Tag Archives: mindset

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No More New Year Resolutions: 4 Steps To Lasting Change

  By Christina Lattimer • January 3, 2013 - 4:42 pm

121995536Please, No More New Year resolutions – 4 ways to create change at any time

For me, the rot started and ended when I used to make and break New Year ’s resolutions.  I always started the diet, or gave up cigarettes or vowed to keep the house, my life, my work in pristine order.   I probably averaged about 3 weeks staying with my resolution, over the many years I subscribed to the notion of setting these annual goals, before succumbing to the temptation of the path of least resistance and my old habits.

The year I stopped this maddening merry-go-round, was about 10 years ago, when I managed to give up cigarettes for good one September.  Why in September?  Why not wait until the wonderful prospect of starting in the New Year ?

Basically, I made the change when I did because of 2 things.  Firstly, I had come to hate smoking with fervour.  Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t really the cigarettes which I hated, it was the lack of control I had over my urge to smoke the things.  Secondly, realising the high risk of returning to the dreaded habit, I spent 2 months preparing to give up before I actually did.

In other words, I spent a long time preparing my mind-set, and my strategy.  I actually began to think like a non-smoker before I had stopped smoking.  What I realised during this process is that when we are trying to make lasting change, you have to internalise the change before you can make a permanent difference.

Since that time, I have been able to refine and experiment with ways of making significant changes, and this is what I have learned.

  1.  You must have a deep desire to make the change.  I made overtures about wanting to stop smoking for years, but deep down, I wasn’t motivated enough to do it.   It wasn’t until I hated smoking badly that I was prepared to put in the effort of whatever it took to stop the habit.
  2. You need to have a about what it will look, feel like, and be like, when you have made the change.  One of the reasons we are unsuccessful when making change is because we are trying to “move away” from something and it is the situation or the habit we don’t want which is what we focus on.  Of course, we always get more of what we focus on.   It’s important if your motivation for change is to move away from that you do some real work on creating a vision about what you want instead, and switch your intention and attention to that.   Visionary people sometimes have an easier time of it, because they tend to “move towards” their goal, and this is what they focus on.    One of my great visionary friends said once, “It’s easy, I just picture it in my head and then it happens”.   Even with great vision there are some other steps which if not taken can trip you up.
  3. You need to be able to believe you can make the change.  Whether it’s making more money, becoming healthier or making some other lifestyle change, if you either consciously or unconsciously don’t really believe you can do it, then it isn’t going to happen.  The belief gap is one of the reasons small and incremental steps towards your goal is usually better.  Some people just have complete faith that they can make big changes and often they can achieve those leaps because they have created the right mind-set.  The majority of us though need to make a gradual shift in our beliefs as we blossom into our vision.
  4. You must act “As if”.  We are radio transmitters, and we are always broadcasting our signal out.  We often get jammed on the same wavelength, which makes us return to unhelpful habits repeatedly.   If you want to become slimmer or healthier, but you constantly feel, talk about and think about being overweight and unhealthy, then you will not shift your signal, and you will keep attracting the same old situation.  In order to feel, think and be the person you will be when you reach your goal or achieve your vision, you need to use your imagination.  You can do this by asking yourself:  How would I feel, what would I think and who would I be if I achieved this goal or my vision?  When you get the answer, tune into that state of being as often as you can. 

So there are my 4 top tips for creating real change in your life.  If you’ve made some New Year Resolutions, don’t despair, just follow those steps and you will greatly increase your chance of success.  But remember, you don’t have to wait for New Year; you just have to want the change enough.

Wishing you a very Happy, Prosperous New Year.

 

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Santa Claus is real

  By Christina Lattimer • December 6, 2012 - 10:37 pm
You have to decide where you stand with Santa Claus!

What follows is an article  I wrote last year, just as I began blogging on the internet.  It is a little bit of a flight of fancy, but it is also about being able to choose whatever state you want to live in.  Our imaginations are  such an underused power because often we don’t know how to use this great gift to make our lives happier and more fulfilling.  Times are changing however, and with the advances in quantum science, which has already proven that how we look at matter can actually change the composition of it, new possibilities are available to us all.  

What I have come to know is happiness is a choice, and I am in the process of consciously choosing happiness whenever I can.   (I don’t always achieve it, ingrained habits are hard to shift).  Some people may think it’s unrealistic, but when you genuinely see things from a new paradigm, and a changed  perspective, it can seem unrealistic to unnecessarily be in pain and sad at times too.

So as we enter into the holiday season,  I hope this week’s blog will  bring you a little seasonal cheer on the lead up to Christmas, I hope it makes you smile.

Santa Claus is real

With Christmas fast approaching, small children across the world will be waiting with excitement and anticipation for the visit from the white bearded legend.  The man in the big red suit fills his sack:  Swings it brimming with presents up onto the sleigh:  Revs up the reindeer and travels all around the world delivering presents in the late hours of Christmas Eve/early hours of Christmas Day.

I remember being a small child looking out of my bedroom window on Christmas Eve. Watching the stars twinkling, wondering which one was the star of Bethlehem. I waited with anticipation, hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa. I watched intently to see the silhouette of the reindeer and the sleigh whizzing through the sky.  I never did see them, although I distinctly remember hearing the bells jingling.  Such is the power of imagination.

Fast forward about two or three years; my school mates would declare, “There is no Santa”, backing up their claims, with the information that their parents had told them so.  I didn’t believe them.  I loved Santa.  I loved Christmas.

I remained committed to my belief until one Christmas Eve when the terrible truth dawned.  I heard my parents rustling paper, wrapping presents and talking in hushed tones about where the presents should be placed under the tree.  In a flash, my Christmas world was never to be the same.  I realised the truth.  Santa did not fly through the sky delivering presents.

Young as I was, I didn’t feel mad at my parents.  I just felt disillusioned.  I forgot all about the magic of Santa and saw the man in the big red suit as a symbol.  I dismissed Santa as a fairy tale for little children who didn’t know any better.   As I got older, I increasingly saw Santa as a symbol of the commercialism of Christmas

That was of course until my children were born.  I didn’t want to lie to them.  Equally, I didn’t want to deprive them that magic of “I believe”.   I pondered upon how I should play the whole Santa business.  Then I realised the real truth.  Santa Claus is real..

I told them Santa would deliver the presents.   I even signed some of the presents from Santa Claus.  I went the whole hog and told them about the Naughty and Nice list!  They bought it all.  They had magical Christmases where they got so excited and happy, I could have cried at the sheer joy and pleasure it gave them.

When they were old enough to understand, I explained to them that although Santa was not a physical man in a big red suit, squeezing himself down chimneys or somehow breaking in (our house didn’t even have a chimney), he was alive and well, in spirit.

I told them about St Nicholas, and how Santa got his name.  I told them about the kindheartedness of St Nicholas about how he wanted, secretly, to give gifts to children and that to this day, it is this spirit that is still alive.  Parents around the world adopt the spirit of Santa Claus and love giving to their children.

The spirit of Santa Claus is loved around the world.  That is because it is a time when:

If we are lucky we

  • Connect with people we love and focus on them
  • Think about what pleasure we can bring to people by giving
  • Wish goodwill to all men
  • Party!

A few years ago, I read a biography about Nigella Lawson.  “The Domestic Goddess”.  The author knew Nigella well and often visited her house.   I can’t remember much detail about her life story, but one thing that resonated vividly was when the author observed “in Nigella’s house, it was like Christmas every day”.

I remember thinking that I would love that to be my epitaph.  Yet it isn’t impossible, difficult yes, although to remain in such a state can be learned.  When it gets down to it, whether you believe in Santa or not, it’s all a state of mind.  I choose to believe.  What about you?

 

santa claus

 

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Never Mind The ” X Factor “, Does your business have the “E” Factor?

  By Christina Lattimer • November 8, 2012 - 8:40 pm
x factorWhat is the mysterious X Factor ingredient which makes your business great?

That mysterious elusive quality of “the X Factor” existed before the popular shows.  The Oxford Dictionary describes the “X Factor” as ” a special quality, especially one that is essential for success and is difficult to describe”.  In the past I’ve asked the question “Does your business have the X Factor?”  Of course we all want to be in the category of having the “X Factor”, but if your business is going to be successful, then that intangible essence must be identified.

Having seen and heard about successful leadership and businesses.  I now believe that the “X Factor” for business, and indeed for most people or organisations or situation is actually the “E” Factor.

There are many “E” elements which can make a business successful.  Think about Engagement, Excellence, Extra mile, Extraordinary, Empowerment… and I’m sure you can think of a lot more.  But what I think is the biggest factor, the one which sets a business out from the rest is something which the majority of people relate to.

A few months ago, I read a blog post; entitled “101 Short Stories that Will Leave You Smiling, Crying and Thinking” you can find them here.   It is a post from  Marc and Angel Hack Life, a great blog.  Of course I enjoyed the stories  enormously, and mostly they brought tears to my eyes.  (Go on read them and see how long it takes you!). It is one of the few blogs I subscribe to, and one when I share,  attracts by far the most readers, shares and re-tweets across social media.

A few weeks ago I was at a seminar where a guy called Steve Trister of   entertained by teaching delegates how to  engage with an audience using this factor when presenting.  Delegates  found his presentation  funny and enlightening, he had a throng of people around him when he’d finished wanting to know more.

Last week in the UK, we were entertained with  “The Pride of Britain Awards”.  If you haven’t come across this now national event, the programme celebrates stories of heroic acts of bravery and contribution.  On the awards site the introduction states “Selfless, courageous, caring . . . our amazing winners make the world a better place”

Indeed I have recognised that what makes an “X Factor”  contestant successful, is in fact this magic ingredient.  (A TV singing competition for those uninitiated)

Yes, you have of course realised the magic ingredient I am talking about it is…

 Emotion!

Putting all of those fairly recent experiences into context made me realise sharply that the things in life we really like, and really want more of engage us emotionally.  So what?  you might be saying… we’ve always known that successful businesses engage their customers emotionally.  After all we are surrounded by a raft of advertising and marketing, which is intended to do just that, isn’t it?

I know it’s obvious, but then I got to thinking about what I spend my money on, and how emotionally engaged to the products or services I receive I am.   And I realised it was very little.  Of course we all have different personality types and because of that, we buy through different paradigms.  Some organisations sell to people because “It’s all about you”, or others sell because, the target customers “will have no less than the best”.  And some sell because they “like the tried and tested”, for example.

But what is the intangible emotional element which we all seem to share at some level?   When we see the young people on X Factor doing well, despite the odds; when we see the young girl who saved her mum; or the soldier who risked his life, we feel something about it.   When we read the stories about caring about one another, or significant people in our lives, we feel something about it.  When we receive praise for something we’ve done brilliantly, or we are forgiven for a big mistake we’ve made.  We recognise that at the core of  who we are, we care about each other and we will sometimes move heaven and earth to demonstrate it.

I am a big Oprah Winfrey fan.  If any of you watched her daily show, you know what I mean. If you don’t watch her, you might label her 25 year run  as a female dominated magazine show.  But actually it is much more than that.  The majority of her employees at Harpo, her production company, were at the time the show was running,  some of the most enthused, committed people I have seen.  They told stories of working long hours, dedication and going the extra mile.  They truly believed they were part of something much bigger than themselves.   They were emotionally engaged.  According to CNN in September 2011, Oprah was the 8th richest woman in the world. Undoubtedly, her employees’ dedication and commitment have helped her reach that enviable status. Not only that, her audience were hugely emotionally engaged with what Oprah had to offer.  What Oprah had to offer was the “E” Factor.  She helped people see the good inside of themselves.  She helped them touch positive emotions which made people want more.  She came from the paradigm that people cared about each other and recognised this was who they were at their core.

So how does this affect all of us “ordinary” people, going to our desks, maybe nipping out for a sandwich, and thinking about the routine tasks we might have to get through, or when we are facing the tough realities of our world of work right now?  Well you can happily be a spectator, celebrate other people’s success, and there is nothing wrong with that.  Or alternatively, you  could show the world you have the “E” Factor.

Businesses who have the “E” Factor have the following qualities about them.

  • They have a vision, or a dream and they are passionate about it
  • They make sure that what they do, they do extraordinarily well
  • They are purposeful and they believe in what they do
  • They want to make a sincere difference and have stories to tell about how they do.
  • They realise that they are part of something bigger than themselves
  • Their people are emotionally engaged, they have attached real meaning to what they do
  • Whatever it is they do, they help people get in touch with the very best of who they are at their core.

What about you?  Does your business have the “E” Factor, if so I would love to hear from you.

 

 

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Great Leadership: The Dynamics Of Workplace Bullying

  By Christina Lattimer • October 5, 2012 - 10:57 am

BullyingBullying or alleged bullying is always stressful

I don’t think I have ever been in a work situation where there has not been at least some discussion about whether behaviours can be construed as bullying.  I have been in some where bullying has occurred and people have experienced being bullied and it’s not pleasant.

In the , 16% of people surveyed said they thought bullying by their line manager had increased due to the economic downturn and frankly I’m not surprised.   In the last Civil Service People Survey in 2011, 9% of employees said they had experienced bullying, although of those, only 28% said the bullying behaviour had been from their line manager.  It seems the allegation of bullying is not exclusively a line manager phenomenon.

In my own experience I have experienced “bullying behaviour” from line managers, customers and colleagues.   I have witnessed many allegations of bullying; some warranted and some not so.   Personally I’ve never been accused of bullying, it’s easy to perceive assertive behaviour as bullying when employees aren’t used to it, and I bet some of my actions could well have been construed as such with certain people, and in certain circumstances.

Bullying has a particular dynamic and it’s often not clear cut, which is why so much of the behaviour isn’t tackled adequately in the workplace.  Some of the dynamics of bullying I have witnessed are:

Bullying or being bullied is

  • An abuse of and giving up of power

Bullying behaviour is an assertion of power over someone else.  Mostly such behaviour is saying “I am more important than you and I know better” It’s a superiority trap, and it is borne of a fear of lack of inner power.

Being bullied is a giving up of power.  No-one can bully anyone without their permission.  If you believe in yourself and know your own worth, nothing anyone can say will shake your foundation.  When anyone accepts bullying behaviour, even though it can be difficult situation to grasp; they are giving up their power.

  • Rarely a conscious intention and can sometimes come as a surprise to both people involved.

Countless times I have witnessed people who have carried out bullying behaviour become extremely upset and appalled when they realise the effect they are having.  When you encounter such a reaction you know the behaviour will stop.

Sometimes I have witnessed a denial and astonishment that their behaviour could be construed as bullying.  These people have work to do, but awareness of their effect on others is often the starting point to change the behaviour forever.

People who are on the receiving end of bullying behaviour are often shocked at how vulnerable they are and how upsetting the behaviour is to them personally.  They are often ferocious in their condemnation of the “bully” and aghast at how awful any human being could act towards another.

  • A dynamic which springs from fear of not being good enough on both sides

Someone displaying bullying behaviour is using the dynamic of force onto someone else.  Anyone who has to use force on another is fearful of their ability to negotiate, influence or gain the co-operation, understanding, approval or help from another.

Someone who feels bullied by someone else feels dis empowered to deal with the behaviour in order to achieve a positive outcome, and/or has an unconscious fear they are not good enough and that the bully might have a point.

  • A denial of the possibility of caring for each other

Caring about each other is our natural state.  Whenever we are not caring about other people we are in disassociation or denial about who we really are at our core.  The dynamic of bullying and being bullied is a blatant opposite dynamic of our natural inner urge to care about each other.

Often a bullying dynamic occurs because both” perpetrator and victim” don’t believe in the possibility of another caring enough about them to hear the other.

  • A dynamic of blame

When bullying behaviour surfaces; it is as a result of an inability to have the courage to take  personal responsibility on both sides.    The perpetrator is either consciously or unconsciously trying to change or intimidate the “victim” because they are “wrong”.  The person on the receiving end inevitably feels no choice but  to see the behaviour as an attack on them rather than see the fear or lack of awareness in the person displaying the behaviour.

While I have observed those behaviours, I also have to say that whenever either real or alleged bullying behaviour occurs it is always unacceptable, and always ugly to watch because there is always an impact.  Quite often assertive behaviour can be seen as bullying and often assertive people can be subjected to behaviour which can be designed to get them to submit to another.   Even in those situations, getting into the “who is right and who is wrong” debate is futile.

Bullying in the workplace must never be ignored, and there should always be a zero tolerance approach to such behaviour.  Tackling bullying should be implicit in all leadership and management learning programmes.

 

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21 Compelling Reasons To Get To Know Yourself And Your Team

  By Christina Lattimer • September 27, 2012 - 5:46 pm

As a leader, manager or HR Professional, one of your foundational strengths is the depth of your own self-awareness and awareness of how other’s tick.   You know the key to motivating people is being completely open and transparent and being able to be yourself, which in turn allows your team to follow suit.

One of the easiest and globally credible tools to develop self-awareness and understanding is Myers Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI).   Carl Jung, the great psychologist developed a model of personality type which was later refined by the mother and daughter team, Isobel Myers and Katherine Briggs.

One of the principles of Jung’s model, “Psychological Types” developed in 1921, was each person has an innate urge to grow.  Part of our growing process is to learn how we individually operate, develop the parts of us that we need to learn more about, and learn about the people around us.

Understanding difference is a real people skill.  Differences occur through cultural, physical and psychological factors.  Mix this up with differing beliefs and temperaments, and no wonder managing and understanding people can be challenging.

In the UK, we have travelled some distance in identifying equality and cultural issues; the Equality Act 2010 takes that thinking even further.  Some organisations are still learning how to get to grips with difference, and some excel.  But I’m sure you will agree it is fair to say we always have room to improve.

When it comes to understanding psychological differences, we still have some way to go, but understanding such difference is important from a leadership or management perspective. Not only is it important;  it is relatively simple to grasp.

If you’ve experienced MBTI, you may have found learning about your own psychological type a key starting point for self-development.  Once you have an understanding of what makes you really tick, then your whole world will look different.  Not only will it lead to greater self-acceptance, but it will also help you accept and value the differences of others.

Many leaders,managers and HR professionals are familiar with and use Myers Briggs extensively so I will skip going into more detail.  If you haven’t come across the tool before, you can find out more about Myers Briggs on the link.

If you haven’t used Myers Briggs or you don’t feel you’ve fully realised the benefits from using the tool, here are 21 compelling reasons why you might want to look again.

Learning and understanding how each other tick can help to:

  1.  Avoid and resolve conflicts
  2.  Play to an individual’s strengths
  3.  Identify gaps in the team
  4.  Discover how your team style works best with customers
  5. Enable self-understanding and so reduce stress
  6. Help you learn to relax
  7. Aid career development
  8. Assist communication strategies
  9. Provide managers with the understanding to give effective feedback
  10. Inform personal development plan
  11. Work together more effectively
  12. Relate to each other with greater understanding
  13. Encourage true psychological diversity
  14. Support people through life transitions
  15. Inform your  own and others decision making
  16. Develop thinking skills
  17. Develop emotional intelligence
  18. Identify and develop strengths and weaknesses
  19. Develop leaders,  managers, teams and HR expertise
  20. Encourage team members to understand and appreciate different strengths
  21. Improve and change culture.

There are some circumstances where it can be dangerous to use Myers Briggs such as recruitment selection, judging performance or by making assumptions because of type indicators. The 8 elements of Myers Briggs can be used interchangeably, and people can be just as accomplished using their non-preferred type

If you have used personality type as part of your leadership, management, team development, or HR strategy;  I’d love to know how you got on and what you got out of your experience……or not!

 

 

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Five Ways To Step Out Of The World And Honour Yourself

  By Christina Lattimer • September 21, 2012 - 12:27 pm
You have to strike an equal balance between Work, Rest and Play

I write a lot about inspiration and all that goes along with that.  I am great at describing great vision and different strategies and behaviours needed to make things happen.  Big action is often my cry.  And don’t get me started about emotional intelligence, intellectual dexterity; resilience, unity consciousness and how we relate to each other for example.

I read and share a plethora of intellectual, insightful and inspirational articles and blogs about what makes a great leader, manager, boss, HR Director or whoever may be paving the way for others.

There are many people out there who tell us how to live our lives and what to strive for, how to do things well, improve, be better, be best, and yes I do that too.

For the majority of the time, I love it.  I love finding new ways to motivate interest, excel and go the extra mile.

But there are times, just sometimes when it’s great to be just ok, in the here and now, right now, without any wish to be, do or think anything else.

The world is mostly in a queue, a whirlwind, aspiring to something, wanting to improve, getting better results, being more honest, moving forward, changing at the speed of light, a hive of activity which can be true in our personal lives as well as at work.

Stress is one of the biggest reasons for absence and one of the biggest costs of presenteeism at work.  There are a number of causes of stress, and most of them caused as we live out the challenges of moving quickly, changing lives, work, roles, partners, houses, jobs, and the way we do things and there are many more.

And we don’t really have much choice.  Unless everyone stood still at once, we need to keep up with it all, or risk being left behind, and that is our fear.

Sometimes though we need to stop and do something different.  Oh the sweet relief of taking time out.   Taking time out is important for anyone, whether you are a leader, a team member, stay at home or business owner.  The world would be a better place, if everyone gave themselves a real break. So if you are endlessly busy and the adrenaline is wearing thin.  Or you are too busy, too worried, stressed or in the throes of any kind of change: The following are some of my suggestions about how you can give yourself a respite from the madness of your daily life:

  1. Accept everything completely as it is and make a decision just for even half day or so, not to wish for anything different.  Just accept and surrender to where you are right now. Stop wanting people, situations or ourselves to be different.  You don’t have to be happy about “what is” just make a decision not to be unhappy about it.  That’s called being at Peace. And it’s refreshing.
  2. Be with yourself:  Watch yourself, feel your feelings, if you feel happy indulge yourself and let yourself really feel the happiness.  If you feel sad, then give yourself permission to.  Know it isn’t going to destroy you.  Feel negative emotions instead of repressing them, just don’t act on them.  Your emotions are simply a guidance system. If they are happy you are on the right track, if sad they are telling you that there is something you believe which is not true about yourself.  Feeling and releasing negative emotions can feel brilliant, as long as you don’t wallow in them and don’t identify them as being who you really are.
  3. Breathe; get away from the hustle and bustle if you can.  Breathe in some healthy fresh air and enjoy the feeling of taking the air into your lungs and right into your body.  When you are breathing you are relaxing your body, and giving it a rest.  Conscious breathing is like having an inward shower, all your cells and your being benefits.
  4. Meditate:  For years I struggled with being able to meditate. I read all of the guidance and yes of course when I tried to stop thinking, the thoughts crowded in.    Once I realised the true purpose of meditating is to focus on the gap between the thoughts I cracked it.  The beauty of concentrating on the gap is twofold.  Firstly you are in touch with your higher self who is all powerful and wise; and secondly, by being in the gap between your thoughts you are actually giving yourself a well-earned break.   Thoughts are energy and too much thinking depletes us, yes even if most of our thoughts are happy ones.
  5. Appreciate: Gratitude is a brilliant state to be in.  Appreciation is even better because you tend to be grateful for something you have or have earned, or have been given.  You can appreciate situations, people and stories which have nothing to do with you and as a result you are simply being appreciative of the world around you.  Appreciation is akin to real love because real love is unconditional, all-encompassing and not limited to the personal self.  Therefore feeling appreciation is restful, energising and soothing.

So go on, give yourself some much needed time off and practice some of the relaxing ways of “being” described.  If you have your own ways of de-stressing or relaxing please do let me know, I’d love to hear from you.

People stressed in your workplace? Not sure what to do? Grab your free copy of Christina’s book “Getting To Grips with Workplace Stress”   You can get your copy here.

 

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7 Essential Mindset Shifts of New Leadership

  By Christina Lattimer • September 14, 2012 - 11:42 am

mindsetLeadership of the future will be all about mindset

New Leaders will be at the forefront of creating paradigm shifts for themselves, their teams and followers.  Not only will they  lead by example, but they will show others through focused thinking and vision a brave new world.

There are certain ingredients which leaders and people in the development field must be aware of moving forward.  The ingredients included vision, beliefs, thinking skills and emotional intelligence. Using those ingredients effectively requires a Mindset different than that which has gone before.  is now proving what most people believed was impossible is actually true, based on scientific evidence. Very briefly and simply, this means:

  • The universe is made up of pure energy
  • We are all interconnected and part of that energy
  • Energy is invisible, but what we what we pay attention, believe and think becomes our reality
  • Every observer will create a different reality depending on their Mindset

There is really only one shift to be made which is the realisation of the infinite possibilities which exist.  But it as rare as St. Paul’s “Road to Damascus” moment for the majority of us to make such a huge shift all at once.  It takes time for most of us to let go of old and outworn beliefs and thoughts and replace them with new life affirming mind-sets.

For leaders of the future, the following seven shifts may be good places to start in the workplace. Shifting our attention from:

Sickness to Well-being

Concentrate and invest in physical, emotional and mental wellness.  We will measure wellness and our activities will be centred around being well.  We will celebrate wellness, and set targets around well-being. Focusing attention and energy upon absence and sickness simply creates more of the same.

Scarcity to Abundance  

Instead of cutting costs or settling for second best or laying off employees for example; we will develop possibilities of generating ways to grow and increase wealth.  Be generous and don’t allow fear or guilt about finances be the decision-maker.   Realise wealth isn’t all about money.  It is about an abundant mindset.

Limited to Unlimited 

There are no right or wrong decisions or beliefs. There is just difference. Moving from limited beliefs and thinking can at first prove overwhelming when we realise there are infinite possibilities or paths to traverse. We are only limited in our achievements by our limited thinking and beliefs.  we must listen to our intuition and dare to believe what we truly desire can be achieved.

Powerlessness to Power

We will empower ourselves, believing in our ability to create, and change our current reality. Accept our current reality without resisting or wishing away what is.   Have faith and patience with the right Mindset we can make positive changes.

Competition to Excellence

Let go of the need to compare and compete with others, whether personally or in business. Concentrate instead on only doing the best we can understand there is a niche for everyone and a contribution for everyone to make. We will focus on doing our best, not coming first.

Profit to Contribution

It matters not about the size of the contribution as long as it is authentic and borne of a desire to make a difference. ~We will shift from how much profit to how much of a contribution we make. It is the energy of contribution honestly made meeting a real need which is paramount. When we concentrate on contribution and make it a brilliant one, the energy will bring abundance.

Management to Relationship

Relationships are going to be the main focus for the future. Relationships built on mutual understanding, equal responsibilities, agreed roles, with built in accountability for fair reward. It is a mutual and agreed relationship of give and take, which returns energies of contribution with those of reward.

 

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Managing Performance Is An Emotional Business – Isn’t It? – Emotional Intelligence

  By Christina Lattimer • September 4, 2012 - 2:37 pm

emotional intelligenceGreat Leaders Have Emotional Intelligence:

One of the most important but underrated skills leaders and managers need to be able to manage performance well is emotional intelligence.  If you are predominately a thinking leader then you may well be sceptical about emotional intelligence, but please bear with me.

Three categories of performance management

If you are like most organisations the hierarchy of performance management falls into three broad categories:

People who:

a)      Underperform

b)      Perform averagely/competently

c)      Perform over and above requirements

A number of organisations give more focus to under-performance and over-performance.  Why?  Because unchecked under-performance permeates the rest of the organisation and multiplies as it impacts on every member of the team.  Over-performance cries out to be recognised.  Quite often organisations depend on and excel because of star performers, and with a mixture of gratitude and desire to keep performance at that level, reward systems are introduced.

The Employment Practices report by Xperthr which can be found shows for nearly 70% of people surveyed, action for poor performance was taken for less than 5% of employees.   Although I don’t particularly subscribe to bell curve comparisons, some latest models advocate average rates of over-performance equate to some 16% of total workforce.  If you add both together then you are talking about 21% of your employees.   If you do the maths, there is a possibility that up to 79% of your employees are average or competent performers.

So yes, the figures are fairly subjective, but my guess is unless you are a top performer in your industry it’s likely that the majority of your people fall under the “average or competent performance” criteria.

As a performance manager you have distinct functions for each category of performer.  And you need to performance manage all of your people, not just extreme performers.   You will be more effective in achieving results if you use emotional intelligence techniques to enhance your management of each category.

Under-performance and emotional intelligence

Your aim is to either get your employee to perform to standard or to leave the organisation.  Whilst being very clear about your expectations in performing to standard; in order to avoid conflict and be effective, you need to be able to display at least two emotional skills:

a)      Detachment from the outcome.  In order to give your employee the best chance, you need to distance yourself from pre-empting the result.  If you do this, your employee will be able to self-select whether they are able to raise their game, or they will voluntarily leave as they know themselves they are in the wrong job.

b)      Put aside your feelings.  Quite often, poor performers cause you headaches and it’s common to assume an attitude about them.  Or conversely you worry about the consequences for them and this inhibits being assertive.  It is understandable, because under-performers increase stress levels, and utilise effort which could be directed elsewhere.  The majority of people who under-perform are just as horrified about the situation as you.  By putting aside your feelings and being impersonal and practical, you are in a position to listen and make sound win/win decisions.

Average performance and emotional intelligence

Managing is a stressful business and you have a multitude of tasks and issues to deal with; many decisions to make, planning to be done, well you don’t need me to tell you how busy it is.  The problem is, the majority of your people who don’t cause you problems, and get the work done are working in their comfort zone and it’s hard to find the time to raise the bar for them.  Your main task for this category is to use their talent, time and goodwill to drive up performance.   You can do this in a number of ways, but setting stretching objectives designed to drive up pockets of performance across the board is the key.  The EI skills needed to do this are:

a)      Put aside your limiting beliefs about your employees.  The biggest mistake is holding the belief that people have reached a limit of capability and capacity.  Often leaders make assumptions that people can’t or won’t do better.   But more often than not, if you genuinely believe in someone, and give them the right encouragement and support, they will rise to the challenge.

b)      Be patient about results.  We are creatures of habits.  When you raise expectations of your people, then it will take them a little while to change the way they have always done things.  If you are patient and encouraging and restate your belief in their ability to do better they will eventually get there and your business will benefit from all of that renewed effort.

Over-performance and emotional intelligence

I don’t know about you, but I have often nearly been on my knees with gratitude when self-starters have driven through tricky situations, or taken initiative and made my life easier, gotten great results and done a great job.  Given the choice wouldn’t we all like to have these people in our midst?  But while you need to hold the vibe of gratitude you need to remember your function for these people, and in this situation it is two-fold.  You need to reward great performance and you need to help these great performers get where they need to be. Hopefully that will be in a career in your company, but if it isn’t you still need to help them.  In order to achieve this effectively there are two attitudes you must hold and it takes some emotional maturity to achieve:

a)     Letting go.  Your star performers will more than likely move on.  One of the most emotionally intelligent stances you can achieve is recognising when someone you manage will likely progress their career further than yours.  Even trickier is realising that your star performer will move onto another business.  It’s easy to fall into the trap of limiting the help you give, or the development you make available to star performers, because they may leave taking all your investment with them.  But investment is never lost.  They will appreciate and give you accolades for the helping hand they received and your reputation as an employer of choice will grow.

b)     Understand each has their own path and guidance to follow.  I remember losing a star performer and thinking they were making a big mistake.  I also thought they were leaving for the wrong reasons.  I would like to say I used my emotional intelligence and gave them my blessing to leave, but I didn’t. I told them I thought they were making a mistake.  No much emotional intelligence there!  Did they change their mind? No.  They left and although a rocky road; they went on to even bigger and better things and leveraged change they might not have been able to had they stayed working for my company.  Respecting others’ own choices is key to great performance management, and in the long run your company will benefit, because your employees will know you have their best interests at heart.

 

 

 

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Employee Benefits as an Employer of Choice

  By Christina Lattimer • April 24, 2012 - 8:57 am

Employee BenefitsMake your Employee Benefits count

I am not talking here about a financial employee benefit. If you are a great employer you know the market levels of financial reward and presumably you are paying a fair salary in return for the work of your employees. Pensions are another financial employee benefit which I know is subject to all manner of pressures, so you may not be able to offer a Roll’s Royce service in this regard. Having said that, if your financial rewards are in the top quarter of your industry then you need to shout them from the roof tops.

You and I both know though that salary in itself is not the reason you are an employer of choice and why your employees will give their best. Lots of research proves that point. To be an employer of choice, you must market your non-financial rewards and make sure your employees appreciate them for what they are. They are perks over and above the market rate and not all employers will provide them. Communication is the key here. If you don’t quantify the rewards, then employees may well simply take them for granted.

Some of the most common non-financial rewards which can be effective are health club facilities or subscriptions. Membership of sporting clubs or social activities: Reduced private health care membership. In short anything to do with the health of your employees. These can be popular, not just because it helps your employees to keep fit and well, but also it shows you actually care about their well being.

If you have particularly good terms and conditions of service/policies, then make sure you market them to make you stand out from the crowd. For example if you provide childcare facilities, are family friendly and work hard to incorporate flexible working in all its various shapes and forms. A colleague I worked alongside several years ago has stayed in the same organisation for years longer than she would have otherwise, because the company offered homeworking. She is one of the best brains in her team and would have no difficulty obtaining a job elsewhere, but the work/life balance the organisation provides is key for her. It has engendered a sense of loyalty as she sees them as an enlightened and understanding employer.

Another non-financial employee benefit is about career opportunities an organisation provides. It is not necessarily about sponsorship, although this helps; but it is about how far the business is prepared to go to develop the skills, knowledge and experience of the workforce. This can be about increasing qualifications; providing a variety of job opportunities with regular job rotation; or outlining a clear and compelling career path.

If you have a great media profile, and this can be on a local, regional or national basis, and especially within specific industry publications; prospective and existing employees know this. It is great to be mentioned in articles, and news items. If you give your employees credit and celebrate the successes of your company regularly and widely; then this is a clear employee benefit as these activities will embed your status as an employer of choice and your employees will feel like being identified with you is an employee benefit.

The environment your business provides can be a clear employee benefit. If you have swish new offices or if the location is in picturesque countryside then describing this can influence prospective employees. Are you near shops, and are there banks: crèches: health clubs nearby? For some people, location and environment can be deal breakers.

A large organisation moved from a central city location to an out of town office complex with few facilities and for many employees meant further to travel. Nearly every employee reported the move had decreased their motivation. Additionally when downsizing was announced two of the best employees requested to go, and part of their reason was around location.  Now I know that if you do have to relocate for financial or other business reasons then you have to sell that move well to your employees. But my point is, if you have a great location, then make sure you advertise this and highlight the employee benefit to your employees and prospective employees.

If you are clear about the holistic offer to your employees and you promote and underline each employee benefit at every opportunity; you will hard-wire your people and prospective recruits to understand all of the benefits not simply financial.

What do you think:  Do you have any successful ideas about employee benefits which have helped attract and retain staff?

 

 

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Silver Lining – Find the Hope in every Cloud

  By Christina Lattimer • March 15, 2012 - 7:53 am

Every Cloud has a Silver Lining164810012

A couple of weeks ago, I heard from a young mum of three.  In a downsizing by her husband’s company he lost his job after one interview.  He had been in the job for 14 years, and loved it.  Now I don’t know the detail, so I don’t judge.  And I know such hard decisions have to be made if the money simply isn’t there.  I would also say though that I had used services provided by the organisation and he was dedicated, enthusiastic and went the extra mile.  As you can imagine there was shock, indignation and anger from his friends and relatives.

We all know the business reasoning about Remploy, and why the government decided to untangle what seemed to be viewed as an “outdated segregated remedy” by the disability bodies.  It was also making a colossal loss.  But seeing those people talking about their fears not knowing what is going to happen in the future was heart-breaking.     The theory is that employers will be given financial incentives to help these people and more to secure employment.  Will this happen in reality?  I’m not sure.

I am all for facing up to the reality of any unpalatable truth we may have to accept.  I know that it’s important that we all know why hard decisions like the above are made.  I think as a nation, we did actually get the message.   We need now however to refocus, and we need to refocus on the silver lining.

In the two situations above, those decisions appear harsh and inhuman without making sure that the people affected had some hope about what their options might be in the future.  We are not reporting well enough, that vital step.  Any change strategy, including downsizing in any shape or form is poorly executed unless before the decision is made to cut jobs or change course, the fears and possibilities for the people involved have been explored and articulated.  There has to be a plan B for everyone.

And so instead of the process, we need to focus on the vision for the future.  We need to focus on the silver lining, but what might that be?  Well it might not be apparent yet, but here are a few ideas.

  • As a nation, we are learning to be more financially responsible
  • We are becoming more efficient
  • We are driving up the quality of services
  • We are learning resilience in the face of adversity
  • We can show that we are strong and are able to reinvent ourselves

Ok, not a long list yet, but I’m sure there are more to be identified, as we learn from the situation we find ourselves in.  The main message for everyone needs to be one of hope.  If this doesn’t start coming soon and stridently we will simply be a nation sapped of our energy, enthusiasm and commitment.

Let us shift the balance and focus on and celebrate successes, and find and articulate that silver lining.    For people who are facing hardship and a loss of way of life, let’s make sure we can create meaningful options where everyone wins in the end.  Let’s tell the story of how great our workers are and how dedicated and efficient they can be.  These factors are all there, we are just not looking at them.

There is no doubt about it, if we focus on and celebrate hope and success, the results will surely follow.

What do you think?  Do you think we need to be more positive about the change we are going through?   Do you think a shift in focus is needed at this time?  Let us know we would love to hear from you.

 

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If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.