Category Archives: People and Psychology

Posted on

Productivity: Does Your Life Metaphor Help Or Hinder?

How your Unconscious Metaphor can help you enjoy life

by

If you only have 30 seconds, see the summary at the end of the main text  & welcome to 47 new subscribers who have joined us this week from Denmark, USA, Belgium and UK.

Introduction

Get Free Worksheet here

I recall feeling like punching the speaker repeatedly in the head. A little harsh I know but I was tired. I sat in the conference listening to a well-meaning ‘Time Management Guru’ rattle on about having balance. I was getting a few hours of sleep a night as my 1 year old son had displayed an early Olympic talent as a sleepless wonder. Balance was a panacea that sounded like a myth and only induced a sense of guilt as I felt my life resembled some type of YO-YO fitness test shuttling between cones.

I understood his sentiment and applaud the natural presupposition that we should not live lives out of balance or out of kilter. However, each day as I dragged my sorry ‘you know what’ into work, balance was the last thing I felt like I could attain. I realised that living a life of perfect balance was not only a great cause of guilt but was impossible. The stage of life that I was in and the demands of the situation meant balance was a poor metaphor for where life was at.

If balance was not the best metaphor, then what would be more useful? More on this LATER.

Science: How Metaphors Impact Reasoning and Problem Solving

The metaphors we choose are powerful and govern our thoughts and lives. A recent academic study by Paul H. Thibodeau and Lera Boroditsky showed how the power of a single metaphorical word altered the entire diagnosis and operations of how people reason through a situation.

When the academics changed one metaphorical word in a problem, people offered very different solutions. Their solutions were consistent with the metaphor that they were presented with by the academics. In one of their studies, participants were told to predict the solutions offered by two politicians who were advocating for different approaches to the crime problem. Half of the participants were told that the politician was describing crime as a BEAST. The other half was told the politician was describing crime as a VIRUS.

Interestingly, the participants presented with the beast metaphor, advocated solving the crime problems with solutions such as increased law enforcement and punishment. Alternatively, those participants who were presented with the virus metaphor advocated solving the crime problems with solutions of social reform, improving the economic health and educational system. One word changed their reasoning, interpretation and solutions.

Let’s unpack the metaphor of ‘Balance’tightrope

Balance would insinuate that all competing priorities are of equal value and can therefore be balanced against each other. A person walking across a tight rope would want the balancing bar to be balanced rather than heavily weighted on one side. Naturally, this type of balance is attainable IF you can choose the bar.

However, when facing the demands of work or family it may be something that you don’t have full control over. In life, demands of various weights and shapes are thrust upon you, without your consent.

For example, the mother and father trying to feed, bath and dress their children for bed. Not to mention the inevitable hours coaching them to sleep. The entrepreneur in the early stages of a business start-up who is not only business development manager but also accountant, marketer, HR manager, CEO and coffee getter all in one.

This notion of balance is often impractical for a leader in today’s high-velocity environments. It is virtually impossible to give equal time and attention to two things at once. There is a better analogy for today’s leader that can alleviate stress and increase productivity.

Cue a new metaphor: Seasons

I left the seminar and realised I could fight my current reality in a vain attempt to get balance. I would probably waste a lot of energy and still not attain the nirvana of balance. Not only would I waste energy I would miss out on the enjoyment that I could be embracing. I had a young family, was in a new stage of life and was now a father.

Perhaps a better metaphor would be (more…)

Posted on

Productivity 2: Do you Suffer from ‘To Do Psychic Anxiety’

Reduce Anxiety and Increase Capacity at the same time

by

I was working at the university and it was exam time. As is the custom the atmosphere changes. People scurry to exam venues blurry eyed as they show the remnants of a late night cramming session. Stress and anxiety written all over their faces.

As I walked down to get a coffee I saw a colleague who was doing some postgraduate study and en route to sit an exam. He looked at me, smiled and said “DON’T  talk to me; I am off to sit an exam and I don’t want to LEAK any information”. After an all-nighter, he felt like his brain had reached capacity. Like someone carrying an overfull cup across a room, he did not want to spill any of the precious information.

I am sure we have all had that feeling of “being at capacity”. There is no more room for work, distraction or information.

Capacity is not an infinite resource. We all have our limits but what you don’t know is that you can FREE UP some capacity. More on this later.

Question: How many times have you been asked or asked someone else

  • “Can you remind me about  _________________ ?” or
  • “Please don’t let me forget _________________ ?”

The reason people say this is because a ‘task to be done’ is weighing on their minds. They are fearful they will forget and it is causing them psychic anxiety. This fear indicates they do not have a system that they trust to ensure the task will get completed. With this in mind their solution is, make someone else responsible for remembering the task.

To make matters worse, a collection of little tasks all start to weigh heavily on the individual. These ‘to do’s’ take up cognitive (brain space) capacity that could be used for more productive activities.  Instead, consciously they are trying to ensure all tasks are remembered.

The end result is a form of Psychic Anxiety. A constant worrying about possible missed tasks.

  • Jobs that you don’t want to forget.
  • Bills to be payed,
  • People to be contacted or
  • Subscriptions to cancel.
  • Items you must remember to buy at the shops

It’s all true

Psychic Anxiety2You may have heard yourself saying “I have a lot on my mind”, chances are you quite literally do. Unconsciously, we may be mentally juggling tasks. Shuffling cognitive resources in a vain attempt to give our full attention to a project at hand.

According to research, our ability to think creatively gets lost when our minds are trying to keep track of the ‘to do’s’. The end result being that you feel preoccupied and you lack focus and attention.
Psychic Anxiety3cThe notion that these mental “to do’s” are using up precious brain power is being validated by the scientific community. Professor John-Dylan Haynes from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, has through functional magnetic resonance imaging been able to map what part of the brain is unconsciously active while we hold these ‘to do’s in your head. Unconsciously using up mental capacity that could be put to better use.

The Solution is Cognitive Off-Loading

Science is revealing that when people (more…)

Posted on

Productivity: Are you OBT or TBT?

Do you know the difference?

by

I recall early in my career starting a new job and proudly ticking all the items off my to-do list. I was very happy with myself. Strolled down the hall looking for someone to celebrate my achievement with. Upon meeting an older mentor, I waited for the inevitable questions. “How are you doing”, he asked. Just the question I had expected. “Up to date and Just cleared ‘my’ to do list … Feeling great” I proudly announced. To which he responded, “Wow, I have not been up to date for 25 years”.

I smiled but inwardly thought to myself. ‘Talk about unorganised. How can you not complete all the tasks on your To-Do list’?

It only took a couple months before I realised I was going to be in the same boat. As the department grew and pressure mounted I came to the swift realisation. I WILL NEVER BE UP TO DATE. Projects and tasks need to be prioritised and SOME would NEVER get done.

It was then that I realised I need to ask myself a new question. More on that to come.

The Science Behind our Challenge

At any given moment, we are constantly bombarded by signals from our five senses. With this onslaught of input, how do we manage to not go completely insane? The key is that we pay attention to only a small proportion of that information and throw much of it away. This process is known as selective filtering or selective attention, and most people do it all the time.

Our Brain is constantly trying to resolve what it should Focus on. Where should the focus of attention be. To do this it resolves questions we ask ourselves. This means that the quality of questions they ask will determine what we focus on. When I coach my clients, I do so with the understanding that the questions I ask influences the direction of their thinking.

For example, if I ask you “What will ‘X’ get you?” you will tend to think about specific things (more money, less stress, more time). However, if I ask you “What will that do for you?” you are more likely to come up with more value based abstract answers (freedom, contentment, acceptance).

Your brain unconsciously filters out unimportant details as it resolves ‘what to focus on’. However, you can consciously control what you brain Selectively Filters and Increase your productivity.

The Question that boosts Productivity

Considering the many demands for your attention you NEED to DECIDE in advance what your brain is going to filter for and hence focus on.

If you are like any person working in a pressured environment, you could probably end up with multiple to-do list items that need to get done While you neatly prioritise them with the obligatory A, B and C’s next to each item, you know they will be replaced almost immediately with new tasks and you will never again in your life get a clean slate. It may leave you feeling like Sisyphus, in Greek mythology, who was condemned to roll a rock up to the top of a mountain, only to have the rock roll back down to the bottom every time he reaches the top. For Eternity.

To make matters worse people often allow someone or something else to control their focus. The first step toward taking back your focus and achieving more is to ask a new type of question.

Outcome Based Thinking vs Task Based Thinking

The challenge is that many people are focused on Task Based Thinking (TBT). At the start of every day they ask themselves some form of the following questions

“What do I need to do today?”

With this in mind the Selective filter is now set. Your brains ‘Focus of Attention’ is on TASKS, Things to do. It will have no problem coming up with enough tasks to fill your day, perhaps even many days to follow. Leaving you feeling behind the eight ball and overwhelmed with the magnitude of what needs to get done.

Alternatively, you can engage in ‘Outcome Based thinking” (OBT). Outcome Based thinking is a key element to leadership productivity that starts by determining what our mind pays attention to.

Instead of asking “What should I do?” Outcome based thinking starts by asking

“What Outcomes Do I Want?”

A focus on outcomes will quickly change your selective filtering system. Bringing to attention the outcomes you want rather than the tasks to be done. A focus on outcomes will change what you should be spending your time doing. It may begin to deliver fresh ways that you can achieve an outcome rather than get stuck in the daily grind of operations.

Naturally, there may be many derivatives of asking outcome based questions. For example, you could ask

  • What is the ultimate outcome?
  • What is the goal I am trying to achieve?
  • What results are we looking for?
  • What will make today successful?

Leaders who know what they ‘want’ see the world differently. More importantly people selectively attend to things that interest or excite them. Often these are positive outcomes, goals and results.  So, when you decide what you want, your mind filters for how to see that outcome fulfilled.  It’s like buying a new car. You start seeing it everywhere

Value OF OBT

1.      Greater Creativity

Outcome based thinking can lead you to more creative insight due to directing your thinking in a way that requires a creative answer. It may disregard the traditional process to achieving an outcome and find creative ways to achieve the same result.

2.      Greater Connection to ‘Why’

Outcome based thinking helps people to connect to what is important rather than the mundane.

3.      Higher Energy

People enjoy attending to things that interest or excite them.

4.      Improved Teamwork

Outcome-based thinking gets everyone aligned first, before you even begin to think about your individual tasks. This way, creating measurable results is effective and achievable.

TEAM EXERCISE

Question 1: The Outcome we want to achieve is?

Get the team together and work toward coming to consensus on the answer to the question:

What is our outcome we are focusing on?

Have each person write down what they think it is on a piece of paper. (All of the answers may be different – maybe extremely or slightly so, but they certainly won’t be 100% alike.)

Question 2: What can we stop doing and still achieve the outcome?

This helps to evaluate activities that do not best serve the outcome.

Question 3: What will help us achieve the outcome faster?

This helps prioritise what needs to be done.

By Aiden Holliday

Share this article with friends who will find it helpful

Leave a Comment in the ‘comments section’ if this was helpful and communicate with your community

Posted on

Have You Experienced Vujá dé

Fact: You Have Experienced Vujá dé … so what is it?

by

“That’s just what I needed to hear” I proclaimed to a friend as we all shared a meal together. My wife looked at me incredulously, “I have been telling you that for years, then ‘THEY’ say it and you think it is a great idea”. Deep down inside I knew it was true but I could not help the feeling that it seemed to make MORE sense NOW than BEFORE.

Everybody has heard of Deja vu, right? That “I have been there before” feeling. The French origins actually directly translate “already seen” (déjà, already + vu, seen)

But have you heard of its opposite ‘Vuja de’ (pronounced as “voo zha-day”)”.

Vujá dé is that moment of clarity when something becomes “all of a sudden clear” You discovering something new in something you’ve already seen a million times before.

In our innovation seminars, we often discuss a technique called “Fresh Eyes”. Which was aptly described by the French novelist Marcel Proust when he said, “The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes.”

I am sure when the young Isaac Newton saw an apple fall from a tree in his mother’s garden in Lincolnshire, it was not the first time that had occurred in his life. It was not “WOW I have never seen an apple fall before” moment. Rather, Newton experienced a Vujá dé moment, had fresh eyes and went on to devise his theory of gravity after witnessing an apple falling from a tree.

Right Time Right Place

In my life, I have often been surprised by those moments where knowledge turns into insight. Call it what you like

  • A Eureka moment
  • An Epiphany
  • A moment of clarity
  • A moment when a thought moves from the head to the heart
  • A revelation
  • A moment of insight

What has been surprising is the fact that for some reason old information makes sense at a level it did not before. Despite the fact you have known a concept for years, like a ‘bolt of lightning’ the right person, in the right place and the right times says it in the right way and you have your Vujá dé moment.

You then respond, “Wow, what a great thought”. It then impacts us in a way that is enlightening and its motivational force is profound. People look at you “What is the big deal”.

The big deal was prior to that time your mind was not open or ready to receive the information. You did not really believe it. Then one day it hits you like a sledgehammer. On that day you were at a point in your life when you were ready to hear it, ready to absorb it and ready to act on it. Thus, it created the illusion that it magically made its appearance at that particular moment. 

Leaders FLICK the SWITCH and FACILITATE VUJADE

We often encounter people who make dramatic changes in their lives. It may be fitness, diet or some level of success that is impacting. It is impacting because it was a struggle for the person and then a metaphorical switch gets flicked and their lives change.  A common denominator you will notice is they were ready.  They were ready for success, ready for change, ready to see themselves better than they were.

Many have heard of the old maxim “When the student is ready the teacher will arrive.”

This alludes to the moment when we are ready to gain insight. The teacher is not necessarily a person but rather metaphorical. That moment when you see a situation slightly differently and it hits you like a ton of bricks. That moment of clarity. An epiphany. The essence of Vuja de is not merely seeing things with fresh eyes. It is getting yourself ready to receive an insight that is more than head knowledge. It is facilitating a moment of clarity.

It is a leader’s role to facilitate this ‘Readiness’’ for people, teams, and organizations.

How do Leaders Facilitate

Here are four tips for cultivating VUJA DE.

(more…)

Posted on

Cooperation The Shortest Distance To Achieve Goals

3 Secrets to Cooperation

by

Fred sat in his office contemplating the line from the movie, Jerry Maguire, “Help me help you.” Fantastic line but far from reality. It seemed he was always trying to crowbar some form of cooperation from staff. Fred was sure he was not alone in his desire to see people working together rather than at odds with each other. He knew that ‘Cooperation’ was the shortest distance to achieve organisational goals but eliciting meaningful long-term cooperation seemed to be a mystery.

GraphIt is interesting to note that the use of the word “cooperation” has increased dramatically since the times of the industrial revolution. It is as if the Industrial Revolution cued the ‘Need to Ask’ people to work together for a common purpose aka cooperate. Businesses became aware that success demanded cooperation and as the demands of business increased, cooperation became essential. Bizarrely prior to this cooperation was an assumed part of life.

Cooperation emerged as a primary task of leadership that focuses on getting people to work together in a systematic way. Having skilled players on a sports team does not guarantee success. The coach needs to find the magic that gets the team performing. Harnessing talents and actions of various players to produce a result that only working together can achieve.  Even the best CEO’s stumble in their attempts to encourage cooperation when they do not understand the secret ingredients. Those foundational secret ingredients that cannot be observed but essential to success.

Unpacking the Secret Ingredients to Cooperation

Why did the request for cooperation increase after the industrial revolution? (more…)

Posted on

What are the 6 Glass Ceilings of Team Performance?

and How To Break Through them. (Number 1 )

by

Sometimes a little insight can mean the difference between success and frustration.

I was sparring with a friend who was a multiple title holder in Mixed Martial Arts. I was getting a pummelling and bewildered by his speed. He was super-fast and seemed to be able to predict all my moves and counter them before I had even begun to execute my techniques. In a thinly veiled attempt to get some respite from the pummelling, I asked, “How did you develop such speed?” Thankfully he paused and delivered some insight. “I am not actually that fast” he explained. Yeah right, I thought but resisted saying that out loud just in case he ended the lesson and resumed the training. “I am just observing what you are missing.”

He then went on to explain where the focus of his attention was. Once you have the fundamental skills of sparring you need to place your attention on much smaller cues. The “tells” that inform me of your intentions. That way I can react earlier than others do. My attention was on his fists, which seemed natural considering that was what I needed to avoid. The problem was his fist were halfway to my face before I realised what he was doing. Again and again, my reactions were just too slow to get out of the way. My defence was informed by watching his gloves. By contrast, he explained his attention was on my hips and shoulders. “They are the earliest, “tells” of your intentions. Before you throw a punch you will be loading up your hips or shoulders. That is what I am observing and why I am able to read your moves so early.”

Likewise once the fundamentals of teams are in place you need to begin to read some of the subtle “tells” that may hinder performance. I call these the 6 glass ceilings of team performance. Leaders can find themselves banging their heads on these glass ceilings unnecessarily. These ceilings can be broken through but first, you need to know that they are there and what you are dealing with.

The First Glass Ceilings of Team Performance

Every team has ‘plateau points’ where they come up against a glass ceiling hindering their potential. Points where the performance will begin to Plateau for reasons that seem irrational. They are very subtle and if they are not monitored they cannot be remedied. This can leave you frustrated with why your team is not performing to the level that you know it is capable of. Being aware of these six ceilings enables the appropriate actions to be taken.    (more…)

Posted on

3 Types Of People We All Encounter – Are you an Abductive, Inductive or Deductive type?

& How to Get Through To Them

by

Ok it happened again. They said ‘Yes’ and then did nothing.

Do you ever get frustrated with the fact that

  • the message sometimes does not get through
  • there is plenty of communication but still people don’t ‘get it’
  • those you are leading are not reading off the ‘same page’. Sometimes it even feels like they are reading a totally different book and odds are you are right.

The challenge, working with people, is that you have to be on the ‘same page’ if you are going to make progress. As a leader we feel drawn to people who are on the ‘Same Page’, who ‘Get it’. We get excited by their contributions. At the same time you may be missing out on vital contributions of others in your organization. The people you don’t gel with, who frustrate you and highlight their differences by reading the ‘other book’ in meetings. Their contributions seem to act as a ball and chain to possible progress. You want them all on the same page. You know they have a valuable contribution to make. If you could help them understand what you are trying to achieve.

The solution is simpler than we realize and requires a slight change in how we communicate. People you work with will see exactly the same situation in three different ways. Focusing their attention and processing the information differently. Understanding these differences provides key insights on how to get the team on the same page.

Let’s take a scenario of three individuals viewing a forest.

Person one: Classified as Forest People. (Deductive Thinkers)

forestThe Forest People see the forest first and then make deductions. Because there is a forest there must be a variety of trees, animals and other interesting features.  Their mindset is one of the philosopher. Once they understand the big picture behind a concept the rest of the picture falls into place. For them, the starting point of conversations should be the Big Picture. Then work from that point to the details that need to be discussed, which to be honest they do not love but will find it more palatable now they know how it all fits together. Forest people are deductive thinkers and like to work from the big picture to details.

Person two: Classified as Tree People. (Inductive Thinkers)

alberoThe Tree people’s attention is on the details of what they are seeing. They see individual trees, count how many trees there are, tabulated their genus, species and ecology. They then induce that because there are X amount of trees, it fits the criteria to be classified as a forest. Their mindset is that of the scientists where interpretation of the detail builds an understanding of the bigger picture for them. The starting point of their communication is the details. Understanding the details will help them begin to grasp the big picture. Often, they may find the big picture fluffy and abstract but will embrace it because it is backed by proof.

Tree people like details to be the starting point of communication. They are inductive thinkers who work from the details to the big picture.

Person Three: Classified as The (more…)

Posted on

Donald Trump’s Top 4 Persuasion Techniques

What can you learn

by

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump smiles during a campaign stop, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016, in Bluffton, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Love him or hate, him the USA electoral process has been surprised by Trump’s ability to garner support. The question has to be asked how does he do it? Enlisting people into the dream is the second most important task of leadership that follows identifying a direction to lead in. I was not a fan of ‘The Don’ but decided I needed to investigate what was drawing people to his message.

You may have heard it called engagement, vision casting and generating buy-in but they are all synonyms for an essential leadership skill. It is the ability to ENLIST people into the dream, not to just to get them to buy into the message but feel passionately engaged with the dream. With this in mind, I decided to watch his campaigns. I spent copious amounts of time watching the news channels and unpacking what I consider to be his keys to success. I must admit that the more I watch him the more I could sense what was drawing people in.

The caveat to this discussion is that enlistment needs to be backed with robust strategy and implementation. That aspect of his campaign is still to be determined and is not the scope of this discussion. In this blog, we are going to investigate what techniques is ‘The Don’ using to enlist people.

You may also raise the objection that he has many detractors and opposition. Agreed but that is also the nature of leadership. However, he has gathered an ardent following. Not everyone will enlist in his dream but that is true for any leader trying to sell his vision.

Trumps Persuasion Techniques.

Technique 1: Pathien before Sapien

Trumps rhetoric is peppered with phrases like (more…)

Posted on

Why Teenagers are Deaf

And What Leaders Can Learn From The Cure

by

Teenager

Parents try in vain to speak to their teenagers but nothing gets through. Perhaps the teenager may be suffering from a condition called ‘Annoying Auditory Gap Hell’, aka “aargh”. This is not a new condition but prevalent amongst teenagers. It is due to the small empty space that exists between their ears and the thinking part of the brain. They can audibly hear but the information cannot transition to their thinking part. I contemplated taking my teenagers for a medical assessment but the condition often rectifies with age. However, sadly, there are some people who never grow out of it.

You may have heard the quote “what do parents know anyway“. Generally quoted by some exasperated parent trying to deliver a pearl of wisdom on their resistant teenagers. Research has indicated that the ‘aargh’ gap is filled with two impenetrable substances called ‘A’ and ‘B’ fillers. The former being the Assumption Filler and the latter being the Behaviour Filler. Teenagers are convinced they are right and there is nothing you can tell them that will convince them otherwise. The ‘A’ and ‘B’ fillers block new ideas and behaviours from being adopted by causing them to be totally convinced they are right. It is sad to see them suffer from ‘aargh’ and medically it appears to be untreatable.

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to relapse and occasionally suffer from brief bouts of ‘aargh’. Those moments where you are unable to receive new knowledge because you held on to a thought that you refused to relinquish. Recovery is normally identified with the statement “if only I had listened to…” followed by the name of the older person who gave you some advice. If you cannot identify a relapse, you may be suffering from ‘aargh’ right this very moment.

The Cure to aargh is ‘Letting Go’

I lived in Africa for a portion of my life. There some tribes used a unique method to catch monkeys by hollowing out a plant similar to a pumpkin, filling it with a delicacy and then leaving it tethered to a tree for a monkey to find. A monkey would reach in and grab the desired delicacy and be trapped because the hole had been deliberately made just big enough for a flexible hand to enter but not for a closed fist to leave. In short order, the monkey went from getting his dinner to being someone else’s dinner.

Clearly it was not the pumpkin that was trapping the monkey. Rather the true trap was in the monkey’s own mind, the monkey’s greed, the monkey’s attachment to his perceived treasure. The monkey’s unwillingness to “Let Go.”

The concept of ‘letting go’ has been part of most (more…)

Posted on

Personality Type Goal Setting

How do you choose your goals

by

Do you make plans with determination, caution or excitement? And what does this mean when it comes to achieving your goals? Could you approach them differently for a better chance of success? Find out by taking the test.