Archive for the ‘Leadership & Management Training’ Category

How can you deal with a conflict of values & beliefs?
Well I am a very fortunate person to be able to work with lots of people and help them to understand their values & beliefs, and how to deal with any conflicts and reduce any impacts due to conflict.

What happens when the ones you have had installed during your up bringing from our parents etc and you have true respect for these, as they have been proven to be successful many times over!

Then alongside these values & beliefs you also begin to develop additional values & beliefs of your own, which you have faith in and also think will be equally as useful. But when you are in business and you have two lots of values & beliefs, one you were brought up on by your parents and one you have nurtured yourself.

What do you do?
Which one do you decide is best for you and your business?
What If I get it wrong and I make the wrong choice?

For example:- If your business is not making money then you have no business? Yet you can have a very viable business potentially but without cash flow you cannot survive. Plus you have to speculate to accumulate.

In business you have to make many difficult decisions and you have to make them and not to deliberate to long on which option to I make. Then main thing is that you do make a decision and then stick with your choice. Avoid procrastination, as this will only confuse things and distract your attention away from the main focus of running a successful business.

There are many ways you can run businesses in this day and age, some are easier than others. But you cannot let a conflict of values & beliefs get in the way or stop you from achieving your business objectives. Once you have chosen which one suits you best can you make a judgement of which one was the best for you and your business.

There are so many businesses today that are virtual businesses with minimal overheads, i.e. out sourced office facilities, out sourced HR, freelance staff on a self employed basis, minimal ownership of equipment or stock etc. etc. that are very successful and everyone gains from collaborating with each other. Because they all work under one umbrella, then their over heads and running costs are greatly reduced and it is easier to make a profit and invest in future projects and ventures.

So you can run and build a business empire with very little money with the right amount of thought and planning put into place. Which means a business model that requires money to make money, seems financially viable, but you can have a business model that requires limited money or little financial investment. Which can also grow successfully, so it is about choice and which business model (value & belief) is best for you. The difference is one model is an old and trusted model and one is relatively a new model.

So check out all your options and then make a decision based on fact, and facts that suit you and formulate the correct value & beliefs for yourself!

 

Interesting title, I have decided to write about who are you and what do you want. Because so many of us wander around on this planet not know who we are or knowing what to do!

So first of all, who are you?  What do you currently do for a living and are you happy with the job you currently have?

I know I am asking lots of questions of you all, but it is for a reason and the reason is to identify what is right for you! Because by doing a job that you are either not suited to or are not happy with, can lead to you feeling down, under pressure. Which if you do not deal with can lead to stress and for your confidence and self esteem taking a basing at the same time.

Why did you choose your current role / job? Ask yourself if you know what you know now about the job, if you were applying for the role for the first time, tomorrow, would you! If you could say yes, then you probably have chosen the right career path for you.

But if you can say no I would definitely not, then we need to look at why? And what are the learns about your experience that you can incorporate into any future opportunities you look for.

So how do you set about identifying what is right for you, to be honest you should get yourself  a Life / Business Coach to help and guide you to a natural conclusion! The reason I say this is because everyone including myself will not ask ourselves the right questions, because we can avoid any difficult ones that put us on the spot. Secondly we are not always honest with ourselves and think we know best, but without help it is not always possible to come to the right conclusions.

If you do decide to go it alone, remember what has not worked for you in the past, take the learns you have gained and put them to good use in any future decisions you decide to make. Then challenge yourself about what is important to you.

What things do you enjoy doing?

What makes you happy the most?

What skills do you currently have?

What qualifications do you currently have?

What qualifications do you need to achieve what you want?

There are loads more questions that you need to consider to enable you to come to the right decision.

Then  you have to record the options you have available to you and then go through the pro’s & con’s of each option.

Once you have decided on the correct option for you then you need to know how to go about achieving this option!

Then there is the how?

Yes how do I go about achieving what you want?

What is required?

What support do you need?

What qualifications if any do you need?

Who do you need to contact to enable you to achieve your goals?

Set yourself time scales, when do you want to achieve you goal by?

Can you do it on your own, do y0u have enough resources yourself?

If not who else can help or support you in achieving your goal?

Provided you have a process to follow and to enable you to move towards your true goal and you focus on that goal you will get your desired outcome!

Timothy Galway – says that everybody has the ability to achieve what they want in life, and he uses a formula which is:-

The Formula is – Performance = Potential – (minus) Interference.  Which is simple, yet so powerful you, because it is simply staying you get what you focus on and avoid any distractions / interference!

If you want to contact me or need advice, please contact me and lets get you on the right path to your chosen career.

Martin

 

What do I mean by the above title?

There have been lots of articles and discussions over the last twelve months or so, about looking at the bigger picture and where we fit within it. This progressed into people and politicians talking about how the Big Society, which is made up of individuals, fitted into the Big Picture?

The reason behind all these thoughts and discussions, is quite simple really, because we all play a part in both. And we fit in on so many different levels as well, i.e. as a person what we bring to the world?

Then as a brother, sister, son, daughter, mother, father, etc. etc. then you have the impacts and consequences (causes & effects we provide) whilst we are on this planet. When you look at the interactions we all undertake throughout our lives along with causes & effects they all have, you can see a massive chain reaction which takes place, purely based on an individual action which also  has a ripple effect far beyond what we had intended originally.

So politicians at long last have started to wake up and realise their own causes & effects which take place, every time they implement any changes, the subsequent outcomes directly impacts on the business world, families right down the an individual level.

What they have also recognised during this realisation is that everyone has to be involved in the Big Society, from top to bottom. If sections of the Big Society are left out, whether by accident or deliberate, there is always a negative outcome which impacts on society and in turn a bit like a dominos effect carries on long after the initial change.

That is why it is so important for everyone to have the opportunity to be able to play a part within society and to feel valued . We are only here once (as far as we know) so lets all play a part in changing things for the better, remember the Big Society is only part of the Big Picture, .i.e. environment, animals, plants, the world etc. etc.

A fully active and interactive society generates positivity which in turn aids everyone to be part of society and help to shape the Big Picture, so that everyone benefits from  the Big Society taking a responsibility for not just the humans but for the greater benefit of the World / Planet.

 

 

 

 

People most at risk from stress (Further information which I have researched and thought you would enjoy from businessballs.com)

In one US study as many as 40% of workers described their jobs as very stressful. While not a scientific gauge and not measuring serious stress health problems, this gives some indication as to how prevalent work-related stress is. As regards official health records, in the UK, the nursing and teaching occupations are most affected by work-related stress, with 2% of workers at any one time suffering from work-related stress, depression and anxiety. (The figure for teachers rises to 4% when including physical conditions relating to stress.) Care workers, managers and professionals are the next highest affected occupations, with over 1% suffering from serious work-related stress at any one time. UK HSE work-related stress statistics suggest that work-related stress affects men and women in equal numbers, and that people in the 45-retirement age suffer more than younger people. More socially-based USA research suggests that the following American social groups are more prone to stress (this therefore not limited to work-related stress): young adults, women, working mothers, less educated people, divorced or widowed people, the unemployed, isolated people, people without health insurance, city dwellers. Combined with the factors affecting stress susceptibility (detailed below), it’s not difficult to see that virtually no-one is immune from stress. An American poll found that 89% of respondents had experienced serious stress at some point in their lives. The threat from stress is perceived so strongly in Japan that the Japanese even have a word for sudden death due to overwork, ‘karoushi’.

work-related stress trends

Data is sparse and confused (stress statistics are also complicated by metal health reporting in the UK), but the statistics do indicate certain growth. In the UK HSE statistics indicate a doubling of reported clinical cases between 1990 and 1999. Working days lost per annum appear to have been about 6.5 million in the mid-1990′s, but rose to over 13 million by 2001. Greater awareness of the stress ailment in reporting no doubt accounts for some of this variance, but one thing’s for sure: the number of people suffering from work-related stress isn’t reducing.

costs of stress

UK HSE statistics suggest stress-related costs to UK employers in the region of £700m every year. The cost of stress to society is estimated at £7bn pa. (These figures were respectively £350m and £3.7bn in 1995/6 when total days lost were half present levels.)

stress causes

Stress is caused by various factors – not all of which are work-related of course, (which incidentally doesn’t reduce the employer’s obligation to protect against the causes of stress at work). Causes of stress – known as stressors – are in two categories: external stressors and internal stressors.

external stressors – physical conditions such as heat or cold, stressful psychological environments such as working conditions and abusive relationships, eg., bullying.

internal stressors – physical ailments such as infection or inflammation, or psychological problems such as worrying about something.

From the above, it is easy to see that work can be a source of both external and internal stressors.

Stressors are also described as either short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic):

Short-term ‘acute’ stress is the reaction to immediate threat, also known as the fight or flight response. This is when the primitive part of the brain and certain chemicals within the brain cause a reaction to potentially harmful stressors or warnings (just as if preparing the body to run away or defend itself), such as noise, over-crowding, danger, bullying or harassment, or even an imagined or recalled threatening experience. When the threat subsides the body returns to normal, which is called the ‘relaxation response’. (NB The relaxation response among people varies; ie., people recover from acute stress at different rates.)
Long-term ‘chronic’ stressors are those pressures which are ongoing and continuous, when the urge to fight or flight has been suppressed. Examples of chronic stressors include: ongoing pressurised work, ongoing relationship problems, isolation, and persistent financial worries.
The working environment can generate both acute and chronic stressors, but is more likely to be a source of chronic stressors.

Stress effects on health and performance

Stress is proven beyond doubt to make people ill, and evidence is increasing as to number of ailments and diseases caused by stress. Stress is now known to contribute to heart disease; it causes hypertension and high blood pressure, and impairs the immune system. Stress is also linked to strokes, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), ulcers, diabetes, muscle and joint pain, miscarriage during pregnancy, allergies, alopecia and even premature tooth loss.

Various US studies have demonstrated that removing stress improves specific aspects of health: stress management was shown to be capable of reducing the risk of heart attack by up to 75% in people with heart disease; stress management techniques, along with methods for coping with anger, contributed to a reduction of high blood pressure, and; for chronic tension headache sufferers it was found that stress management techniques increased the effectiveness of prescribed drugs, and after six months actually equalled the effectiveness of anti-depressants. The clear implication for these ailments is that stress makes them worse.

Stress significantly reduces brain functions such as memory, concentration, and learning, all of which are central to effective performance at work. Certain tests have shown up to 50% loss of performance in cognitive tests performed by stress sufferers. Some health effects caused by stress are reversible and the body and mind reverts to normal when the stress is relieved. Other health effects caused by stress are so serious that they are irreversible, and at worse are terminal.

Stress is said by some to be a good thing, for themselves or others, that it promotes excitement and positive feelings. If these are the effects then it’s not stress as defined here. It’s the excitement and stimulus derived (by one who wants these feelings and can handle them) from working hard in a controlled and manageable way towards an achievable and realistic aim, which for sure can be very exciting, but it ain’t stress. Stress is bad for people and organisations, it’s a threat and a health risk, and it needs to be recognised and dealt with, not dismissed as something good, or welcomed as a badge of machismo – you might as well stick pins in your eyes.

Causes of stress at work

These are typical causes of stress at work:

bullying or harassment, by anyone, not necessarily a person’s manager
feeling powerless and uninvolved in determining one’s own responsibilities
continuous unreasonable performance demands
lack of effective communication and conflict resolution
lack of job security
long working hours
excessive time away from home and family
office politics and conflict among staff
a feeling that one’s reward reward is not commensurate with one’s responsibility
working hours, responsibilities and pressures disrupting life-balance (diet, exercise, sleep and rest, play, family-time, etc)
factors influencing the effects of stress and stress susceptibility

A person’s susceptibility to stress can be affected by any or all of these factors, which means that everyone has a different tolerance to stressors. And in respect of certain of these factors, stress susceptibility is not fixed, so each person’s stress tolerance level changes over time:

childhood experience (abuse can increase stress susceptibility)
personality (certain personalities are more stress-prone than others)
genetics (particularly inherited ‘relaxation response’, connected with serotonin levels, the brain’s ‘well-being chemical’)
immunity abnormality (as might cause certain diseases such as arthritis and eczema, which weaken stress resilience)
lifestyle (principally poor diet and lack of exercise)
duration and intensity of stressors (obviously…)

signs of stress – stress test

At a clinical level, stress in individuals can be be assessed scientifically by measuring the levels of two hormones produced by the adrenal glands: cortisol and DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), but managers do not have ready access to these methods. Managers must therefore rely on other signs. Some of these are not exclusively due to stress, nor are they certain proof of stress, but they are indicators to prompt investigation as to whether stress is present. You can use this list of ten key stress indicators as a simple initial stress test: tick the factors applicable. How did I do?

sleep difficulties
loss of appetite
poor concentration or poor memory retention
performance dip
uncharacteristic errors or missed deadlines
anger or tantrums
violent or anti-social behaviour
emotional outbursts
alcohol or drug abuse
nervous habits
methods of personal stress management and stress relief

If you are suffering from work-related stress and it’s beginning to affect, or already affecting your health, stop to think: why are you taking this risk with your body and mind? Life’s short enough as it is; illness is all around us; why make matters worse? Commit to change before one day change is forced upon you.

If you recognise signs of stress in a staff member, especially if you are that person’s manager, don’t ignore it – do something about it. It is your duty to do so. If you do not feel capable of dealing with the situation, do not ignore it; you must refer it to someone who can deal with it. You must also look for signs of non-work-related stressors or factors that increase susceptibility to stress, because these will make a person more vulnerable to work-related stressors. These rules apply to yourself as well….

Stress relief methods are many and various. There is no single remedy that applies to every person suffering from stress, and most solutions involve a combination of remedies. Successful stress management frequently relies on reducing stress susceptibility and removing the stressors, and often factors will be both contributing to susceptibility and a direct cause. Here are some simple pointers for reducing stress susceptibility and stress itself, for yourself or to help others:

stress relief pointers

think really seriously about and talk with others, to identify the causes of the stress and take steps to remove, reduce them or remove yourself (the stressed person) from the situation that causes the stress.
Understand the type(s) of stressors affecting you (or the stressed person), and the contributors to the stress susceptibility – knowing what you’re dealing with is essential to developing the stress management approach.
improve diet – group B vitamins and magnesium are important, but potentially so are all the other vitamins and minerals: a balanced healthy diet is essential. Assess the current diet and identify where improvements should be made and commit to those improvements.
reduce toxin intake – obviously tobacco, alcohol especially – they might seem to provide temporary relief but they are working against the balance of the body and contributing to stress susceptibility, and therefore increasing stress itself.
take more exercise – generally, and at times when feeling very stressed – exercise burns up adrenaline and produces helpful chemicals and positive feelings.
stressed people must try to be detached, step back, look from the outside at the issues that cause the stress.
don’t try to control things that are uncontrollable – instead adjust response, adapt.
share worries – talk to someone else – off-load, loneliness is a big ally of stress, so sharing the burden is essential.
increase self-awareness of personal moods and feelings – anticipate and take steps to avoid stress build-up before it becomes more serious.
explore and use relaxation methods – they do work if given a chance – yoga, meditation, self-hypnosis, massage, a breath of fresh air, anything that works and can be done in the particular situation.
seek out modern computer aids – including free downloads and desktop add-ons – for averting stresses specifically caused by sitting for long uninterrupted periods at a computer screen work-station, for example related to breathing, posture, seating, eye-strain, and RSI (repetitive strain injury).
Note also that managing stress does not cure medical problems. Relieving stress can alleviate and speed recovery from certain illnesses, particularly those caused by stress, (which depending on circumstances can disappear when the stress is relieved); i.e., relieving stress is not a substitute for conventional treatments of illness, disease and injury.

Importantly, if the stress is causing serious health effects the sufferer must consult a doctor. Do not imagine that things will improve by soldiering on, or hoping that the sufferer will somehow become more resilient; things can and probably will get worse.

For less serious forms of stress, simply identify the cause(s) of stress, then to commit/agree to removing the cause(s). If appropriate this may involve removing the person from the situation that is causing the stress. Counselling may be necessary to identify the cause(s), particularly if the sufferer has any tendency to deny or ignore the stress problem.

Acceptance, cognisance and commitment on the part of the stressed person are essential. No-one can begin to manage their stress if they are still feeling acutely stressed – they’ll still be in ‘fight or flight’ mode. This is why a manager accused of causing stress though bullying or harassment must never be expected to resolve the problem. The situation must be handled by someone who will not perpetuate the stressful influence.

Removing the stressor(s) or the person from the stressful situation is only part of the solution; look also at the factors which affect stress susceptibility: where possible try to improve the factors that could be contributing to stress vulnerability. This particularly and frequently involves diet and exercise.

The two simplest ways to reduce stress susceptibility, and in many situations alleviate stress itself (although not removing the direct causes of stress itself) are available to everyone, cost nothing, and are guaranteed to produce virtually immediate improvements. They are diet and exercise.

 

A management consultant, on holiday in a African fishing village, watched a little fishing boat dock at the quayside. Noting the quality of the fish, the consultant asked the fisherman how long it had taken to catch them.

“Not very long.” answered the fisherman.

“Then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the consultant.

The fisherman explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The consultant asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, have an afternoon’s rest under a coconut tree. In the evenings, I go into the community hall to see my friends, have a few beers, play the drums, and sing a few songs….. I have a full and happy life.” replied the fisherman.

The consultant ventured, “I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you…… You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have a large fleet. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to a city here or maybe even in the United Kingdom, from where you can direct your huge enterprise.”

“How long would that take?” asked the fisherman.

“Oh, ten, maybe twenty years.” replied the consultant.

“And after that?” asked the fisherman.

“After that? That’s when it gets really interesting,” answered the consultant, laughing, “When your business gets really big, you can start selling shares in your company and make millions!”

“Millions? Really? And after that?” pressed the fisherman.

“After that you’ll be able to retire, move out to a small village by the sea, sleep in late every day, spend time with your family, go fishing, take afternoon naps under a coconut tree, and spend relaxing evenings havings drinks with friends…”

(Ack Jean Kent)

 

The GROW coaching model is recognised as one of most popular coaching models to use when setting yourself goals.

It consists of six parts in the process, which are:-

1) State your goal in the positive.

2) Have and evidence procedure.

3) Can you start and maintain the goal yourself.

4) Contextualise.

5) Maintain the positive by products.

6) Ecology.

Lets take each stage in turn, so do we mean by stating with state the goal in the positive?

The goal you want to achieve must be something you actually want and not something you want to avoid. By positive thoughts and actions enables the mind to focus on what you want in life. The mind is unable to focus on negative goals.

i.e. I don’t want to put any weight on? or I want to loose ten pounds over the next four weeks via exercise and reducing fatty foods.

Have an evidence procedure – This is trying imagine what it would be like, when you have achieve your goal, .i.e. what will it look like, feel like or what will you hear going on around you once you have achieved your goal.

Metaphor

When Linford Christie (the athlete) won his gold medal, when he was then interviewed. He stated that he had no doubts that he was going to win a gold medal, because he had run that race a thousand times in his mind and had experienced in his mind what it would be like to win. The only way he was not going to win was if he had an accident on the day!  He said he had heard the national anthem being played, he heard the crowds cheering, he saw the flags waving, he said the jubilant crowd jumping up and down in the stadium.

This stage is very powerful and aids the experience and motivation in working towards your goal.

Can you start and maintain the goal yourself ? This stage is important to work out what support you may need and whether you can do on your own merit.

Contextualise - This stage is only required when you are talking about behaviours etc .i.e. I want to be more assertive ? Be sure where and when in your life you want to be more assertive. If you are in charge of a sales team at work and feel you need to be more assertive with the team, make sure it is only work that want to be assertive and not to include be assertive when you get home and are with the family. As your partner and children will not appreciate the change.

Maintain the positive by products – This stage is about knowing your existing strengths and making sure you don’t diminish them whilst working towards your goal. Otherwise you gain one thing and lose another.

And finally the Ecology ? This stage is about whether the goal is worthwhile, what’s involved, how much time is needed, what effort do you have to commit to to achieve the goal. What are the benefits of achieving this goal.

This model gives you a process to follow when setting goals, it is even better if you get a life or business coach to help you. Because they have the skills to make sure you maximise your goal setting techniques.

 

Feel stressed, tired and miserable? Then take time out, you need to relax. Your body is telling you it needs loving tender care, so take heed and listen to what your body is telling you!
If we continue to ignore what our bodies are telling us, then we are asking for trouble at some stage or time in the future?
Here is a relaxation exercise taken from businessballs.com
Sit or lie down comfortably. Properly comfortably. Straighten your back, put your shoulders back to open your rib-cage.
Relax your shoulder muscles particularly. Relax your whole body, and empty your mind.
Close your eyes (obviously open them when you need to read the next stage).
Take ten deep, slow breaths. Breathe from the pit of your stomach and feel your lungs filling.
Focus on your breathing. Feel it getting deeper and slower. Feel yourself relaxing and any tension drifting away.
Relax your shoulders and neck again.
Visualise yourself being happy, succeeding, winning, being loved, laughing, feeling good.
Relax your forehead, your mouth and your eyes.
Allow a gentle smile to appear on your face as you feel a calmness enter your mind.
Then say (out load ideally) the words below (a script for personal change) to yourself:
Here are some beginning statements to build on to help get you started,
I deserve to be,……………
I want to be,………………
I can be,…………………..
I will be,………………….
I am……………………….
Once you have recharged the batteries so to speak, you will be up and running like new, feeling refreshed and able to cope with life, family and work.
Other ways to reduce stress and relax the body can be undertaken in various ways:-
1. Humour – Is probably the best way to relieve stress, they say that laughter is the best cure and it is also infectious.
2. Brisk Walk – Walking allows you to take time on your own in the fresh air and the exercise help to get rid of stress.
3. Rehydrate – Sometimes the lack of fluid intake will cause stress, so to rehydrate replenishes the soul.
4. Catnap or Powernap – A short rest bite and taking a Catnap or Powernap, which ever you want to call it, recharges the batteries on a temporary basis.
5. Make a Cuppa – Well the good old British Cuppa, tends to solve most things in life! its a combination of the Tea, a short rest and rehydration.
6. Crying – Crying is a way of relieving stress via another emotional state, personally I would rather laugh than cry.
7. Sex !!!!! – Well it speaks for itself, it could be humorous, it beats a brisk walk and afterwards you can have your Catnap / Powernap followed by a nice Cuppa to Rehydrate you. And if that does’nt work then have a good Cry!
But which ever method you take or use, you will feel less stressed.
Alternatively avoid stress by listening to your body and remember you are fundimentally made of three parts your body (the machine) your mind
(is your Sat Nav) and your soul (is the energy and personality that make – You the person) and they all need to be in-sink to be effective. If the machine breaks down or the mind loses its way or is confused, it can’t function normally and your soul is left to carry on and deliver the goods all on its own!
So a healthy body, mind and soul is what to aim for?

What is your experience of feedback at work, when you hear the boss say come into my office, I have some feedback for you.
I know through my career, my experience has been, what have I done wrong and my head and heart would go into defensive mode.
Why do so many people get it wrong, when they have a golden opportunity to have a 121 with a member of staff, they turn it into a mini war based around performance and figures. Don’t get me wrong performance is important, in fact it is vital, if your job is based in sales. But telling people what to do or trying to extract information out of an individual that is in a none responsive mode, is not good. Because the whole experience in a lot situations is not an enjoyable one.
You have your line manager saying why aren’t performing so well at present, what is wrong? And an individual thinking there are to many meetings, briefings and researching going on and not enough time left to really sell? And the response back is you are no different than everyone else, yet they are performing ok? etc.etc.
We are all different and the way we work is also going to be different, so why do managers think the same format is right for everyone!
I have witnessed, in my career as a coach working for various corporate companies the same behaviours being demonstrated time and again. Rather than invest time via diagnostics, coaching and feedback to identify the issues and provide the right intervention. i.e. if it is a knowledge issue, provide training, if it is skills or attitude issue, then provide coaching and feedback and if it is an aptitude issue then the individual will need to be redirected into another role that they can do.
Feedback is a vital part of anyones development, without it, they are unlikely to make it on there own. Investment in coaching and feedback is the correct intervention and the cheaper option which gives everyone the desired results. Yet when the going gets tuff, why do a lot of companies make coaching and feedback training one of the first areas to save money on.
That’s my soap box for the day!
Use and give feedback as often as possible see the difference for yourself, watch a person grow before your eyes just by motivating and developing them. Get your colleagues to do the same for you and see the benefits for yourself.
Or engage in my life of business coaching services and let them help you achieve motivation and develop your own goals and desires.
There is no such thing as failure, only feedback and renewed opportunity. The purpose of feedback is to motivate and develop an individual.
The process for giving excellent feedback ?
Describe current behaviours
Identify Situations
Describe impacts & consequences
Identify alternative behaviours
A useful model I was shown and use on a regular basis, is a model called B.O.O.S.T.
This is an acronym which stands for:-
B stands for Balanced – The feedback needs to be concentrated towards the key areas that would make the most impact and help to develop an individual. It needs to be balanced towards positive feedback and reduce the amount of developmental feedback. The reason being that if there are more than a couple of developmental feedback issues, the individual can only work on a couple of issues per feedback session. You need to be able to allow the individual to focus on the most import issues first and at a later date once they have improved on current feedback, then you can then work on the other issues they may have.
O stands for Observed – The feedback you deliver, needs to have been observed by you personally and not from a third party. The reason is obvious really, if you give feedback to someone that was not observed by you and the person you give the feedback to, then challenges you by saying no I didn’t or that is not true? where do you go, because you did not see it for yourself and cannot confirm either way.
O stands for Objective – Feedback also needs be based on real facts .i.e. what you saw, what you heard, what you felt and what you witnessed. Plus you need to keep any subjectivity out of your feedback, again you have to keep feedback to actual facts and not let what you know about a person influence your feedback based on there normal habits or behaviours. It must be based on actual facts.
S stands for Specific – Be as specific with the detail as possible and give actual real life examples that an individual can remember and recall, based on those examples.
T stands for Timely – Again this means feedback should be delivered asap after the event, not several hours, or tomorrow or next week. Because it will not add any value at all, because to many other things will have been absorbed via the individuals senses. Which will mean they will have deleted, distorted or generalised most of the information.
This is only one type of feedback model, there are other models which can be used feedback.
The above model does motivate and develop individuals and they also enjoy and want regular feedback.

What are you seeking out of life?

If your young it is how to live the life of fun, enjoyment, fulfilment, excitement, travel, music, dating, cars, fashion, image etc. all of these cost money and need commitment. So you want to earn good money to enable you to use the money to do the things you want out of life! But if you don’t plan, don’t set goals to aid you getting your dreams and desires to become a reality, what then?

If you are now ready to settle down, then you have different needs and requirements, you may be looking for a partner to settle down, you may also be looking to develop your career to enable you to buy or rent your first property together. You may have a five or ten year plan to get married, buy / rent a home, have a family, buy a car etc.etc. This also requires careful planning and effective setting of goals if you are ever going to be able to achieve these without being in debt that is possibly causing you problems etc.

Lets say you are now been married, have a home, have children, all the usual family commitments, mortgage, loans, holidays abroad, children’s education, keeping up with the Jones’s etc.etc. Have you planned effective goals to enable you to enjoy your life? Are you on course to achieve what else you may require in life?

I could go on and on about different age groups and different circumstances we all face in life as we progress in life, the one thing we don’t know in life is what is going to happen to us next. But we can certainly take control and head in the direction we want to go and have as much influence as we are able to.

As the old saying goes you only have one life, so lets make the most of it!

If you link goal setting and start to think you want out of life then you are on your way and all you then need is to focus on those goals until you have achieved them and then set new goals to keep you moving in the direction you want.
I have started by adding some data from NLP that I think you will find interesting and ended with how you can use these methods.

NLP techniques help particularly by making it possible for people to………

Set clear goals and define realistic strategies
Coach new and existing staff to help them gain greater satisfaction from their contribution
Understand and reduce stress and conflict
Improve new customer relationship-building and sales performance
Enhance the skills of customer care staff and reduce customer loss
Improve people’s effectiveness, productivity and thereby profitability

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