Learning great communications skills is something that comes with time and experience.  But what happens when you are called upon to mediate between two conflicting parties, and are unsure what to do?

Again, experience can provides the skills but if managing conflict is not your speciality, it can be challenging. Often in conflict situations, there is anger, resentment, hurt and embarrassment, to name just a few emotions that are running high and halting progress.  When previous attempts at resolution have ended in finger pointing and walk outs, management must step in.  Escalation of hostilities will have a detrimental effect on the organisation.  It is the same in personal relationships; couples must get a mediator to avoid the vicious cycle of arguments and rows.

Of course, there are a great many professional mediators who specialise in working with large scale conflicts, but sometimes we just need a few tips to sort things out in-house. Otherwise it’s like calling the Ambulance for hiccups!

Firstly you need to set up ground rules:

1) As the mediator you are not there to assign blame but merely to state facts, such as who did what when and to whom. Therefore both parties must not take these comments personally when stated by the mediator.

2) Both parties will listen to each other’s point of view without interrupting.  This way the mediator can get the details from both parties with the other present.

Once done, each party can ask questions they have on their mind, and here comes the third rule –

3) Only ask the question if you can respect the answer.  That does not mean you have to agree with the answer, but you must be prepared to listen to it and accept it as the other persons explanation of events or motive.

Next, offer both parties the opportunity to ask for an apology for something specific.  If the apologiser is unsure of what they are saying sorry for, they can ask for a fuller explanation – of course always remembering the above rules.  Each individual then has to verbally accept the apology of the other person.  This has the surprising result of drastically reducing the heightened emotions mentioned earlier.  And because both parties will have the opportunity to verbalise their apology the opportunity has now arisen to create open and honest communication channels between both parties.

Lastly, to avoid such situations happening again, both parties must recognise the necessity to take responsibility to communication with each other, often and in plenty of time.  Conflicts are the result of little or no communication.  And for this both parties must assume responsibility for both speaking and listening.

Conflicts, though often painful and energy draining, will only recur if the lessons are not learnt and action must be taken to ensure the same mistakes do not occur again.

For effective Coaching, you need to recognise accurately where you client is currently at.  For example, clients may present as highly driven, motivated entrepreneurs with lack of confidence in meetings, and actually through precise questioning you could discover they are motivated by what they want to avoid in life – failure, poverty, losing their job.  So these issues need to be addressed as you also discuss the future and goals and targets.  NLP Coaching provides specific and clear techniques that get REAL results.

NLP Coaching is an encouraging relationship of development of potential between two people.  The NLP Coach is a:

• guide for the other person, and
• acts as an advisor,
• tutor,
• mentor,
• counsellor and
• trainer,
• and so much more. 

All our Practitioner NLP Coaching courses include working with a coachee during the training.  This provides you with real life experience of coaching and using the NLP techniques to get the results your coachee requires.

This is becuse an NLP Coach has many specific and results driven techniques that make the coaching cycle:

• Efficient,
• Results driven,
• Dynamic,
• Value for Money.

The NLP Coach also has valuable information about Communication, Rapport, Goal setting, Negotiations skills, Presentations skills and more that they can directly share with their client.   NLP Coaching is unique in the field of Coaching with a plethora of skills and information that are also fully accredited and certified by an accrediting body.  Anyone can set up as a coach, but, you have to be fully trained to use the title of NLP Coach Practitioner.

NLP Coaching provides great tools for enhancing motivation, direction, energy and drive within an individual who may be undergoing changes due to mergers or acquisitions, or other such transitions in business.  Increasingly, businesses accept the importance of Coaches for individuals on a personal basis, which allows their staff to perform more successfully and reach their true potential in their professional lives also.

The NLP Coaching complies with and exceeds the International Coaching Federation standards.

NLP Coach course content includes:

• The difference between Coaching alone and NLP Coaching
• Coaching questions
• Coaching cycle format for short term and long term coaching
• Tasking appropriately
• Asking the right questions
• Personal effectiveness tools to improve time management and motivation
• The basis for Coaching session agreements
• The importance of feedback, reframing and effective questionning

NLP Master Coach Course:

• A new understanding of values and how to use values in NLP Coaching
• Discovering which Values Levels (Clare Graves) your coachee is at
• The right to use the Values Coaching Inventory
• Transitioning Values Levels for where your coachee wants to be
• Desigining goals and outcomes in line with the Coachees requirements

To stay informed of the success and stories of past Practitioners and new upcoming events, sign up for the Monthly Newsletter.  It’s always full of interesting articles, case studies and pictures of events, past and present.

Enquire for more information:

Freephone: 0800 542 2439
Telephone: 01895 472675
Mobile: 07719 028480

]]> http://claybrookcorporatetraining.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/nlp-coaching-therapy-11-sessions/ Sun, 17 Mar 2013 15:48:30 +0000 Sheila Patel http://claybrookcorporatetraining.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/nlp-coaching-therapy-11-sessions/ NLP Coaching – 1:1 Sessions

“Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to 
learn new things and move forward with your life.” - David M. Burns

According to Stout & Hayes in “Evidence Based Practice” (2005), effective and long lasting positive change requires all the following to be satisfied:

1. Experience positive relationship with people providing help.
2. Client should set their own goals.
3. Learn new skills
4. Be encouraged to have positive expectations and hope for change.
5. Develop self awareness about aspects of their own behaviour.

We do all of the above within the NLP training course.  No wonder our NLP Practitioners get such great results for themselves on the training, and with their clients.

NeuroLinguistic Programming (NLP) is about the mind-body connection, using language as the means of communication. NLP Therapy presupposes the existence of the unconscious mind and it’s influence on our behaviour.  The unconscious mind is the bit of the brain that stays awake while the conscious mind is asleep.  All behaviour and emotions are based in the unconscious mind – it’s where you keep your memories and knowledge that makes you who you are everyday. So it stands to reason that your behaviours, some of which might be unwanted, reside there also.

The best way to change your behaviour is to do so at the unconscious level, and NLP allows you to do just that.  The key is to have an open mind.  NLP techniques allow you to easily change likes to dislikes, so that you hate chocolate for example, and don’t even miss it!  Conversely, you can change dislikes to likes – what a great way to change your eating habits.

The added advantage of Therapy with Claybrook NLP is the use of Time Line Therapy™ – an amazing technique that produces results quickly and effectively.  Based upon Gestalt therapy this innovative technology changes lives.  You will learn all about how to utilise this technique with integrity and confidence – we take our time to ensure you really know it well so that you can comfortably use it with clients outside of the training room.

NLP teaches you how to easily change your behaviour so that you no longer show lack of confidence or anxiety during presentations or meetings, or at any time. You can learn to change many unwanted or inefficient behaviours with NLP, and the great thing is, the techniques are simple and results immediate. All you need is to know that you can make the changes, that you want to and have an active imagination.

Often we are given ‘labels’ by others which are not helpful.  Labels provide the unconscious mind with a list of acceptable symptoms and behaviours.  We are very aware in NLP of the damage that can be done by labelling people and consequently we focus on constructive behaviour and show people ways that they can change.

For example, ‘Dyslexia’ is known in NLP as a poor spelling strategy, and can be changed into a perfect spelling strategy with just half an hour of tuition from an NLP Therapist to show you the correct technique for learning new words. Having a poor spelling strategy is not a life long condition and you or your loved one does not have to suffer needlessly.

How to run a Therapy session is one of the  many things we cover on our courses to ensure NLP Practitioners can successfully utilise their skills.  Our NLP Practitioners who chose to work with clients as Therapists and Coaches, learn what to use for specific purposes, how to question the clients to get to the root of the problem, without making their clients uncomfortable and traumatised during the session!

Feedback from previous clients:

From netmums

Dear ,
I have had exactly the same problem with my 9 yrs old son. He saw pics of missing madelaine and then developed this ‘scared to go to sleep’. It began in August and we are still not 100% there as yet. I like you was at my wits end. He stayed up until 10pm everynight with me sitting upstairs until he feel asleep. I saw a CAHMS specialist. I then paid a lot of money and saw a … Claybrook NLP therapist. She is based in Eastcote and she worked wonders. let me know if you would like her number. I also invested in childrens meditation CD’s by Chritsine Kerr and he now listens to them everynight.
They have really helped. Please contact me directly via email if you want her details. I only saw her once and she did something called Time line therapy.
Good Luck

“I wanted to start my own business and was very indecisive about the nature of the business. I kept changing my mind and then became very frustrated. I went to see Sheila and she was very quick to get to the bottom of the problem. Through the questioning she was able to hone in on problem areas almost instinctively. Using powerful techniques she worked on my beliefs and decision-making strategy. I thought Sheila had some amazing insights and I learnt so much from her. Sheila is very inspiring and I related to her gentle and caring approach. She has a way of bringing the best out in you. Soon, what I thought were problems, just became opportunities. I left with enthusiasm and clarity about my own strengths which I applied immediately to get my business off the ground.
I can recommend Sheila to anyone who wants to overcome problems, realise future goals and transform their lives.”

NR, Manchester

“Working with Sheila is very empowering; she is an excellent therapist with a knowledgeable, approachable and positive style.   During our session Shelia was very focussed on helping me to resolve my problems and has helped me to see I have many more choices and possibilities than I ever thought possible.  My motivation has increased tenfold enabling me to get much more done with the time I have available, it has stopped me procrastinating and wasting time.  I am now more focussed on my future goals and what I want to achieve rather than on what I thought were problems.  I am very grateful to Sheila for helping me see my future and know I can achieve it.”

 IM, Organisational Change Consultant, CHESTERFIELD.

“i cannot express in words how much i’m thankful to you.. i know i did it and everything but i still want you to know you have chosen a fantastic course in life and the lives u will help i hope will bring you good karma forever! Today i completely nailed a practical test cool as a cucumber.. it was gr8 and i actually enjoyed doing it!! u have got me enthusiastic about my course again and my future seems hugely bright to me now.”

NM, Bournemouth

For more information and an informal chat about using nlp for coaching and therapy, call Sheila on 01895 472 675 or 07956 419 324 or email at info@ClaybrookNLP.co.uk

“Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make yourself a happier and more productive person.”
David M. Burns

NLP and Business? What’s the link?

The biggest differentiators for successful business in the 21st Century are Leadership, Communication and People Skills.  NLP is internationally recognised as providing the tools to harness these skills and talents in all individuals, to work with and for the business.

Completing the full Practitioner and Master Practitioner Level in NLP will fully equip an individual with skills they can easily transfer into any organisation, large or small.  The concepts are so simple yet profound, and when implemented, result in increased motivation, communication and importantly, increase sales and improve customer and employee retention.

Once applied, the practical applications can lead to amazing results:

Audit Question 16.    “My line manager motivates and inspires me to be more effective in my job”

2009 = 30% agree
2010 = 81% agree (+51% improvement in 1 year since NLP Training)

To read the whole experience - click here

These are just some of the results past delegates have noticed:

• More confident and stronger Leadership skills
• Attract more clients and business
• Close more sales
• Better decision making
• Deliver excellent and memorable presentations and talks
• Develop elegant negotiation skills
• Build a strong self-image: crucial for business success
• Run successful meetings and negotiations
• Become a powerful presenter and motivator
• Access internal self drive, energy and positive attitude.

Using NLP in Business, you will learn valuable Leadership skills that go enhance emotional intelligence.  You will learn how to manage and lead openly, gaining trust and co-operation from all staff.  By developing specific skills, you will learn how to motivate each individual in your organisation in a style that suits them.  Being a flexible Leader and Manager means you can adapt to any situation – whether in house or customer related.  Consequently skills in sales and customer retention improve the bottom line – a target for any business.

Previous work includes:

Tower Leasing, Burger King, T K Maxx, Dutton Gregory, Sanctuary Homes, Voluntary Association of Luton, Westminster Collection, Dyffryn Conwy Leisure Centre, Olympics 2012.

Whether you would use all or some of these skills, they are all included in the NLP Coach Practitioner and NLP Coach Master Practitioner Level courses – a total of 19 day investment.

“I ran a Sales training day with a pharmaceutical sales team, who, although were dedicated to their roles, were sitting at the bottom of the company for the sales hitting on average just over 80% sales versus their target. They were trained using the 5-step sales process, as well as rapport building, mirroring, representational systems and a day full of role plays and setting their goals. The course was carried out in April at which point their sales were 86.8% of their target, in May their sales were 103.6%, June 101.9%, July 108%, August 107.2%, Sept 100.1%. 5 out of the 7 team members have received ‘outstanding achievement’ awards and all 7 have received ‘Above and Beyond’ awards from the company.” N.J., Northampton

“I managed to get my business to the level where I had an extremely competent team running the day to day very well. This left me with more time on my hands and it dawned on me that I had pretty much had tunnel vision for the last 30 years whilst building my businesses and not really spent much time on anything else. Various articles and television shows piqued my interest on NLP so I decided to attend a course, and then another.
This is a fascinating and huge subject which I truly wish I had studied much earlier. Not only are there huge benefits on a personal level but so much is relevant to business, when you think about it it’s obvious, it’s about gaining a much deeper understanding of yourself and other people, what else is business about? Being a businessman and being interested in NLP is not mutually exclusive, quite the opposite, I would say learning NLP is an imperative step on the way to achieving optimum business potential and life balance.”   J.K., Windsor

“Sheila came to our office to hold a one-day ‘Business Excellence’ course for staff and managers, to show how our attitudes can affect our colleagues and customers and how we can improve how we communicate to others.
Some of the attendees were extremely sceptical about the benefits and didn’t see the point of giving up the day, but by the end of that day they were completely won over – to what Sheila was explaining and why people can act in a certain way without meaning to be off-putting to others.
The time was well spent and everyone agreed that Sheila is an excellent presenter who really knows how to put her point across.  We have already decided to arrange the follow-up sessions with Sheila – this time with the full agreement of the staff.”
Martin Simmons, Managing Director, Marsworth Computing Ltd

Claybrook NLP designs bespoke courses suited to your business needs.  NLP training provides us with many processes that allow effective communication within and between individuals and departments, incorporating specific techniques that are easy to learn and readily applicable in business.  Staff enjoy the training due to it’s delivery – we know how to deliver useful material in an easy to apply, fun to learn and technically precise way.

Contact Claybrook Corporate Training for more information specific to your needs, and to request our specialist Training Package information.

The message seems to be that occurrences of neglect resulting in death were the result of lack of communication.  Really? Two things strike me.  Firstly, do staff need to be told specifically they have a duty of care towards their patients?, and secondly, that the leadership were not able to communicate this message in the first place!  It seems to me that neither staff nor the leadership team are taking accountability or responsibility here.

Reminds me of a poem:

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it.

Everybody was sure Somebody would do it.

 Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. 

Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. 

Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. 

It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

As bizarre as it seems, many companies suffer from this double lack of responsibility.  Far too often the organisations aims and objectives, created by the Board of Directors and lavishly distributed through glossy posters featuring smiling staff and customers, fail to get the desired motivation and focus from their staff. Why? Because too often there is no information or support on how to achieve these objectives and aims.  If there is no productive channel for internal communications and networking opportunities within the organisation it needs to be set up.  If there are currently issues within and between departments, it is a priority they are addressed by promoting inter departmental communication, if necessary supported by an objective agent.

This should be coupled with skilling up individuals to engage in communication confidently and proactively.  Again, by providing training across the board for all to access, these skills are shared and available for all to utilise.  In my experience when these sessions on communication, personal effectiveness and customer service skills are offered to all departments, they are a great opportunity for internal networking and trouble shooting.  Many a problem is aired and solution provided within such sessions.

The foundation basis for creating a new culture of care provision for the NHS has got to be one of responsibility for one’s own results.  By taking responsibility, we spend less time on complaining, blaming and criticising others, avoiding the trap of the “them and us” vicious cycle.

Here is a message for all organisations – let’s look at the opening statement through corporate eyes: “The leadership of the Care Quality Commission Organisation should communicate clearly and persuasively its strategic direction to the public customer and to its staff, with a degree of clarity that may have been missing to date.”  How many Directors and Senior Managers reading this are thinking “This is us!”

If this is you, then contact Claybrook NLP and find out how we can help you kick start this clarity of communication culture within your organisation.

When The Thought Does Not Count.

There are so many strategies out there to encourage creative thinking – mind mapping, brain storming, idea mapping and so on.  They are excellent tools for product development, solving problems, troubleshooting, advanced planning.

Getting the mental creative juices flowing is a wonderful experience.  As you start free thinking, you get excited and enthusiastic as you start to explore the possibilities and sharing ideas becomes a moment of enlightenment, it is almost addictive once you start.  The strategy for creative thinking is the easy part. The problem occurs after the thinking is done.

Teams and individuals then need a strategy for implementation, which is basically a fancy word for “Doing”!  Too often, people get in a creative loop.  Constantly changing and adapting, their ideas until they are perfect, which of course they rarely are.  Things will always change as you start doing as you adapt to changing environment and needs.

Faced with the task itself, people can get overwhelmed and lose motivation and enthusiasm.  How can we deal with this?

It is now known that talent management is an organisational responsibility, and indirectly affects profitability^1. Every business’ number one priority.   Let us consider a few aspects of what talent management involves; for example, succession planning, management development, skills retention, holding onto high level management potential.   Ideally, by holding onto and developing management potential within the company, expensive recruitment and hiring costs are avoided.  Of course this goes hand in hand with high impact, qualitative relationships, built within the organisation, supplier and customer database, being retained too.  It is difficult to put a price on such intangible assets, but the costs are felt across departments when a key individual leaves.  Even worse, if a ripple effect occurs and several other employees depart soon after.   That is why it is so important for any business to create a culture of talent management and recognise it is not just about promoting individuals to higher management and board level.  It is of course also about creating and retaining efficient and motivated employees in their current roles.

Every management level employee needs the skills to create that organisational culture to support and enhance talent management, and it should not be seen as an extra responsibility.  It is a natural process based on excellent communication skills* – both listening and talking!  Investment in improvements now will result in harnessing the talent pool in 3 years time.

When line managers are active in talent management, supported by HR, to retain and enhance the employees experience, it leads to a natural development of organisational communication networks.  This is as a result of secondment, promotion, encouraging internal networking.  This network provides transparency and flow between HR functions and board level corporate directives, one of which should be to support and encourage talent management, at all levels.

1. http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2008-08-13/talent-management-how-to-invest-in-your-workforcebusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice

*Communication Skills are one aspect of the NLP Coach training (Neuro Linguistic Programming – NLP).  NLP is known to enhance the ability to coach corporate and executive individuals and have supported many employees and management in key talent management roles.

Often people do not even know they are being a mood hoover and sucking the positive energy and vitality out of people, a conversation or the room.  I recall a tale told to me by a delegate, of a colleague who had this effect.  It would be funny if it were not for the impact this individual has on over 300 people daily.

Each day, staff and visitors were “greeted” by the scowl of their receptionist.  She never smiled, never said “Please” or “Thank you” and barely acknowledged the presence of the staff and visitors!  She never made eye contact and always made people wait for her attention.   Could you begin to imagine the impact of this behaviour?  Staff and visitors alike felt fear at approaching her, the shy ones felt even less confidence and more anxiety before they had even started their day, and visitors walked away with a perception of the company that included their experience of this receptionists animosity!  Sounds harsh but there is no other way of describing it – I have experienced it myself.

Perhaps she should watch The Fish! Culture video

Because then she might understand what Johny says in the video

“We noticed that we can make a difference to people, when they come by the leave in a better mood, and a lot of people have told us that we made their day.”

Buying fish is a whole new experience for these customers in the video and by the way, sales increased as a result of the employees having fun, there is low staff turnover and low absenteeism since they started having fun at work.

We all affect each others mood, and sometimes some coaching is needed to understand how important it is that we think of the people we serve around us – both internal and external customers.  Even considering, if I were the customer, what would make a difference such that I would leave in a better mood than I arrived, to be a mood maker.  We might not all be able to throw paper aeroplanes around the office, but small gestures can make a bit impact.  Past ideas include pub lunches on the last Friday of the month, starting meetings with the best results, adopting a policy of talking to people rather than emailing if possible, etc.

Being a mood maker we need to love our work because if we do, it shows and this affects everyone around us.  How we engage with our colleagues will impact our corporate results, and also has been known to have a positive effect on personal lives too, since good moods carry across contexts!

Sheila Patel
Claybrook NLP
Behind every success, is a moment of change…

Ever asked yourself these questions? Most people have, and the answers are varied and often inconclusive.  Or so I thought, until I heard Professor Bruce Hood explain, that our current personality is a collection of our past memories – so I am determined by my past!.  But wait, there’s more.  Our memories are not static and never changing.  In fact, whenever we remember something, our mind re-presents it in our mind’s eye, our imagination.  And each time, it is never exactly the same and our memories are prone to change.  We are influenced by new information, forgetting details, our attitudes towards other people and so on.

That means that our past does matter.  It does make me the person I am today, but if I change my past does that mean I can change my personality? Yes it does.  It is the basis of personal development.  We have the ability to use our past as a collection of resources and learning experiences, rather than emotional baggage and an excuse not to fulfil our personal and professional potential in life.

So actually, our past exists only as changeable experiences in our imagination, and has a number of infinite forms. Depending on how we remember our various experiences now, we pick one of those forms – as emotional baggage or resourceful life experiences.

Similarly, we can actually transfer that same analogy to the future.

The best way to understand it is to think of the X Box or Wii games.   We hold a console in our hands and press some buttons in different ways which translate to an image on the screen of what we made happen.  Now, how does the screen know what to show? The various permutations are already pre-programmed into the X Box unit, and what shows on the screen depends upon what we do on the console.

Now, transfer that same principle to life.  All the potential possibilities in life are already pre-programmed (ever watched the move “Sliding Doors”? same principle).  Depending upon what we do now, in the present moment, will impact the results we see, now and the future.  But if we do not know what we want to achieve, how do we know what to do now? At least with an X Box the point is to win, get to the next level, win the most points. But what about in our own life or career?

Interestingly, those people who set goals are more likely to achieve 60-100% of them, compared to people who never set goals.  Even mini goals work.  Have you ever written a “To do” list?  How much more effective are you when you do that?  Most people achieve at least 80% of their daily to do list, because the act of writing down what you want to do that day gives your mind commitment to a specific choice for the next 12 hours or so.

By setting a goal for the 12 to 24 months, we use the same principle to choose a specific future for ourselves.  That way, our daily actions are focussed and committed to a specific purpose, and the more we do it, the better we get.  Just like the X Box, the more we practice, the better we get.  But if we give up at the first hurdle, we will never learn to win!  So a positive attitude helps.

Many people have done this to great effect and achieved happiness in their lives. For some of us, it takes a conscious realisation and commitment to adopting this attitude to make the difference.  Here’s a simple 3 step process to get us started:

1. Set a goal for the next 12 months and write a short description of how it will feel to have achieved the goal.  Use pictures too if that helps.  Make sure you read this every morning, even at weekends and on holiday!
2. Do at least one thing everyday towards your goal.  This will quickly become a habit, but make sure you do at least one thing everyday.
3. At the end of each day, read your goal again and ask yourself what did you do towards your goal.  Notice what you achieved, learnt, could improve and do again better.  Then think about what you could do tomorrow towards your goal.

And the attitude that will make the biggest difference? The “can do” attitude! If you ever catch yourself saying or thinking “I can’t” turn it immediately into “I can” and if that’s a step too far, practice the  “How can I?” approach.  You will be surprised at how useful this little question is, allowing you to explore some possibilities you might not have thought of before.  It is how successful and happy people make things happen.

At first sight, this looks like a corporate inspired statement. It is actually from the Ruislip High School Ofsted Report.  This school had excellent GCSE results for 2011 (84% achieving A-C grades) and exceptional Ofsted report to boot.

I wanted to know what the secret is.  How does the school get comments such as these and can this information be taken on board by other educational and even business establishments?

“Ruislip High is an outstanding school. Its exceptionally well personalised care ensures that students’ development of personal qualities is excellent and their achievement is outstanding.

Staff know all students extremely well, monitor their attainment very closely and provide customised support for anyone who is falling behind. This thorough tracking and intervention, coupled with outstanding teaching in lessons and support sessions, enables students to achieve outstandingly well. Students very much enjoy school, say that it feels like a big family and get on with each other exceptionally well. They feel very safe, generally behave extremely well and have high attendance.” Ofsted 2011

Eighteen per cent of this paragraph is made up of positive adjectives and they are well and truly deserved.  Of course the inspector recognised that these achievements were the result of excellent leadership:

“Leaders are extremely effective in driving improvement and involving all staff in this process.”

I learnt from meeting the Deputy Head, Mr Rich, that they do this by encouraging:

• shared accountability between teachers, pupils and parents
• having targets for teachers and pupils with personalised learning development programmes
• teachers participate in meetings
• specific students monitored on progress
• planning for future events, targets and policy changes
• constant  alignment to the same key priorities

Their aim is “to develop confident, independent, flexible thinkers and learners, who are able to respond positively to the ever-changing global environment.”  By being clear about their objectives, Ms Lecky (Head Teacher) and the leadership coalesce with the teachers, pupils, parents and surrounding community, to develop individual abilities and heart-warmingly, achieve their organisational aim.

All these points above can easily be corporate inspired by changing the context from education to business.  So it seems lessons from schools really are not confined to the classroom, and there is still much to be learnt from the teacher.

No company wants to de-motivate their staff, but they do.  Sometimes even successful companies can fall prey to accidentally draining their staff of energy.  How? By simply failing to fulfil some simple basic human needs, including those of equality, recognition and friendship.  At work, we look to the organisation to provide the framework for this.  When it does not happen, it is easy to fix.

Lack of Equality.  It is human nature to feel the need to be treated justly and fairly, and any perception of unfairness will lead to a “them and us” situation.  Once resentment sets in, it is difficult to shift.  People become insular as their internal dialogue consists of self-loathing “It’s just my back luck” or jealousy towards others “They always get the benefits”.  Either way, it is energy draining.  Even worse, they could form like-minded groups, perpetuating this energy draining attitude.

To counter this, transparency and open lines of communication are necessary.  Take for example the company Crown Relocations who had suspended over-time payments to London staff when the recession started.  This led to bad feeling and resentment towards senior management, affecting staff morale within 24 months.  By reinstating over-time payments to fall in line with the rest of the country, employees feel a sense of value and equality with their colleagues, instantly increasing energy and motivation.

Lack of recognition.  Companies will often focus on bottom line figures, targets, projections, share prices, etc.  This leaves little room for individual efforts to be highlighted, let alone rewarded.  Many a committed employee who has served for years falls under the radar, as senior level high flyers get all the glory.  Where front line staff are customer facing and/or responsible for quality product manufacturing, low motivation leads to more mistakes, less customer interaction, higher sickness levels, or worse still, a loss of valued experience and knowledge through staff turnover.

Business should encourage autonomy of supervisors, managers and colleagues to at least acknowledge team and individual successes.  Many people think they are motivated by the proverbial stick “If I don’t work I’ll get fired and have no money”.  But many people are just as motivated by the deep satisfaction gained by knowing they have a very happy customer.  Exceeding expectations is easy when we are rewarded by our customers, and also by our colleagues.

A two point process of allowing customers the ability to provide feedback will allow extra sources for recognition. Combined with regular management feedback too, these instances also double up as potential protocols to increased efficiency and quality.  An increase in the quality of work sets new benchmarking standards, encouraging continual growth and improvement.

Lack of friendship.  Some companies see having a good time at work and getting on with colleagues as a luxury.  Be assured it is essential for motivation at work.  But the balance has to be right.  It’s no good having people who are more interested in each other than their customers – we have all been in situations where the cashier is so busy talking to their colleagues, they do not even acknowledge us as they take our money!

What we do want though, is that feeling they like to be at work and are happy to interact with us.  They will do this if they enjoy and understand their work.  Having friendships at work is vital, considering how many hours we spend there.  Companies who encourage social activities are actually engaging team building.  Supporting this will work in the organisations favour in the long run, encouraging peer support, improving communications and a sense of community at work.

Of course, these are not the only motivation drainers at work. Often though, other problems will be a result of one of the above not being addressed.

Back in 1982, a loaf of bread used to be around 50p so there I was, having gone to one local shop that didn’t have any, I decided to go to another.  As I walked along daydreaming on this typically English summer’s day, cloudy and warm, with a few hints of sunshine, I noticed on the other side of a busy road, a blind man.  He was walking quickly and close to the buildings using his white stick to guide him.  Rhythmically the stick tapped its way across the payment slabs, left, right, left, right, never missing a beat, as the man walked with his head bent, obviously not being able to see but feeling and sounding his way.

From the corner of my eyes I also noticed that around 50 metres ahead of him were some big blue water pipes that some workmen had left.  Now I could tell, at the age of 14, that there was a slight risk this blind man could walk into the pipes as his fast pace meant his stick might miss the obstruction completely, but I did not worry as there were several people walking by, and a couple of shop owners standing outside, watching the same blind man.

I looked away knowing I was hungry and was desperate to get food.  But I still looked across as I just wanted to see that these other onlookers, who were much closer than I, would help this man.  I need to know this act would be complete, just as I had imagined it in my head – someone would help this man.

The seconds ticked by, quite slowly actually now that I think about it, as this man got closer to the bright blue pipes.  Now he was only 20 metres away, instinctively I know the other onlookers would judge this a good time to make their way towards the pipes so as to gently guide this man away to safety.  By now it was obvious the rhythm of the stick would definitely miss the pipes in such a way the blind man would walk into them and fall for sure.

As slowly as time was going, 20 metres quickly became 10, I knew that now was the time for the onlookers to act, but they didn’t!  I could tell from their lack of expression that they would simply watch this accident unfold.  But I could not.  The usual norms of a child not taking action without permission or authority and taking the lead over an adult seemed irrelevant in this situation.  Without another thought I assessed the traffic and found a gap through which I could sprint over to the other side.  I made it to the blind man just 2 steps before the piping on the floor.  I had to put my arms out to stop him as he was walking quite fast and could not hear me shout “Stop” due to the traffic noise.

I remembered from some old movie you should let the blind person hold your arm as you walk and they can follow, so I guided him around the pipes and saw him on his way.

4 competences demonstrated:

• Emotional self-awareness – using “gut-sense” and instinct to guide decisions
• Initiative – readiness to act and seize opportunities
• Empathy – taking active interest in other’s concerns
• Change catalyst – initiating, managing and leading in a new direction

The important point is that everyone has emotional intelligence; it has nothing to do with academic qualifications or upbringing or life circumstances.  It is the act of assuming control for the benefit of yourself and others.  Such qualities transfer easily from childhood to adulthood, personal life to business.

Coaching should promote activity and this is done by enabling the coachee to prioritise their tasks, mobilize their energy and focus their motivation.  The coachee should be able to use this as a springboard from which they can take their determination and follow it through with purposeful action.

The problem can sometimes arise because the coaching can become too problem focused or even boring!

Here is one of my models that often gets these results:

A-ttitude
C-oach through Challenges, Commitments
T-urnaround Thinking
I-dentify Goal
V-alue the Goal
E-xercise Energy and Enthusiasm

Also, coaching does not have to be a formal one way process.  Companies often have the best coaching resources in house already. What they may lack is time to provide that coaching.  One approach is to agree to be a coaching buddy with one other person of a similar level to yourself.  They can be in the same or different departments of the organisation.  Then agree to talk (face to face or by phone) at a set time every week for 20 -30 minutes.  Use the Active Coaching format below, with each person taking turns.

1.                  Attitudes towards responsibility & choices
Choose a situation (yours or observed) from the last week that clearly demonstrates how important attitude was/is in getting the outcome.  Particularly focus on the areas of

Assuming  personal responsibility for current situation – Discuss the importance of realizing that the only way to make something happen, change a situation, is to take responsibility for it.  It does not mean one has to take responsibility for any errors/mistakes/failures if they are not yours, but just to be able to say, “This is the situation now, what can I do about it?”

It is only by adopting this attitude and approach the coachee can move forward and determine what can and cannot be changed.  This will lead the coachee to be more productive, efficient and motivated.

The coachee is then responsible for how they prioritise time and effort on tasks that will produce the desired results.

Include in the discussion their awareness of what is going on around them to ensure they notice these results.  This awareness allows for feedback to notice if the results are not being fulfilled.  The coachee will be able to get into the habit of acting on feedback to constantly adjust, adapt, change as necessary to get the desired results.

2.                  Coaching
This comes in 3 steps:
A.      Sharing success/wins
B.      Challenges
C.      Commitments

A. Sharing successes/wins.
Share and discuss your positive results over the last few days/weeks. Discuss what worked and what you learnt that was useful. Acknowledge  to whom or what you might owe some gratitude for achieving the results.

B. Challenges.
Share and discuss any challenges, mistakes, failures etc.  Coach each other through them. This is your chance to offer guidance, seek information, help and strategies from others to help overcome the challenge.  Use the GROW model to coach each other:

• Goal – what is the goal you want to achieve.
• Reality – what is the current situation. What elements of the situation can you control. What more information do you need.
• Options – generate some options for the next course of action.
• Will to do it – ensure you have the will power to do it.  Make a time commitment to get it done.

C. Commitment
State specific commitments that you make to your self to complete over the next 7-14 days.  Write them down so you have a note of them for yourself, with a deadline for completion as appropriate.

Commitments can be in the form of measurable and non measurable, but need to be specific.  For example:

“I will have completed the end quarter results report by end of Wednesday 16^th.  I will also talk to the team about project Q42 and be open in my attitude to their suggestions.”

3.                  Turnaround Thinking
Use this as time to talk about any frustrations or fears that you have encountered over the last week.

The coach should ask the coachee “What can you learn from those situations to ensure they do not happen again, or to improve on in the future?”  The point of turnaround thinking is to get the mindset out of the past, and focusing on the next week/year/5 years.

By deliberately making negative experiences into learning experiences, the coachee will be far more clear headed.

4.                  Identify Goal
State your goal specifically as you want it. Ensure it meets the SMART requirements and then fit it into the following statement:
“Knowing that I have the knowledge, ability and energy, by the end of (future date 7-14 days time) I will have achieved (insert 1-3 specific tartgets)”

For example:

“Knowing that I have the knowledge, ability and energy, by the end of 22^nd January 2012, I will have £20,000 additional orders in the product x account, and have recruited an excellent Account Manager who fits right into the team and has added energy and enthusiasm to the team.”

Write these targets down, ideally where you will see them daily.

5.                  Value of Goal
Specify at least 3 values/benefits for achieving the goal.  These provide you with the motivators for achieving the goals.

Specify how achieving these goals will increase value in any of the following areas:

• the company
• the section/department
• the team
• myself

For example: Increasing: Sales, motivation, energy, creativity, communication, trust, innovation, experience, skill, ability, customer retention, decrease staff turnover, get bonuses, increase credibility, productivity, etc

6.                  Energy and Enthusiasm
Now you can commit to the actively achieving this goal.  By including the values above if desired, state these out loud to your coach:

Coachee reads: “With these new goals in mind, I will use all my experiences, skills, energy and motivation to achieve the goals I have set for myself.  I commit to actively pursuing the fulfilment of each goal, and accept full responsibility to their achievements.”

It has been found that when the physical body in engaged by saying the words out loud as well as writing them down, the mind becomes focused and committed to completing the task.  We do this all the time when we write “To do” lists for ourselves.

This model covers all the areas necessary for a short but highly effective corporate coaching process.  It is easy to use and can be completed with 7 to 14 days gap, over the phone, and within the same company.  The coach and coachee can harness the skills and experiences already available, with only a 30 minute commitment necessary.

For an Active Coaching handout, email us directly at info@claybrooknlp.com