aware of your body, particularly of any tension building up. Being mindful of your body will help you with your non-verbal communication too.

Posture and Body Language

Try to keep a relatively neutral expression and an open posture. Mirroring other people’s body language is a good way to build rapport but if the other person is starting to display negative body language – angry expressions and displays, crossing arms defensively or slumping in defeat – then don’t copy them.

Maintain a relaxed (but not casual) openness. This will also help you maintain an even tone of voice and the right volume. If you tense up then tone and volume rise; if you slump and look down the opposite tends to happen. A lot of difficult conversations happen face to face, for example over a table in a coffee shop. This can be quite confrontational. You could consider going for a walk, and there are some big advantages to this (as you can read here), although bear in mind they might just walk away if you don’t gauge things correctly!

How do you start difficult conversations?

Start with something positive, then state the facts.  This is good advice for any conversation but particularly a tricky conversation. Here is an approach that can help:

Sandwich technique 

People best remember the beginning and end of any communication. Therefore structure your response with the most difficult message in the middle and keep the start and end positively:

• Opening–a positive statement at the start with thanks and appreciation
• Middle–state the difficult facts, acknowledge the problem
• Finish–give the positive steps being taken, highlight what has been achieved and give more appreciation and thanks

How do you answer a challenging question?

It could be during the course of a difficult conversation with an employee, during a job interview, or a time of crisis but sooner or later you will face a really robust question.

Whether you have time to prepare for a hard question or not the best thing to do is remember your key message. Take a pause, however small, then answer the question and make sure that point is put across.

Here is a technique to help you do this clearly, succinctly but strongly:

Remember ‘SEX’

When delivering the difficult part of the message, the acronym ‘SEX’ can provide a useful structure:

• S (Statement) – Be direct, state honestly what the challenge or problem is, without making it personal. Communicate your main point.
• E (Explain) – Explain the context, why it is a problem or how the challenge came about.
• X (Example) – Give specific examples of what the problem is (particularly if its behaviour) and also specific examples of solutions and what can be done.

Here is an example of Steve Jobs answering a difficult question and following this framework:

In this clip he gets his most important point across in his statement, that security is important to Apple. He then explains why security is important, giving context, and then provides a specific example to prove his point; in this case how Apple ensures security regarding location and GPS on phones.

How can I improve my question and answer technique?

Role-playing

One way to get good at having difficult conversations or answering challenging questions is to use role-play. Have someone ask you a scripted or improvised set of tough questions. The more you answer, the better you will become in answering coherently and concisely while maintaining your key message.

Resources

If you want to go a little deeper into the subject and particularly the psychology behind difficult conversations I can recommend these:

How to build and re-build trust

This is a great TED talk highlighting the importance of empathy, authenticity and logic.

Games People Play by Eric Berne

Berne developed the idea of transactional analysis; psychological insight that is useful particularly in difficult conversations. You can purchase the book on Amazon through this link:

Games People Play by Eric Berne.

Reflection

Finally, as with so much in life and leadership, take time to reflect on the conversations you have had and what you could do better in the future. Whether that is through journaling, discussing with a friend, mentor or coach, or just taking some time out to think and analyse.

What is the Wheel of Life in coaching and what does it do?

The Wheel of Life is a useful coaching tool that is used to examine how balanced we are across different spheres or roles in life. It is a great way to get an overall feel for how content we are and identify key areas for growth. It is particularly helpful for people concerned about achieving a work-life balance.

The philosophy behind the process is that life is connected and we should aspire to have balance across all the areas of our existence. Therefore it is not so much ‘work-life balance’ but recognising work as being an integral part of life, and therefore having a more holistic approach to how we attain contentment.

If we feel we are failing in one section of our lives, then it will have an adverse effect on our overall wellbeing and happiness. In other words, if we let our friendships or health deteriorate it is likely to have a negative impact on our work performance or our relationship with our significant other.

It is worth noting that the coaching application of the Wheel of Life can include a spiritual application but is different from the Buddhist Wheel of Life. The latter represents the cycle of reincarnation; birth, death and rebirth.

“Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”

Dolly Parton

How do you fill out the Wheel of Life?

The ‘wheel’ is a circle, usually broken down into eight segments (but can be up to 12), where each segment or spoke represents an aspect of life. In each segment, you score yourself 0-10, with 0 being at the centre of the wheel and 10 being at the outside of the circle. Reaching the outer edge of the circle or wheel represents being completely content in that zone.

Once you have scored each section you can quickly see where you believe you are falling short of your own ideal situation. This gives focus and helps to prioritise where a change is going to have the greatest positive impact. The biggest gaps in scores indicate the greatest discontent and prompt the question: how can I increase my score in that area of life? By answering that question one can set goals to improve that aspect of life.

Free Wheel of Life Template

Here is an example template that you can copy and use:

Examining Life Roles

One way of using the Wheel of Life is to examine the most important roles that you play in life and measure your performance or contentment in each one. Roles might include:

• Spouse/Partner
• Parent/Child/Home-maker
• Leader/Manager
• Team Member
• Community Member
• Employee/Employer
• Creative/Artist/Musician
• Student/Learner
• Sports Person/Games Player
• Steward of Finance/Environment/Resources

This list is not exhaustive and it is important to pick the roles that are most relevant and important to you.

Steps for using roles in the Wheel of Life:

1. Start with a blank wheel and then add in your most important roles.
2. Score each one and reflect on which areas you need to work on most.
3. Set time-bound goals to improve in that area
4. At the end of the set time period revisit the wheel and re-score yourself to measure progress.

Segments of Life

Another way to use the Wheel of Life is to think about aspects rather than roles in life. These generally include:

1. Family/Relationship/Romance
2. Community/Social/Friends
3. Health/Wellbeing/Fitness
4. Life Planning/Management/Financial Security/Money
5. Career/Work/Vocation
6. Spirituality/Morality
7. Fun/Recreation/Leisure
8. Personal Growth/Development/Learning

You can follow the same steps, as used for roles in the previous section but replacing the roles with the 8 key areas using the words that resonate most with you.

Questions to help with the Wheel of Life

To help delve deeper into how you are doing at each spoke of the wheel or in each segment you can consider the following questions.  You could rate each one on a 0 to 10 scale and then take an average to get your overall score for each section:

1. Family/Relationship/Romance/Significant other

• How would you rate your romance, intimacy and quality time with your spouse/partner/significant other?
• What score would you give the quality and quantity of your time and communication with your closest family members?
• What score would you rate your relationship with your children and/or parents?
• How content are you with your relationships with your extended family?
• How would you rate the quality of your home environment?

2. Community/Social/Friends

• How would you score the breadth and depth of friendships that you enjoy?
• Do you feel like you have sufficient quality time with your most important friends?
• How would rate the time you have to socialise and make new friends and connections?
• What value would you give to the support you get from friends and your community?
• How would you score your contribution to your community and the environment?

3. Health/Wellbeing

• What would you score for the quality of your eating habits and diet?
• How content are you with your health and fitness?
• What score would you give to the quality and quantity of your sleep?
• How would you score your emotional health and mental wellbeing?
• How would you rate your impact on the environment?

4. Life Planning/Management/Financial Security/Money

• How financially secure do you feel on a scale of 0-10?
• What score would you give to your ability to set and keep to a budget?
• How free of debt are you? (10 being completely free of debt)
• How would you rate the quality of your savings, investments and pension to support you in the future?
• What rating would you score yourself in terms of financial independence or freedom?

5. Career/Work/Vocation

• How happy and fulfilled do you feel in your career or vocation?
• How content are you with the hours you work?
• What score would you give to your ability to prioritise and manage your time?
• How effective and skilled would you say that you are in your job?
• How content are you with your work prospects, progression or promotion?

6. Spiritual/Moral

• How aligned do you feel to an overall vision, purpose and direction for your life?
• How aligned would you say you are – in thought, word and deed – to your moral values and principles?
• What score would you give to the time you have off-line for personal reflection, prayer or meditation?
• How happy are you with the legacy you are building and will leave behind?
• How accountable do you feel for your spiritual or moral direction?

7. Fun/Recreation

• How would you rate the quality of time you have each week for leisure and recreation?
• Are you content with your ability to pursue your passions or hobbies?
• How would you rate the time you have for fun and laughter?
• Do you feel you are getting enough holiday or vacation time?
• How energised do you feel?

8. Personal Growth/Learning/Development

• How would you rate your continued education and personal development?
• Are you content with the time you have for reading, listening and learning?
• How self-aware would you say that you are?
• Are you content with your opportunity to develop existing strengths and learn new skills?
• How effective would you say you are in setting and achieving personal goals?

When you have filled it out it will look something like the example in the picture below.

Have a look at your scores. If you have an area or even just one particular question with a low score then that is a great place to focus on. Ask yourself: how could I increase this score by one? What would it look and feel like to be at that higher score and how could I get there? Then you can set yourself your specific goal to close the gap.

Wheel of Life Free Downloadable Tool

To make it even easier you can download this Excel spreadsheet template that has all the questions on the first worksheet. When you put in the scores it will automatically calculate your average score and populate a Wheel of Life (or Web of Life) on the second worksheet tab.

Well done and good luck!

Life balance, like forming new habits, does not happen overnight. But, taking the time to examine your life with a tool such as the Wheel of Life provides an excellent start.

You may want also want some help in identifying your goals and developing your plan. I have the pleasure of working alongside many amazing individuals and organisations doing exactly that. If you would also like some assistance, in person or online, then please do drop me a line. You can email me via the contact page.

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If you would like to find out more about coaching and have an initial free coaching consultation then please email us using the contact page. Just click on this link: Contact Form

 

How do you create a thinking environment where people can be at their best? This would be somewhere they can think effectively and creatively, experiment and fail, reflect and learn, address challenges and make the best decisions.

Does this describe your working or learning environment? It could do and arguably should do.

Nancy Kline, author of Time to Think, has spent years researching and developing just how to make spaces where people can thrive. The principles that she has identified come together to make what she calls the ‘Thinking Environment’.

“Thinking for yourself is still a radical act.”

Nancy Kline

What is the Thinking Environment?

The Thinking Environment is Kline’s concept of how to help people think better and is made up of ten components. These are:

• Attention
• Equality
• Ease
• Appreciation
• Encouragement
• Information
• Feelings
• Diversity
• Incisive Questions
• Place

How do you apply the principles of the Thinking Environment?

The individual aspects of the Thinking Environment can be explained and applied in the following ways:

Attention

We should be great listeners and give people our full attention. That is because great hearing leads to generative thinking, it is, as Nancy Kline says, ‘an act of creation’.

We need to actively listen to what people are saying, not interrupting or just thinking about what we want to say next. Giving people our attention demonstrates our respect for that person and gives them and their thoughts worth.

“The quality of your attention determines the quality of other people’s thinking.”

Nancy Kline

How can you improve your attention and listening skills?

Here is an exercise to help you develop better attention and active listening:

• In pairs take turns to listen to each other speak. It can be on any topic of the person taking the thinking/speaking turn.
• As a listener, when a thought comes into your mind visualise closing a door on that thought so you can return your attention to the speaker’s thoughts rather than your own.
• The listener should try not to say anything, or even make any noises until the person has finished talking.
• The thinker/speaker should be concise in their thoughts, where possible, and then let the listener know when that wave of thinking and sharing is done.
• When the thinker has finished speaking don’t comment unless asked to. Otherwise just ask “What more do you think, feel or want to say?”

You can learn more about listening skills by clicking on the link and reading the post Are you really listening?

Questions for reflection:

• When was the last time you listened to someone in conversation without interrupting them?

Equality

We are all different, we have different experiences and backgrounds, roles and responsibilities, strengths and weaknesses, thoughts and ideas; but we are all equal in worth. In a Thinking Environment, everyone is valued equally as a thinker and everyone’s thoughts are given equal worth. It is not a hierarchy or even a meritocracy; this is giving space for people to think as true equals.

This means that everyone gets their turn to speak, and while they do, everyone else listens. This helps to stop talkative people dominating the conversation and encourages quieter folk to speak.

How can you develop more equality in your meetings?

• If you are more senior in position or experience then you can help create equality by modelling the behaviours in the Thinking Environment and being open in sharing your feelings and thoughts.
• At the beginning of a meeting or thinking session let everyone check-in. Pose a simple question and then go round all participants and give them a chance to share how they think or feel. Questions might include:
  • How are you doing/feeling today?
  • What is most on your mind right now?
  • What would you most like to think about or discuss today?

Question for reflection:

• Do you really believe that the people in your meeting/session are of equal worth as people and thinkers?

Ease

You cannot think well in a rush. If there is too much pressure people can tip into a ‘fight or flight’ response where fear, automatic responses and defensiveness can cloud or even block good thinking.

We need to develop ease in ourselves; it is a way of being as well as an absence of doing. Being calm, focussed and un-hurried will promote the best thinking in ourselves and others.

A space where people experience ease gives them the psychological safety to think, work and be at their best (Duhigg).

The Quest

Understand your values, unlock your purpose, set your priorities, achieve success. Click here to sign up and get the 1st stage for free!

How can you create ease?

• If you are leading a meeting or session make sure you embody calm. Be on time, not flustered or distracted by other things. Take some time beforehand to make sure you are at ease with yourself.
• Remove electronic devices during meetings. Phones, laptops, and tablets can all be stored away, switched off or put on silent at the very least.

Question for reflection:

• When was the last time you were in a meeting where you felt really engaged? How did you feel at the time?

Appreciation

Our minds latch on to negatives much more quickly and strongly than positives, about five more times in fact. Therefore it is important to give five times more positive remarks to a person than negatives or criticisms.

Being a good critical thinker does not mean to need to be critical of others. Challenge is often used as an excuse to undermine a person, rather than bring clarity to an idea.

How can you better show appreciation?

• Think about the positive things about who the person is, rather than just what they are doing. Appreciate something, some value, trait or characteristic that you admire in that person and share that. For example “I really appreciate your honesty” or “I love the depth of your concentration.”

Question for reflection:

• How many times today or yesterday have you shown your appreciation to someone else? In the same time period how many times did you correct or criticise someone?

Encouragement

Competition can be useful at times, but not so much when you are trying to think. Thinking is not a zero-sum game. A sense of competition will reduce the ease and the sense of equality. Competition increases threat and forces a retreat back to the fight or flight, win-lose mentality. This comes at the expense of taking risks, being courageous in thinking, and losing focus on the idea, team or vision.

How could you encourage people to think better?

• When listening, whether in conversation, a meeting or another context, try not to share the thought or experience that pops into your head when the other person is speaking, unless they ask (unbidden) for your thoughts.
• When it is your turn to speak, pause and ask yourself, will what you want to say help to further generate good thinking or will it create a sense of competition?

Reflection question:

• Can you think of a recent conversation or meeting where you shared something to show that you had a similar (or better) idea or experience? Who benefitted from this?

Information

Thinking and good decisions are based on having accurate information. If we have incorrect information our thinking and decisions will be flawed. The input of timely information improves our decision-making cycle (see the OODA loop).

Even as listeners, there are times when we need to provide information for a thinker. If we deny someone the information they need we undermine the quality of their thinking.

Quality information helps to break down wrong assumptions and perceptions. As Kline says, it ‘dismantles denial’.

How do you provide better information?

• When someone asks for advice don’t tell them what to do or what you think is best. Rather, present your thoughts in a less directive way such as saying “In my experience…” or “I have read/heard that…” instead of “You should…” or “The best way is…”

Feelings

Many people think that showing or sharing feelings within a work context is abhorrent. For someone to show real joy or, even worse, tear up, can feel counter-cultural or cringe-worthy. But if we suppress our feelings our minds us busy doing just that, rather than thinking well.

This does not mean that every meeting needs to become a hullaballoo but giving space to express feelings allows people to get them out and then, after a space, to move on. So allow freedom for feelings; there may be a few tears, but hopefully a lot of laughter and good thinking too!

How do you help people express their feelings?

• Practical point: have some tissues on stand-by!
• If you take the courage to be authentic and share your feelings, the people you are with are more likely to share theirs.

Reflection question:

• When was the last time you had to suppress your feelings in a work context? How did it change the way you could think or act?

Diversity

We live in a diverse world full of complex challenges and wicked problems. The best thinking environments reflect this and have a diversity of thinkers. Alternate backgrounds, experiences, cultures and points of view all help the creation and shaping of ideas. The other components of the Thinking Environment ensure that everyone from every background can freely share without fear of discrimination.

Many teams build through choosing people who are a good fit for culture or chemistry but this can often be at the expense of the best ideas.

How to do get develop better diversity in your teams and meetings?

• When selecting people for a team, think more about good character and competence and worry less about chemistry or culture fit.
• When conducting meetings consider bringing in people from outside your team to encourage different viewpoints, ideas and challenges.

Refection question:

• Is your team really diverse, or is it more of an echo chamber, with few challenges or new ideas?

Incisive Questions

The best questions are the ones that help a thinker overcome a blockage in their thoughts and allow them to carry on generating ideas and solutions. We all have to make assumptions in order to make decisions but not all of our assumptions are correct. This is where incisive questions come in.

Incisive questions are questions that cut to the heart of the matter and bring release. Incisive questions free the mind from limiting assumptions and help re-frame challenges and establish new liberating statements.

How do you ask incisive questions?

• When someone feels they cannot do something ask, “What are you assuming that is stopping you from…?”
• Then ask, “Do you think it is true that (state assumption)?”
• If not true, then you can ask, “What are your words for what is true or liberating instead?”
• Then, using the liberating assumption that has just been expressed, you can ask “If you knew that (insert liberating assumption), how would you (insert outcome)?”

Reflection question:

• Can you think of a time you thought you could not achieve something due to a false assumption?

Place

Our physical environment is important. The revolution in the workspace, led by companies like Google, is a testament to this fact. The place we choose to live and work in gives us a sense of worth.

The environment where we choose to meet, think or discuss has a huge effect on how well we think. Picking a good space affirms to people that they matter and encourages courageous thinking.

How do you choose the best place to meet and think?

• Try to find somewhere away from the normal working environment, especially away from distractions such as phones, computers etc.
• Try going for a walk, especially if you are just in a pair. They are many advantages to thinking while walking and you can find out more by reading The Surprising Power of Going for a Walk.

Reflection question:

• Does the place where you usually think or conduct meetings support all the components of the Thinking Environment? If not, can you think of somewhere that could?

Thinking Environment Infographic

Here is a great info-graphic poster (created by Lita Currie of 3Stickmen), that summarises the 10 elements of the Thinking Environment.

“Until we are free to think for ourselves, our dreams are not free to unfold.”

Nancy Kline

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If you would like to find out more about coaching and have an initial free coaching consultation then please email us using the contact page. Just click on this link: Contact Form

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References

Currie, L (2019) How to Think Better and Help Others Think Better Too, www.3Stickmen.com

Duhigg, C (2016) What Google Learned From its Quest to Build the Perfect Team, New York: The New York Times

Kline, N (1999) Time to Think.London: Ward Lock

Kline, N (2015) More Time to Think. London: Cassell

Kline, N (2019) Time to Think Website, https://www.timetothink.com/thinking-environment/

When was the last time you failed as a leader? How long ago was it; weeks, days, (hours)? I certainly don’t have to think very far back to find failure.

I was listening to Brené Brown’s excellent book ‘Dare to Lead’ and thought I would take a few minutes to pause and reflect on when my practice of leadership has not lived up to my theoretical ideal. Within minutes I had a scary number of examples. So, in the spirit of writing what you need to read, here as some of my failures.

I have led in various professional contexts for more decades than I care to mention. My experiences as a leader have been some of the most rewarding and enriching in my life, but my time as a leader is also littered with mistakes.

If you want to be a leader, get used to failure! Let me amend that: As a leader get used to failure, and get good at learning from it.

Failing to achieve a task is one thing but I have also frequently failed to maintain my own standards and values. These are the most painful failures of all. So I thought I would start there in terms of sharing.

I have failed through anger, shame, faking it, lack of courage and basically trying to be something I am not. Insecurity has haunted me, in one form or another, the whole time.

So, I’m here to air my dirty washing (that’s what you are waiting for right?) I have started with some from earlier in life and progressed (or regressed) from there. My genuine hope is that by sharing this you can learn from my mistakes and avoid a few yourself. And, if you can’t avoid the mistakes, hopefully we can just learn better together.

“It’s fine to celebrate success but it’s more important to heed the lessons of failure”

Bill Gates

Failure to develop others

Were you in Scouts or Guides when you were younger? I loved being in the Scouts (the Guides would not have me) and it gave me one of my earliest opportunities to lead. As a Cub Scout I rose to the lofty height of ‘Sixer’ with responsibility to lead our team of six (or so) fellow cubs.

So how did I do this? My memories are that my main leadership technique at the time involved the threat of violence. Shocking I know, on so many different levels!

And when I think back I simply ask myself, why on earth did I pick such an approach?

I was not big or strong. Violence was certainly not the approach taken by the leaders and role models around me. Thinking back I have to put it down to my own insecurity. For one reason or another I wanted to appear strong, to be something I was not; so I used the little strength I had in the wrong way. I used it to instil fear, rather than to protect.

I got compliance, but I missed out on the opportunity to create an environment where people felt safe to grow and learn. So much of leadership is about seeing the potential in others and creating the space for them to reach that potential. That is how I should have used my strength.

Failure to discipline others

Anyone else have a position of responsibility at school? One of other early opportunities I had to lead and to learn was as a prefect. In my final year of school, before university, I was one of the top tier prefects with the power to discipline (or punish) fellow pupils. What could possibly go wrong!

There was one particular group of boys in the year below mine who were always giving me (and others) trouble. One day they were walking along with their hands in their pockets, which at that school was practically a capital offence. Yes, it was a strict school. I said something, probably not in the most graceful manner, and I got a less than graceful reply.

I immediately told the group that they would receive a punishment, to be done later that day, which involved re-painting some school equipment.

The punishment did not really fit the crime. There was no real benefit from it for anyone – it wasted all our time. In my eagerness to punish I also did not properly set them up to do the job so I failed in my delegation of the task too.

Looking back I realise that I should not have punished them, I should have disciplined them. And there lies the subtle difference.

I could have done something clever such as tasking them to do the prefect job and for them to have responsibility to set the standards. I could have worked alongside them, setting an example and maybe even winning them around.

A lost opportunity but a lesson learned, by me at least. Discipline and punishment are not necessarily the same. Punishment often happens out of anger and the desire for retribution. Instead, a good leader disciplines people. Not only to maintain standards, but also to help people to develop in character and be disciplined by themselves. I think it took me becoming a parent to truly understand the need to discipline out of love.

Failure to practice what I preach

I have always enjoyed adventurous activities and alongside my more corporate roles I have worked as an expedition leader and outdoor instructor.

One time I was with some friends and instructing them in rock climbing. I was known for being the ‘outdoor guy’ and so was happy to show off my skills. As they were my friends I took a casual approach and did not think to prepare the session or work through what I was going to teach.

Realising I needed to do some basic rope work before we started ascending I decided to demonstrate how to secure yourself to the rock. I did not go through the procedure properly, I just casually clipped in, not paying attention to what I was connecting to and the next second I was falling off the rock and bouncing off the boulders below.

Fortunately it was not a big fall and, apart from a few bruises, the biggest damage was to my pride. All my friends were having a good laugh at my expense.

It is easy to cut corners and tell people to ‘do what I say not what I do’ but in the end this catches you out. I have always aspired to be someone of integrity who ‘walks the talk’ but this is just one case of how I failed to live up to my own standards. I have learned that you can’t take on the role of leader without taking on the responsibility too, even if you are taking the lead among friends or in a more informal setting.

Failure to take criticism

At the start of my professional career I was an Officer in the British Army. My first role was as a Bomb Disposal Officer in the Royal Engineers.

This of course is a fact that I am very proud to share. What I am less proud to share is that I failed one part of my bomb disposal course.

As well as all the theory, to get qualified, we had to conduct bomb disposal tasks under exercise conditions with non-explosive ordnance. We took it in turns to take the lead and after completing a task the instructors would de-brief us on our performance.

I failed on my first task, mainly due to the actions of one of my team members who was under my command. I was told in the de-briefing that I had failed due to my lack of leadership.

That really stung, especially as the instructor for my task happened to be of a more junior rank than me. I was fuming that this person could critique my leadership when I had obviously had more training and practice in leading than they had!

The anger and resentment I felt was carried into further tasks and I ended up failing and having to re-take that aspect of the course.

I have always been sensitive to criticism but I hope I have a more mature way of dealing with it now. Looking back the instructor was not saying I could not lead, just that I could – and should – have led better in that situation. We may have had different preferred styles of leadership but in the end they were right, and even if they weren’t, I should have responded better to the criticism. I acted petulantly and in the end the only person it really hurt was myself.

You need correct data to make effective decisions. The same is true for improving ourselves; we have to get honest feedback if we are going to know how to change for the better. As leaders we must genuinely seek constructive criticism and reflect on how we can do better.

Failure to reflect

To lead requires courage: courage to go, to fail, to learn and to go again.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Winston Churchill

If you do not take the time to reflect and learn you are at risk of making the same mistakes. Then, even if we do keep going, we do so at the risk of not achieving our goal or failing the members of our team, and ourselves.

Through much of my time in leadership I have failed to properly reflect and learn from my failures. But I am getting better at it, slowly. The process of writing has really improved this discipline for me.

So, if you are a leader too – in whatever context – I would encourage you to write. Capture some thoughts on what and how you have done; whether it is a private journal, a slightly less private blog, or writing an article like this for the whole world to see!

When I started drafting this I had a long list of examples and I have only expanded on the first few. There are many more! If this post is helpful then I am very happy to continue on and share some more experiences so do let me know.

It was my pleasure this week to speak to around 40 CEOs, founders of charities and other socially driven organisations, about leading in crisis. Everyone present was grappling with maintaining essential services in the light of COVID-19. The question we were discussing was:

“How do I help myself and my senior colleagues cope and prepare the organisation for what’s to come?”

Leading in crisis and making decisions under pressure are areas of real interest to me, particularly as I started my career as a Bomb Disposal Officer in the British Army and have subsequently led teams on operations around the world.

That experience has been formative in developing the planning and decision making approaches that I have used in further jobs within the commercial, charity and public sector. As well as continuing to have leadership responsibilities within various organisations, I now seek to share the knowledge I have through my work as a leadership coach and strategy consultant.

With government responses to COVID-19 resembling a wartime mentality, the immediate picture that comes to my mind is the poster ‘Keep calm and carry on’ and this theme prompted me to think of how we should ‘be’ in a crisis, particularly as a leader.

So here are ten things to think about that hopefully will be an encouragement to you and your team, particularly in this time of rapid change and uncertainty.

1. Be the best leader you can be

Good leadership is always important, but it is critical in a time of crisis. People will look for direction.

But this is not just for those who have ‘leader’ or ‘executive’ in our titles. Leadership is needed at every level and from everyone, to some degree. For example, some people will have to take on further responsibility as events stress existing structures or team members become ill. Equally, as teams are dispersed and communications strained, people need to be empowered to take the initiative and lead in their spheres of influence, even if that is just leading themselves effectively, having a good routine and remaining productive.

Therefore everyone should be ready to step up. As a leader, encourage your team to step up and empower them to do so.

You never know when you might have to take responsibility. I once had a situation when climbing in Alps, in a party of four, where someone else had been leading our team up a route. As we summited the mountain the weather changed and we found ourselves in the middle of a thunderstorm. As lightening started to strike the peaks around us the person who had been leading the team was tired and became uncertain and I realised that I had energy and a plan, and therefore it was now an opportunity for me to step up and lead the team to safety.

We often think of leadership as a position but it actually more of a role. At different times we are called on to lead, no matter what our title. One of the key functions of a leader is developing the people around them, so here is an opportunity. Have a think; who around you can help and take on more leadership responsibility?

2. Be the calm

In the words of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: Don’t panic!

A crisis can throw us off balance, particularly if we have been dropped into a situation with new responsibilities. We can quickly feel way out of our depth. At those times start small and try to create calm in yourself so you can pass that to others. At times like these I remember the advice of Winston Churchill from his time leading in the trenches during the First World War:

“War is a game that is played with a smile. If you can’t smile, grin. If you can’t grin, keep out of the way till you can.”

Winston Churchill

Work on the smile but then aspire to do more than that; don’t just be calm, be the calm. Create the right atmosphere. Composing yourself and exuding calm will have a massively positive effect on those around you. Think about what people want of a leader in times of trouble. Be certainty in chaos. Be clarity in uncertainty. Be calm in the storm.

Fear is infectious. The panic buying of loo roll during the COVID-19 outbreak is a classic example of this. It defies logic. As a leader, your psychological state will have a massive effect on those around you. Find techniques to help you find that calm on a daily basis.

A couple of things that really help me are going for walks and writing notes or a journal. You can read further tips on these here:

The surprising power of going for a walk

Why journaling is important and how to start writing a journal

There are loads of other approaches you can use, from breathing techniques to mindfulness or talking regularly to a person you trust (yes, lean on your coach or mentor). Experiment and find out what works best for you.

3. Be a strategist

A strategy is a coherent approach to overcoming a challenge. You need an effective overarching strategy within which the detailed planning can be worked out.

For example the UK government strategy for COVID 19 is: CONTAIN, DELAY, RESEARCH, MITIGATE – very simple on the surface but with lots of complexity below that.

What is the strategy for how you are dealing with the crisis?

If you are wanting to develop a strategy you will need to do some good thinking and answer some key questions. There are lots of approaches to developing strategies and plans, and having a process to help you think coherently can be really useful. You may well already have systems or processes in your organisation but if not then I have developed a simple system dubbed ‘The Right Questions’ that can help you. You can read more about this here;

4. Be flexible

There is a military saying that “no plan survives contact with the enemy” meaning that no matter how well you plan, there will also be circumstances outside your control and outcomes that you wont be able to foresee.

Therefore have a plan but remain flexible. Make sure your strategy is robust so that you can adjust the detail below it. The thinking that goes into the planning is at least as important as the plan itself, which leads onto another famous military saying:

“The importance is in the planning, not the plan.”

General

5. Be a decision maker.

I used to think that making good decisions was all about having a good process. I now know that having a good decision making process is important, but the most important thing is knowing your values. That is because is it essentially our values that drive our actions and behaviours, our conscious and unconscious decisions.

Times of crisis are times when our values are truly tested. When people feel insecure or threatened, their deepest priorities and ideals are laid bare. How are you and your team holding up? If you are seeing behaviours in yourself or your team that do not reflect your stated values then there is either something wrong with your actions or you have not correctly identified your core values.

Your values encompass your principles, priorities and passions. Once identified, it is best to communicate values as verbs or actions. Simon Sinek highlights this idea in his book ‘Start with Why’. He notes that if the value is ‘integrity’ then the behaviour is ‘doing the right thing’. Similarly the value of ‘innovation’ could be stated as ‘looking at a problem from a different angle’.

With values correctly articulated you can start to then build out your processes – your decision criteria, routines and protocols. Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater and author of Principles has perhaps gone the furthest, as a leader and with his organisation, in systematically laying out his values and connecting his processes to them. If you have not read Principles then I highly recommend it.

6. Be a delegator

As a leader you cannot do everything or make every decision, particularly when the situation is fast moving. Therefore it is vital to give the key direction (strategy) and planning principles so that decision making can cascade down.

In the military this concept is called ‘mission command’. The commander emphasises the specific mission to subordinates, communicates the desired end state and specifies any key tasks and constraints. Once this is done this allows the detailed planning and management of tasks to happen at the appropriate level.

As a starting point, as well as communicating our overall strategy, we can all make sure that we delegate effectively by using simple approaches such as the SMART tasks format, developed by George T Doran. You can read more about this tool with the following link:

7. Be a communicator

In a crisis people want direction. Therefore communicate clear and frequently but also be succinct.  There is a balance to strike too. Even in normal times we can be drowning in information so if you over communicate then people may miss the key message you wish to convey.

Even if you don’t have much to say, still communicate on a regular basis, be honest about what you don’t know but also be positive and encouraging. As we know in our personal lives, we don’t always want or need the answers, but we do want to feel supported and know that people care. Good messaging provides this assurance.

The COVID outbreak is forcing us to work and communicate in new ways. Here is an opportunity to find out what works best. Get suggestions from your team on how to communicate (think beyond email) and get feedback on your content. You can then refine your communication accordingly.

Be creative and play to your strengths. Do you prefer speaking in person? Try recording a short video to share. Do you prefer something written? Craft something succinct that can be disseminated widely and easily shared on multiple platforms.

8. Be open to opportunity

It sounds counterintuitive, or maybe even crass, but don’t waste a good crisis. Any time of change brings opportunity and a crisis is a time of rapid, significant change.

As mentioned in the section on communication, a crisis forces changes in our work practice. This is an opportunity for innovation, for delegation, and new forms of collaboration. Even those once seen as competitors may become colleagues. If ‘my enemy’s enemy is my friend’ then this is certainly the case with the COVID response. We are all in this together.

The SWOT Analysis is probably the best know tool for quickly and effectively doing some situational analysis. In the SWOT tool you consider your personal or organisational Strengths and Weaknesses (internal factors) as well as Opportunities and Threats (external factors). The reason why this is so effective is that these factors often mirror one another and by looking at the negatives you can gain insight into the positives. If you want to find out more about using the SWOT approach then you can use the link below:

How to do a SWOT Analysis

9. Be resilient

Another military phrase for you: “Always have a reserve.”

That holds true, be that In regard to money, supplies, people or your own personal energy supplies. If you are continuously running close to 100% on these things (and we can often be way beyond 100% when finance is involved) then you put yourself at risk when a crisis strikes.

You have to work out the right level of reserves to provide resilience in your organisation for each of these things but as a leader, resilience starts with you.

Here, a little bit of self-care can go a long way. Getting enough sleep, eating healthily and getting some exercise. And of all of these sleep is the most important, as it underpins our wellbeing. If you think you can get away with less than 7 hours sleep a night for long periods then I recommend you read ‘Why we sleep’ by Matthew Walker.

I like to visual these aspects of my life, along with relationships and other things that feed into my wellbeing, as a dashboard where I monitor levels.

Which gauges are on your dashboard and which ones are in the red?

Don’t let yourself burn out. I have been there and learnt lessons the hard way. You can read more of my lessons on this subject via the link below:

The truth about work-life balance

10. Be reflective

Finally, be reflective. In a fast moving situation you have to speed up your decision making cycle (think OODA loop) learn quickly from your mistakes, and make changes. That means taking the time to pause and reflect long enough to identify problems and implement improvements.

There will of course be time after the event for further reflection too. When a crisis dies down it is very easy to breathe a sigh of relief and then just get back to how things were before. We can all soon be consumed in busyness and lessons can be lost.

Therefore be proactive. Find ways of recording lessons now that you can return too when things calm down. Assign someone to champion this process and think ahead to a time that can be set in the diary to review what you have learnt.

Be encouraged!

Finally, please be encouraged! Leading in a crisis is tough, but you are not alone. Keep up the good work; keep calm and carry on!

If you would like to watch the recording of the original talk I gave then you can see it on YouTube here: