A terrible economic recession (depression?) seems inevitable over the next few years as Western economies crumble under the burden of unsustainable debt, and the rest of the world catches the cold of falling trade and GDP.
The emperor’s clothes of ever-increasing ‘leverage’ over recent decades will be seen for what they are: an illusion of riches and consumerism, inflated asset values and personal and government spending powers utterly divorced from intrinsic wealth.
In other words, the biggest bubble ever. There’s nothing we as individuals can do about all of that: ‘austerity’ will be with us perhaps for many years.
But we will prevail. There is everything we can do about ourselves, our choices and how we connect with the abundance of human creativity, hope and love.
Currency, borrowing and GDP may be seen as the arbitrary constructs of a system that works most of the time to provide structure and mechanism for an organised society to function: enabling trade, sufficiency and employment.
But as they temporarily fail us, what we may rediscover underneath is a more durable and fundamental aspect of humanity and community.
Consider for a moment: there is so much we can be thankful for if we pay more attention – family, community and friendship, memories, creativity and innovation, discourse and enlightenment, organisational achievement, the limitlessness of the Universe and, most powerful of all, love. And most of us are lucky enough to live in safety, peace and a good environment.
We could choose to focus on the economic gloom and erosion of material wealth – and yes, there are people suffering in this world.
And we can also choose to focus our attention on the relationships which don’t need cash to make life meaningful and happy.
With thanks for your friendship and very best wishes for a happy and loving Christmas holiday and a New Year full of choices.
Adrian
Good leaders and teams in any context are focused on their objectives and satisfaction usually flows from achieving results which meet or beat those targets. That’s even more true, and more difficult, when operating in a tough economic and business context, as many of us are in now.
So there’s a challenge in keeping freshness in effort and motivation for executives and staff alike when markets are zero growth, more competitive than ever and short on bonuses. Words like ‘focus’, ‘actions’, ‘execution’, efficiency’, ‘toughness’ and ‘perseverance’ are all part of the lexicon for times like this. Such directive language plays an important role in crossing the arid lands between oases of success and reward.
When there’s more acute focus on the bottom line, there’s a temptation to cut back on what might seem not to be immediate priorities. For some, this includes time and budget for so-called ‘soft skills’.
But what are ‘soft skills’? The very name sounds nebulous. Usually they include communication skills and behaviours, how to connect with others (and yourself), being comfortable enough to step back and pause to gain broader perspective before acting an communicating appropriately. Emotional intelligence if you like. But it’s not always ‘emotional’ – and these skills are highly relevant and pragmatic in influencing and leading – with immediate impact.
In fact, the metaphor for such skills as being ‘soft’ seems entirely wrong. The language and behaviours involved, difficult to define perhaps, are like water – soft in some ways, but also essential, dynamic and equally capable of being hard, powerful and even destructive. Can you remember doing a belly-flop into a swimming pool? What do you think has worn down dramatic cliffs along our coastline?
The skills of communicating, influencing and connecting with other people are the very font of effective management and leadership, of client relationships, of clear objective setting and operational process. The ability to hold confidence and manage state is critical for both authority and personal performance.
It would be an parched environment indeed to work in without these skills, with limited flow of information, no spring of innovation. No wonder people can feel like a fish out of water.
So when those targets are tough to achieve, look to balance the directive vocabulary and also build leadership, better managers, networks, team focus, sales and motivation with smarter language, behaviours and relationships. The effect is immediate as well as providing a wellspring for sustainable growth.
Come on in, the water’s lovely!
Thanks for reading this. If you’d like to find out more about how we can help irrigate your leadership and management skills, do please take a look at our website.
Last week I enjoyed an excellent lunch with an old school friend. We hadn’t met in over 30 years and it was amazing how quickly and easily we were able to share memories, journeys and hopes. The previous week I’d met up with another group of old business colleagues at a reunion dinner and a similar thing happened. How good it is to reconnect with old friends.
And it got me thinking about what’s happening there – we’re not just connecting with those people but also with something of ourselves, from many years ago. There’s a risk that this can take you back to a ‘memory lane’ you’d rather not go down, but mostly it is a welcome reminder and reintegration of the experiences and resources which have got you to where you are now – and which can help to move you further forward.
We’re also reconnecting with places and environments – the context of your life and work may now be different but there’s a constancy in your ‘mental maps’ from those older places. The juxtaposition can allow new perspectives and nuances of understanding around today’s world to emerge – great for problem solving.
Sometimes we can put ourselves in a new space to help us reconnect with our courage and passion – if some of that’s gone missing and we need it to take on new challenges. That space can be virtual, created for example in a coaching relationship, or a physical change of scenery, or a retreat (like the award-winning Witherden’s Hall).
Reconnection isn’t always comfortable. There’s a balance between the fear of discomfort and the risk of not connecting – what opportunities might be lost – business, knowledge, friendship? Will you sidestep the challenge?
And what determines success? Rather than disappointing with ‘premature expectation’, perhaps we can let what wants to happen, happen. And be prepared to take any opportunities which arise.
Can we put a value on all that’s possible through reconnection? Not really. But I do know that being accepted by others – being worthy of connection – is such a core human need, that it’s hugely powerful, and priceless. And that works both ways.
Go on. Reconnect. You might find resourceful parts of yourself, new ideas from old places, courage, self-worth and opportunities. All pretty useful, whatever business or other challenges you’re taking on.
Two simple questions that can make a difference – 3/05/10
Words and phrases have different meanings and associations for different people. This can have a big impact on how effectively you communicate – and understand others.
For example, take just one word: Sharp…
…as a knife. The pleasure of a freshly-sharpened steel blade as it cuts into a bright red, vine-ripened tomato, silently slicing the cool, firm skin as you prepare a summer salad, with spring onions, herbs and olive oil.
Or perhaps a sharp glinting knife in a terrifying night-time fight, or a metaphorical knife cutting costs in a struggling business, or (keeping it topical) a Government department budget.
sharp as a knife - but a real one, or a metaphorical one in the hands of the Exchequor?
Sharp… as an axe, a weapon, or a garden tool for chopping firewood. Or the axe which is swung in a strategic reorganisation. Sharp… as a pin. Painful. Useful for removing splinters, or pinning things down to provide structure, or on a notice board, offering flexibility.
sharp as an axe for winter fuel, or business strategy?
Sharp… as a lemon – eye-watering, and also a tangy freshness. Sharp… as a fish-wife’s tongue, cruel and hurtful, and making things happen. Or as Oscar Wilde’s wit – evanescent words with such influence and power. Or sharp intellect, to spur meaningful debate, or give sharp focus in decision making and strategy.
which metaphor might spring to mind for your audience when you use the word 'sharp'?
That’s just a few different meanings and metaphors coming from one word. And we’ll all have our own interpretations, images and reactions to that wood-chopping axe, the lashing tongue or the witty riposte. As you can see, it’s pretty easy to have both positive and negative interpretations.
Having a better understanding of what other people mean when they use particular words and metaphors, and helping others to have a better understanding of what you mean, can make a huge difference at work and in life.
This is true whether you’re the leader of a business unit, or organisation, or a team working on a project – or a member of that team, or an individual in a relationship.
Just a couple of simple questions can help you work out what someone means or wants, if you’re prepared to listen. The secret is not to interfere with or immediately interpret how they think of something, but to explore it. For example, if your colleague says “I can’t do that, I’m really busy today”, rather than saying “Yeah I know what you mean, I’m just swamped!” and both of you spiralling into stress mode, you could ask “Oh OK, what kind of busy is that?”. “Well, I’ve got a bunch of emails to deal with and a big meeting this afternoon and I’ve got to prepare for that, and I’ve got to pick up some forms from the Post Office..” – already you have a lot more information about what ‘busy’ means for them – and perhaps how you might be able to help or be valuable to them today, or just wait until tomorrow.
if you're prepared to listen, just 2 simple questions can give you a lot of information
If they seem OK to continue talking, you could ask “And is there anything else about that big meeting?” – “Well everyone involved in project X is going to be there and I’m supposed to make a presentation” – “Oh, what kind of presentation is that?” – and so on…
And you can use this process in reverse too, for example, preparing for a meeting or presentation where you’re keen to get your message across – use metaphors and develop them with these questions, to help your audience connect even more effectively with what you want them to understand.
help your friends, colleagues, clients to understand your message
The two questions above – what kind of? and is there anything else about? – are the first steps of Clean Language – a technique developed by the late New Zealand psychotherapist, David Grove, and now found in many different areas, including coaching – and even in general conversation if you want to open things up in a more interesting way (though be careful not to be too intrusive!). There’s also another whole, linked, area called Emergent Knowledge. Lots of fascinating and powerful stuff. For me, it’s a core element of my work. There are some links below, if you’d like to find out more.
Thanks for reading, and enjoy your work!
(and what kind of enjoy is that?)
Adrian
Links:
The Clean Collection – Penny Tomkins and James Lawley originally modelled David Grove’s techniques to create Symbolic Modelling.
Clean Coaching – Angela Dunbar works closely with Carol Wilson and provides teleclass-based learning which is where I have done most of my learning in Clean Language and Emergent Knowledge.
Clean Change Company – Wendy Sullivan’s Clean site.
The Powers of Six – Philip Harland and Matthew Hudson’s site focusing on Emergent Knowledge.
X-Ray Listening – Judy Rees’s Clean-focused site.
An article in this month’s Coaching at Work magazine (available if you’re a subscriber)
Strengths in tough times – 23/03/10
I’ve always had a soft spot for ants, ever since I used to gaze for hours at their industrious, community efforts to rebuild the nests I had unearthed as a curious young lad. Such a seemingly insignificant creature capable of extraordinary feats.
Ants - little, but amazing!
So I was delighted to see the ant recognised for its amazing strength and extraordinary feet (sic) in the recent Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council science photo competition: click here for the Telegraph’s report.
And human beings are also capable of great feats – astronauts visiting the moon, musicians captivating audiences, soldiers recovering from massive injuries to be an inspiration to others – and well done Amy Williams on her tiny skeleton bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics! What great courage, resolve and skill it must take to beat the world in such a hair-raising way. Click here to go to her website. I notice that Amy has both an ‘ice’ coach and a ‘strength and conditioning’ coach.
We can’t all win the skeleton bob, but we can all find ‘strength and conditioning’ to get us through tough times – and maybe even find greater fulfilment – as the economy continues to swirl ominously, like a dark, snow-laden sky, through 2010 and beyond.
Call me Mr Gloomy but, despite the encouraging spring weather, we’re not out of the economic woods yet.
Post-election, there are going to be some very tough decisions and actions to be taken in the UK. For many, this may be something for our ‘leaders’ to sort out – but I believe we can all choose to be leaders in our own systems. Like ants sorting out the nest.
So where can we find those strengths? Here are six I can think of for starters…
Strength in capabilities, skills and knowledge – from experience and continuing training and studying – be open to learning opportunities which present themselves and tackle some new books!
Strength in self-belief and clarity, to know where you are going and to keep going, to have confidence and deal with your doubts – giving yourself some space to step back and reflect, ask ‘what would I really like to have happen?’ and make a note of (don’t overlook!) all the varied capabilities you already have and things you have already done well.
Take a broader persective of what you want, what you can do and who can help you
Strength from others – who is in your ‘systems’? Workplace, friends, family… I was delighted to have the origins of the word ‘conversation’ pointed out to me (and others at the Association for Coaching conference) last week – coming from ‘with’ and ‘change’. And in the feedback system that is any conversation, we are indeed changing together with others. Being truly present when listening to and talking with colleagues, friends and family can be a huge source of energy, affirmation and new ideas.
Don't let your ego get in the way of finding support and learning lessons
Strength from external ‘others’ – people who are not in your normal systems – professional advisers, teachers, consultants, counsellors and coaches – like Amy Williams’s strength and conditioning coach – who can bring different perspectives, approaches, processes, thoughts, awareness and supportive challenge to bring out your strengths. Perhaps a bit like jump starting your car battery when it’s run a bit flat…
Strength from ‘failure’ – this is one of the richest sources of learning if you allow yourself to be vulnerable enough to admit that maybe you’re not always right and it isn’t everyone else’s fault! It’s like being prepared to fall off your bike – when you were learning like a child, prepared to make mistakes, learn lessons and adjust what you do accordingly, then you were probably learning at your best! So take care to notice what’s happening and what is your role in that – and how you can change it.
Strength from parts of yourself you might overlook – those irritating ‘gremlins’ that pop up and nag or criticise or undermine you. Bastards! Or are they? How about being courageous and asking those voices what it is they want to have happen? The chances are it’ll be something constructive for you, even if it is uncomfortable. And maybe there is something you can do differently that will take you a step or two towards that. By accepting the legitimacy of the gremlins, there’s a chance you can combine your internal strengths, rather than have them fighting each other!
Here to help you!
And what could stymie all of the above? I’ll have a wild guess at… your ego!
Well I hope that’s been a useful read for you. Do let me know what other sources of strength you call on.
Thank you. Enjoy the Spring 
