Well they say that leadership all about creating a pathway or breaking new ground, and inspiring others to follow along on the journey…..then this guy is a role model! If for nothing else, other than some comic relief, check out….
Finding time for mindfulness
In 2002, a personal mastery teacher named Gita Bellin taught me a mediation practice called the ‘Dynamic Mind Practice’, which is definitely one of the best things I do for myself each day. There are so many benefits including relaxation, rejuvenation, being more present, managing emotions, clarity of thought, creativity, intuition, ability to focus the mind, as well as getting a good night’s sleep. The DMP App is free and explains it all, including Gita leading you in and out of the mindfulness practice. Enjoy!
Uncovering your 'immunity' to change
People and organisations resist change in different ways. Harvard University professors Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey have analysed the sources of resistance and explained the methods to overcome them in their book “Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organisation.”
Kegan and Lahey start the book by referring to a recent study which showed that when doctors told heart patients they would die if they didn’t change their habits, only one in seven patients was able to follow the changes successfully.
The authors explain that everybody with immunity to change has two types of commitment: visible commitment and hidden commitment. Visible commitment is what we express as our commitment, while the hidden commitment is our inner desires and our assumptions that support these desires. The third element is the behavior that is working against the change. The authors define this as doing, or sometimes not doing, something. The simplest example to illustrate this theory is weight loss. The visible commitment of somebody is to lose weight. The behavior requiring change is overeating or eating when the person isn’t hungry. If the person wants to lose weight, why does he behave in the opposite way? Because there is a hidden commitment. The person may want to be full of energy, may believe that eating is fun or doesn’t give value to being physically attractive.
The authors argue that people cannot change because of their hidden commitments: If we can think and talk about our hidden commitments and supporting assumptions then, we can keep up with our visible commitments.
This book is definitely worth a read.
The importance of culture
Culture can be a significant competitive advantage and it is not easily replicable. However, most organisations are not investing in culture at the level that will set them apart from their competitors. To build the case for investing in cultural improvement requires a thorough understanding of the cost of the current culture. The business case is strong in the areas of speed, accountability, rigour, collaboration and attractiveness to customers and employees, and it is in these areas that the link between culture and performance is most easily demonstrated. Carolyn Taylor’s (author of ‘Walking the talk’) definition of culture is the result of messages that are received about what is really valued - so, culture management is about message management. People align their behaviour to these messages in order to fit in. Changing a culture requires a systematic and planned change to these messages, whose sources are behaviours, symbols and systems - so that the desired culture can be created and sustained.
Some tips for changing the culture….
Culture is about messages received about what is important - change the messages and you change the culture.
Find out what people believe is really valued - not what it says in your values statement.
Build the business case for culture change specific to your organisation.
Problems with speed, rigour, accountability, silos and insensitivity to customers or employees are particularly suitable to a cultural solution.
Focus you efforts - pick one element of a great culture and use it to pull the rest along.
Build off your existing natural cultural strengths.
Spend most of your investment on changing mindsets - when these change, the rest will follow.
Don’t embark on this process unless you are confident you can get some of the top team to change how they think.
Playing to your strengths
Utilising our strengths in whatever we do is critical to achieving the results you desire - and it positively impacts our base level of happiness, as we are applying our unique strengths to our day-to-day situations. A very valuable exercise is to find out what your signature strengths are. Martin Seligman is the founder of Positive Psychology, a new branch of psychology which focuses on the empirical study of such things as positive emotions, strengths-based character, and healthy institutions. His research has demonstrated that it is possible to be happier — to feel more satisfied, to be more engaged with life, find more meaning, have higher hopes, and probably even laugh and smile more, regardless of one’s circumstances.
Log into his website www.authentichappiness.com and register to complete the VIA Survey of Character Strengths Questionaire. Once you find out what your top strengths are, think of ways of how you can build them into your day-to-day activities. This will have an impact on both the results you get, and the level of engagement and happiness you experience.