This is part of a series of blogs, posts and articles on people, process or change, but notably about self-improvement since “know thy self” is a first step towards friendship, leadership or change. Please feel free to comment, add feedback or perhaps share your own experiences, recommended reading or favourite resources from the internet.
If you want to meet to discuss any of the elements mentioned here please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Tim Mob 447797762051
CONTEXT
I attended the Disruptors Club business building event in Jersey, not because I want or need to build by business but because if “You're The Average Of The Five People You Spend The Most Time With ” (link below) then it makes sense to spend time with interesting people.
In an earlier blog (What books to YOU recommend I should read in 2020? ) I suggested that you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but can you judge people by their books. They’re practically taking a piece of their soul and waving it in front of you like a gigantic, colorful flag. It would be rude not to read something into what they’re reading.
So inevitably I asked each of the panelists what was the best book they read. More about that later.
All the speakers were good, but I really liked Positive Neil, partly because of his life story, practical advice and my own experience as a participant in Glenda Rivoallen PhD Mindfulness for Entrepreneurs, which later became a book Mindfulness for Wellbeing.
I often use the phase: Are you the captain of your ship or the crew of someone else’s.
KEY THOUGHTS
All credit to Positive Neil for the observations below, although they are my interpretation of based on my recollection of what he said and my own experience.
Quote: Anger is not a cloud that you want into. It is a thought that creates action and experience. You can choose that thought. The ability to choose, to control, is medication.
This is a great quote and links directly to the Ladder of Inference How to Avoid Jumping to Conclusions (link below) and how we can choose how to infer and respond to people and events.
It also says something about the locus of control: the degree to which people believe that they have control over the outcome of events in their lives, as opposed to external forces beyond their control.
I liked these practical tips
Step 1>> Don’t start worrying about the stress on your mind until you have sorted out the foundations like: Have you drunk enough water; had enough sleep; ate the right foods; done some exercise etc.
This is good advice because if you are already physically stressed then it seems unlikely or impossible that you are in a good position to start dealing with mental stress. I highly recommend The Organized Mind, Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload by Levitin, Daniel J. , if you want to understand the neuroscience of this.
Step 2>> Find the time, some time for just you. It may be at dawn, lunchtime, dusk, when caught in a queue or a traffic jam, but find some time to “check-in” with yourself.
As a former athlete with a full-time job I am used to being up at 5am, in the pool by 6:30am and at my desk by 8:45am. In Jersey in particular there is no commute like London and there is no reason not to carve out the start, middle and end of the day to do something more productive. We all get 24 hours. How do you use yours.
I am always amazed by people who have no time, but do have a smart-phone, TV, and lots of distractions which take time but don’t give growth.
Step 3>> Have routine tasks and get these done so that your chores are done and you are free to think about important things rather than urgent things.
I believe routine habits are essential. There is a lot of trash said about motivation. You don’t wake at 5am every day because you are motivated, you do it because it is part of a habit, routine or regime that is geared towards your goal. You may start with motivation, but you keep going with habit!
Step 4>> Meditate. If you have done all the above you are in a good state to be mindful, reflective, meditative.
I know from Glenda Rivoallen PhD Mindfulness for Entrepreneurs, that I cannot blank my head, empty my thoughts, or erase my feelings. By I can direct my focus. I can think about how my arms, legs, lungs feel as I swim, bike or run. I can study a rock-face and think about the best route to climb. I can feel the breeze on my face or the water that laps around my feet. So this is my version of mindfulness.
The key thing is that for those moments I am not thinking about someone, something, somewhere that I need to be, do, see.
Step 5>> Relationships. Make time to spend time with the right and important people.
As an athlete or entrepreneur success is heavily linked to being selfish and single minded. Without doubt the scales may be heavily tipped against relationships or friendships. However try to do enough to keep these alive. Don’t loose touch. Even a phone call, coffee, email, skype is enough to maintain the correction if not nurture the relationship.
Clearly it would be better to have strong relationships that bring joy, happiness and support and these are worth investing and cultivating but it would be naïve to suggest that this is easy for everyone.
Step 6>> Life. Get all the above more or less right, an repeat each day, for the rest of your life making tiny improvements each day.
When asked about lessons from the Commonwealth Games or World Champs Rowing I’ve always offered the following quotes
Quote1 >> 80% of life is just turning up – Woody Allen
I just turn up, to every training session, to every lesson, to every meeting. It's amazing what your learn, who you meet and how you improve by just turning up.
Quote2 >> Do exactly what is says on the tin – Ronseal
Life often is just doing the obvious: eat, sleep, drink, think. Every weight loss programme. Every training regime. Every qualification is simply a matter of do this, then that, then the other. Everything is obvious in the world of google. The challenge is doing it.
Quote3 >> If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son! By Rudyard Kipling
We all have the same 24 hours, how do you use yours?
CONCLUSION
If any of this has been interesting perhaps have a look at Neil’s website or The Disruptors Club
REFERENCE
Positive Neil
https://www.positiveneil.com/
Disruptors Club
https://www.digital.je/membership/member-directory/the-disruptors-club/
Disruptors Club business building event in Jersey
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-disruptors-club-live-in-jersey-tickets-84143650925?aff=eemailordconf&utm_campaign=order_confirm&utm_medium=email&ref=eemailordconf&utm_source=eventbrite&utm_term=viewevent#
You're The Average Of The Five People You Spend The Most Time With
https://www.businessinsider.com/jim-rohn-youre-the-average-of-the-five-people-you-spend-the-most-time-with-2012-7
What books to YOU recommend I should read in 2020?
https://timhjrogers.blogspot.com/2019/12/what-books-to-you-recommend-i-should.html
Mindfulness for Entrepreneurs
https://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-Wellbeing-Resilience-Discover-Optimal-ebook/dp/B07FLLB1H1
The Ladder of Inference How to Avoid Jumping to Conclusions
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_91.htm
Locus of control
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locus_of_control
GET IN CONTACT
If you to discuss these ideas or anything related to people, process or change please get in touch.
Tim HJ Rogers
Senior Consultant / Project Manager
Mob 447797762051 Skype timhjrogers Twitter @timhjrogers
Adapt Consulting Company - Consult, CoCreate, Deliver
Business Analysis – Projects – Processes – Programmes
Website http://www.adaptconsultingcompany.com
Linked-In https://www.linkedin.com/in/timhjrogers/
Saturday, 18 January 2020
Tuesday, 7 January 2020
LEADERSHIP SERIES - HOW TO CREATE THE PERFECT TEAM AND CIRCUMSTANCES FOR PROJECT SUCCESS
HOW TO CREATE THE PERFECT TEAM AND CIRCUMSTANCES FOR PROJECT SUCCESS
As a former athlete and coach (Commonwealth Games Triathlon and World Champs Rowing) I appreciate that success is teamwork. Even for solo events you often need the support of a coach, mentor, physio and guidance on nutrition, technology and even help with admin and logistics.
I love Lane4 famous quote from Olympic swimming "We create the environment where success is inevitable" (see link below). They put it down to Leadership, Vision and Standards.
I tried to emulate this for the 2014 Commonwealth Games Team (see link below) I have long been inspired by Robert Dilts and a key phase “I can do that here” or indeed “I can’t do that here” because it breaks down some of the key components of values and culture into things we can easily understand and manage.
I – Is about me, myself, my core belief, my talent. (Individual)
Can – Is about capability, competence, and capacity. (Belief)
Do – Is about action, permission, freedom, responsibility. (Capability)
That – Is about values, culture and behaviour. (Behaviour)
Here – Is about place, environment and timing. (Environment)
Now what is interesting about this model is that whilst ostensibly it starts with the individual who thought a step-by-step process might change the world, it also suggests (going in the opposite direction) that the world might step-by-step change the individual.
So this is where I would start with to create the perfect team and circumstances for project success.
STEP 1 - CHANGE THE ENVIRONMENT
For a project I would want the whole team all located and working together like a tribe (see below link to Seth Godin) We know from the Allen Curve (link below) that people communicate better when they are closer together. We also know that communication is faster and better when the group is small.
https://slideplayer.com/slide/7286963/24/images/15/Group+Size+and+Relationships.jpg
STEP 2 - CHANGE THE CULTURAL CONTEXT
This is easier said than done, especially when you understand all the elements that make-up culture. (see Johnson and Scholes’ Cultural Web Model below). However I think that Seth Godin Tribe is a neat way to encapsulate all these elements.
“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea.”
“A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate.”
“Tribes need leadership. Sometimes one person leads, sometimes more. People want connection and growth and something new. They want change.”
It should be possible to create a tribe that has its own....
1. Stories and Myths
2. Rituals and Routines
3. Symbols
4. Control Systems
5. Organisation Structures
6. Power Structures
STEP 3 - BUILD A TEAM
The Robert Dilts model talks about Belief, Behaviour, Capability which are essential to the individual and the team. Godin talks about shared interest, and John Adair Action-Centred Leadership (link below) talks about the need to align corporate and personal goals.
This needs to be started by dialogue. There is an informal and formal aspect to this. First it is necessary to talk to the individuals about their aims, ambitions, needs and understand how to align this with the project outputs and outcomes. This is a personal agreement about mutual support, dependancy and responsibility.
Then there is the more formal aspect of aligning rewards and recognition so that incentives of pay, bonus, training, promotion, holidays etc., are all supporting the same alignment and not pulling in a different direction.
Understanding the individuals motives (Psychometric MBTI), ways of working (Personality DISC) and best contribution (Belbin Team Types) all help to pull all the jigsaw pieces together (lots of links below)
It is also essential that the organisation is flexible to accomodate these elements and provide the support, training and safety net (willing to tolerate occasional failure) in order for the team to learn and grow.
I believe if you really listen and understand people and create the circumstances where they can thrive, then you will have the makings of a great team.
STEP 4 - METHOD
I am a PRINCE2 qualified project manager and I fully know the strengths of a structured approach to delivery of projects, outputs and outcomes. I am also a programmer and fully know that 10 programmers tasked with creating the same outcome will choose many paths to delivering that result. I am also a qualified Change Manager and I appreciate that every gantt chart is a lie and every budget is fakery. I appreciate the importance of agile and of scrum.
Every high performance athlete has vision, mission, goals, objectives and measures. But they are also flexible about rest days, injury, weather and very often the key maxim is "What is the most important thing I can be doing right now."
I know this from personal experience: I broke my arm 5 weeks before the Commonwealth Games Triathlon and rather than come up with a list of problems, issues and a demand for sympathy I simply realised I could still run, ride on an exercise bike and [by covering it in a plastic bag] even swim! This is being agile, and whilst I didn't win I came in the top 20, which is better than abandoning [which is how so many project fail!]
Exactly what method is best depends on the people, project and politics. I am increasingly finding a blend between waterfall (plan everything in advance) and scrum (make it up as you go according to circumstance) seems to work: Waterfall + Scrum = WaterScrumFall.
However see link below for some stark warnings of trying to apply a method which doesn't align to corporate knowledge or expectations. I am a pragmatist.
STEP 5 - PURPOSE
You may be surprised that this appears last. Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action is a book by Simon Sinek. (see link below). I don't think this applies for projects.
If you are a firefighter or elite soldier you build your competence, capability, drive and desire before you actually know the situation you are going into. You do not train for one scenario only.
I believe the same should be true of projects. Success is a journey not a destination (Quote: Arthur Ashe) and We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. (Quote: Aristotle)
And so, perhaps controversially, I believe to create the perfect team and circumstances for project success is not predicated on the project purpose. To illustrate the point, I would take more or less the same approach whether I was delivering an IT Project, a business transformation or creating a high-performance rowing team.
For example, for a high-performance rowing team by having the right ENVIRONMENT (coaches, facilities, funding) and creating a CULTURE (practices, habits, behaviours) I'd aim to attract the right people and build a TEAM of common interests. The METHOD will need to reflect the task: 2000 meter rowing on a lake is different from 8000 meter coastal rowing, but in the end the aim is that we achieve a PURPOSE.
LINKS
We create the environment where success is inevitable
https://www.lane4performance.com/insight/blog/creating-an-environment-where-success-is-inevitable/
2014 Commonwealth Games Team
https://projectspeoplechange.blogspot.com/2014/01/building-team-jersey-thoughts-for.html
Tribes - Seth Godin
https://www.samuelthomasdavies.com/book-summaries/business/tribes/
Allen Curve
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_curve
Group-size and Relationships
https://slideplayer.com/slide/7286963/24/images/15/Group+Size+and+Relationships.jpg
Johnson and Scholes’ Cultural Web Model
https://www.businessballs.com/strategy-innovation/cultural-web-johnson-scholes/
Action-Centred Leadership - John Adair
https://www.businessballs.com/leadership-models/action-centred-leadership-john-adair/
Psychometric MBTI
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers%E2%80%93Briggs_Type_Indicator
Personality DISC
https://www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc/overview/
Belbin Team Types
https://www.belbin.com/about/belbin-team-roles/
ScrummerFall, WaterScrum, WaterScrumFall
http://clearmindsoftware.com/post/scrummerfall-waterscrum-waterscrumfall
https://www.infoq.com/news/2011/12/water-scrum-fall-is-the-norm/
https://www.solutionsiq.com/resource/blog-post/scrum-purists-posers-and-pragmatists/
Start With Why
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Start_With_Why
CONTACT
This is part of a series of blogs, posts and articles on consulting, leading or managing. Please feel free to comment, add feedback or perhaps share your own experiences, recommended reading or favourite resources from the internet.
https://adaptconsultingcompany.blogspot.com/
If you want to meet to discuss any of the elements mentioned here please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
TimHJRogers@AdaptConsultingCompany.com
Mob 447797762051
Twitter @timhjrogers
As a former athlete and coach (Commonwealth Games Triathlon and World Champs Rowing) I appreciate that success is teamwork. Even for solo events you often need the support of a coach, mentor, physio and guidance on nutrition, technology and even help with admin and logistics.
I love Lane4 famous quote from Olympic swimming "We create the environment where success is inevitable" (see link below). They put it down to Leadership, Vision and Standards.
I tried to emulate this for the 2014 Commonwealth Games Team (see link below) I have long been inspired by Robert Dilts and a key phase “I can do that here” or indeed “I can’t do that here” because it breaks down some of the key components of values and culture into things we can easily understand and manage.
I – Is about me, myself, my core belief, my talent. (Individual)
Can – Is about capability, competence, and capacity. (Belief)
Do – Is about action, permission, freedom, responsibility. (Capability)
That – Is about values, culture and behaviour. (Behaviour)
Here – Is about place, environment and timing. (Environment)
Now what is interesting about this model is that whilst ostensibly it starts with the individual who thought a step-by-step process might change the world, it also suggests (going in the opposite direction) that the world might step-by-step change the individual.
So this is where I would start with to create the perfect team and circumstances for project success.
STEP 1 - CHANGE THE ENVIRONMENT
For a project I would want the whole team all located and working together like a tribe (see below link to Seth Godin) We know from the Allen Curve (link below) that people communicate better when they are closer together. We also know that communication is faster and better when the group is small.
https://slideplayer.com/slide/7286963/24/images/15/Group+Size+and+Relationships.jpg
STEP 2 - CHANGE THE CULTURAL CONTEXT
This is easier said than done, especially when you understand all the elements that make-up culture. (see Johnson and Scholes’ Cultural Web Model below). However I think that Seth Godin Tribe is a neat way to encapsulate all these elements.
“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea.”
“A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate.”
“Tribes need leadership. Sometimes one person leads, sometimes more. People want connection and growth and something new. They want change.”
It should be possible to create a tribe that has its own....
1. Stories and Myths
2. Rituals and Routines
3. Symbols
4. Control Systems
5. Organisation Structures
6. Power Structures
STEP 3 - BUILD A TEAM
The Robert Dilts model talks about Belief, Behaviour, Capability which are essential to the individual and the team. Godin talks about shared interest, and John Adair Action-Centred Leadership (link below) talks about the need to align corporate and personal goals.
This needs to be started by dialogue. There is an informal and formal aspect to this. First it is necessary to talk to the individuals about their aims, ambitions, needs and understand how to align this with the project outputs and outcomes. This is a personal agreement about mutual support, dependancy and responsibility.
Then there is the more formal aspect of aligning rewards and recognition so that incentives of pay, bonus, training, promotion, holidays etc., are all supporting the same alignment and not pulling in a different direction.
Understanding the individuals motives (Psychometric MBTI), ways of working (Personality DISC) and best contribution (Belbin Team Types) all help to pull all the jigsaw pieces together (lots of links below)
It is also essential that the organisation is flexible to accomodate these elements and provide the support, training and safety net (willing to tolerate occasional failure) in order for the team to learn and grow.
I believe if you really listen and understand people and create the circumstances where they can thrive, then you will have the makings of a great team.
STEP 4 - METHOD
I am a PRINCE2 qualified project manager and I fully know the strengths of a structured approach to delivery of projects, outputs and outcomes. I am also a programmer and fully know that 10 programmers tasked with creating the same outcome will choose many paths to delivering that result. I am also a qualified Change Manager and I appreciate that every gantt chart is a lie and every budget is fakery. I appreciate the importance of agile and of scrum.
Every high performance athlete has vision, mission, goals, objectives and measures. But they are also flexible about rest days, injury, weather and very often the key maxim is "What is the most important thing I can be doing right now."
I know this from personal experience: I broke my arm 5 weeks before the Commonwealth Games Triathlon and rather than come up with a list of problems, issues and a demand for sympathy I simply realised I could still run, ride on an exercise bike and [by covering it in a plastic bag] even swim! This is being agile, and whilst I didn't win I came in the top 20, which is better than abandoning [which is how so many project fail!]
Exactly what method is best depends on the people, project and politics. I am increasingly finding a blend between waterfall (plan everything in advance) and scrum (make it up as you go according to circumstance) seems to work: Waterfall + Scrum = WaterScrumFall.
However see link below for some stark warnings of trying to apply a method which doesn't align to corporate knowledge or expectations. I am a pragmatist.
STEP 5 - PURPOSE
You may be surprised that this appears last. Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action is a book by Simon Sinek. (see link below). I don't think this applies for projects.
If you are a firefighter or elite soldier you build your competence, capability, drive and desire before you actually know the situation you are going into. You do not train for one scenario only.
I believe the same should be true of projects. Success is a journey not a destination (Quote: Arthur Ashe) and We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. (Quote: Aristotle)
And so, perhaps controversially, I believe to create the perfect team and circumstances for project success is not predicated on the project purpose. To illustrate the point, I would take more or less the same approach whether I was delivering an IT Project, a business transformation or creating a high-performance rowing team.
For example, for a high-performance rowing team by having the right ENVIRONMENT (coaches, facilities, funding) and creating a CULTURE (practices, habits, behaviours) I'd aim to attract the right people and build a TEAM of common interests. The METHOD will need to reflect the task: 2000 meter rowing on a lake is different from 8000 meter coastal rowing, but in the end the aim is that we achieve a PURPOSE.
LINKS
We create the environment where success is inevitable
https://www.lane4performance.com/insight/blog/creating-an-environment-where-success-is-inevitable/
2014 Commonwealth Games Team
https://projectspeoplechange.blogspot.com/2014/01/building-team-jersey-thoughts-for.html
Tribes - Seth Godin
https://www.samuelthomasdavies.com/book-summaries/business/tribes/
Allen Curve
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_curve
Group-size and Relationships
https://slideplayer.com/slide/7286963/24/images/15/Group+Size+and+Relationships.jpg
Johnson and Scholes’ Cultural Web Model
https://www.businessballs.com/strategy-innovation/cultural-web-johnson-scholes/
Action-Centred Leadership - John Adair
https://www.businessballs.com/leadership-models/action-centred-leadership-john-adair/
Psychometric MBTI
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers%E2%80%93Briggs_Type_Indicator
Personality DISC
https://www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc/overview/
Belbin Team Types
https://www.belbin.com/about/belbin-team-roles/
ScrummerFall, WaterScrum, WaterScrumFall
http://clearmindsoftware.com/post/scrummerfall-waterscrum-waterscrumfall
https://www.infoq.com/news/2011/12/water-scrum-fall-is-the-norm/
https://www.solutionsiq.com/resource/blog-post/scrum-purists-posers-and-pragmatists/
Start With Why
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Start_With_Why
CONTACT
This is part of a series of blogs, posts and articles on consulting, leading or managing. Please feel free to comment, add feedback or perhaps share your own experiences, recommended reading or favourite resources from the internet.
https://adaptconsultingcompany.blogspot.com/
If you want to meet to discuss any of the elements mentioned here please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
TimHJRogers@AdaptConsultingCompany.com
Mob 447797762051
Twitter @timhjrogers
LEADERSHIP SERIES - PROJECTS ARE ABOUT PEOPLE AND PURPOSE NOT PLANS AND BUDGETS
PROJECTS ARE ABOUT PEOPLE AND PURPOSE NOT PLANS AND BUDGETS
Having been reading Humble Inquiry and Humble Consulting (both by Edgar Schein) and having re-read a lot of books on Scrum and Agile (list below) I have spent some thinking about the successes and failures of projects and why it is rarely to do with tasks, timetable or budget.
I note from John Mattone (What was it like to Coach Steve Jobs? - see link below) the following.... never connected with their inner-core--their "soul" (self-concept, character, values, thinking patterns, emotions) to discover the massive gifts and gaps that hide deep within...
And also that Jobs went about... (1) Building a unique culture; (2) Institutionalizing a process of hiring and rewarding the best talent; and (3) Growing their very own product development process...
I am cautious however about John Mattone's comment...I believe that "prescription before diagnosis is malpractice" in medicine and coaching. I don't see enough coaches doing their due diligence in accurately measuring and calibrating both a leaders inner and outer-core and "mitigating risk". Inaccurate diagnosis leads to an inaccurate prescription.
This is not that I disagree with the fundamental need for understanding, but because sometimes change is not about simple (superficial?) diagnosis and easy prescription. Edgar Schein is right when he cautions against check-list review and simple remedy of the doctor-patient type of engagement and the need for Humble Consulting which tell telling and more asking, more about helping through process (learning, understanding, growth) than directing tasks (outputs and outcomes).
Some of the most difficult project situations I have encountered are about people's need to be liked, respected, valued and their fear, reluctance, uncertainty of pushing for success. Having a thousand reasons (excuses) for failure is simply easier than the real personal and team challenge of confronting what it takes to be successful.
LINKS
What was it like to Coach Steve Jobs? Or, was it the other way around?
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-like-coach-steve-jobs-other-way-around-john-mattone/
Humble Consulting: How to Provide Real Help Faster by Edgar H. Schein
http://amzn.eu/3o4Nhdr
CONTACT
This is part of a series of blogs, posts and articles on consulting, leading or managing. Please feel free to comment, add feedback or perhaps share your own experiences, recommended reading or favourite resources from the internet.
https://adaptconsultingcompany.blogspot.com/
If you want to meet to discuss any of the elements mentioned here please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
TimHJRogers@AdaptConsultingCompany.com
Mob 447797762051
Twitter @timhjrogers
SCRUM / PROJECT BOOKS
Having been reading Humble Inquiry and Humble Consulting (both by Edgar Schein) and having re-read a lot of books on Scrum and Agile (list below) I have spent some thinking about the successes and failures of projects and why it is rarely to do with tasks, timetable or budget.
I note from John Mattone (What was it like to Coach Steve Jobs? - see link below) the following.... never connected with their inner-core--their "soul" (self-concept, character, values, thinking patterns, emotions) to discover the massive gifts and gaps that hide deep within...
And also that Jobs went about... (1) Building a unique culture; (2) Institutionalizing a process of hiring and rewarding the best talent; and (3) Growing their very own product development process...
I am cautious however about John Mattone's comment...I believe that "prescription before diagnosis is malpractice" in medicine and coaching. I don't see enough coaches doing their due diligence in accurately measuring and calibrating both a leaders inner and outer-core and "mitigating risk". Inaccurate diagnosis leads to an inaccurate prescription.
This is not that I disagree with the fundamental need for understanding, but because sometimes change is not about simple (superficial?) diagnosis and easy prescription. Edgar Schein is right when he cautions against check-list review and simple remedy of the doctor-patient type of engagement and the need for Humble Consulting which tell telling and more asking, more about helping through process (learning, understanding, growth) than directing tasks (outputs and outcomes).
Some of the most difficult project situations I have encountered are about people's need to be liked, respected, valued and their fear, reluctance, uncertainty of pushing for success. Having a thousand reasons (excuses) for failure is simply easier than the real personal and team challenge of confronting what it takes to be successful.
LINKS
What was it like to Coach Steve Jobs? Or, was it the other way around?
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-like-coach-steve-jobs-other-way-around-john-mattone/
Humble Consulting: How to Provide Real Help Faster by Edgar H. Schein
http://amzn.eu/3o4Nhdr
CONTACT
This is part of a series of blogs, posts and articles on consulting, leading or managing. Please feel free to comment, add feedback or perhaps share your own experiences, recommended reading or favourite resources from the internet.
https://adaptconsultingcompany.blogspot.com/
If you want to meet to discuss any of the elements mentioned here please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
TimHJRogers@AdaptConsultingCompany.com
Mob 447797762051
Twitter @timhjrogers
SCRUM / PROJECT BOOKS
- War and Peace and IT: Business Leadership, Technology, and Success in the Digital Age
- A Seat at the Table: IT Leadership in the Age of Agility
- The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups
- Product Mastery: From Good to Great Product Ownership
- Scrum Mastery: From Good to Great Servant-Leadership
- Scrum: The art of doing twice the work in half the time
- Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life
- Principles: Life and Work
- Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
- Key Person of Influence: The Five-Step Method to Become One of the Most Highly Valued and Highly Paid People in Your Industry
- The DevOps Handbook: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, and Security in Technology Organizations
- The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership: Achieving and Sustaining Excellence Through Leadership Development
- Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant
- Thinking in Systems: A Primer
- Critical Chain: Project Management and the Theory of Constraints
- Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue
- The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win 5th Anniversary Edition
- Summary of Algorithms to Live By by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths
- Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel
- Lean Mastery Collection: 8 Manuscripts: Lean Six Sigma, Lean Startup, Lean Enterprise, Lean Analytics, Agile Project Management, Kanban, Scrum, Kaizen
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Friday, 3 January 2020
LEADERSHIP SERIES – COMMUNICATION STYLES AND APPROACHES
COMMUNICATION STYLES AND APPROACHES
This is part of a series of blogs, posts and articles on consulting,
leading or managing. Please feel free to comment, add feedback or perhaps share
your own experiences, recommended reading or favourite resources from the
internet.
If you want to meet to discuss any of the elements mentioned
here please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Tim Mob 447797762051
KEY THOUGHTS
I think most of us are familiar with the simple DISC
approach to categorising people’s preferred learning and decision styles and
how that might affect communication and engagement (see below). However in the
book Humble Consulting: How to Provide Real Help Faster there are some really
interesting ideas about the very different directions you might take in
communication and thus affect engagement (see further below)
DISC APPROACH
DOMINANT and DIRECT
Outgoing and
Task-oriented Dominant Style: People who have both Outgoing and
Task-oriented traits often exhibit DOMINANT and DIRECT behaviors. They usually focus on results,
problem-solving, and the bottom-line.
INSPIRING and INTERACTIVE
Outgoing and People-oriented Inspiring Style:
People who have both Outgoing and People-oriented traits often exhibit
INSPIRING and INTERACTIVE behaviors. They usually focus on interacting with
people, having fun, and/or creating excitement.
SUPPORTIVE and STEADY
Reserved and
People-oriented Supportive Style: People who have both Reserved and
People-oriented traits often exhibit SUPPORTIVE and STEADY behaviors. They
usually focus preserving relationships and on creating or maintaining peace and
harmony.
CAUTIOUS and CAREFUL
Reserved and
Task-oriented Cautious Style: People who have both Reserved and
Task-oriented traits often exhibit CAUTIOUS and CAREFUL behaviors. They usually
focus on facts, rules, and correctness.
HUMBLE CONSULTING
It is really interesting to think about the variety of ways
you might respond to a question and the direction that these take you in. The
role of good listening and good consulting is to choose the right path for each
situation.
CLIENT: I am worried about changing the culture and adopting
new ways of working in our organisation. We don’t seem to have engagement and
action on this and could do with some help.
Possible responses
1. That
is interesting, explain why you are worried and about what in particular?
2. What
is it about the culture that needs to change, can you give examples?
3. How
do the new ways of working relate to changing the culture?
4. What
do you mean by engagement and action, what is happening?
5. What
help would you like?
6. What
would help adopting new ways of working?
7. What
are the old ways of working?
There are so many more possible ways of responding, each
taking a different direction: either about the person, process, task, outcome.
They all have the potential to hit the nail on the head or miss the point completely.
REFERENCE
Humble Consulting: How to Provide Real Help Faster
by Edgar H. Schein http://amzn.eu/3o4Nhdr
USEFUL LINKS
GET IN CONTACT
If you to discuss these ideas or anything related to consulting,
leading or managing please get in touch.
Tim HJ Rogers
Senior Consultant / Project Manager
Mob 447797762051
Skype timhjrogers Twitter @timhjrogers
Adapt Consulting Company - Consult, CoCreate, Deliver
Business Analysis – Projects – Processes – Programmes
Website http://www.adaptconsultingcompany.com
Linked-In https://www.linkedin.com/in/timhjrogers/
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