Useful Blogs

Mar 31 2014

Mood Swings!!! Could be stress… mine was

A few months ago, friends became aware of my changing mood swings and this got me wondering, was I was suffering depression? My heart goes out to those who do as I am aware how lonely a place that can be for you but something niggled me that this wasn’t it.

Having had a chat with my coach to assess my situation concerning work and what was happening around me, Stress appeared to be the main culprit. How stupid was I that I didn’t see it, after all, I see it in others and help them but I couldn’t see it in myself. Stress is different for everyone but here are a few signals to look out for and how to deal with them.

Some common signals: Social withdrawal/isolation. Excessive sleeping or insomnia. Feelings of being overwhelmed. Difficulty in concentrating. Heartburn, stomach pain, or nausea. Frequent headaches. And the one that got me… Irritability and angry episodes.

Recognise any of these traits in yourself or others? Don’t be too judgemental, stress could well be the cause.

As situations occur, we make unconscious conclusions pertaining to ‘fight’ or ‘flight’. We assess if it threatens our values, reputation, how it affects our time or even social standing. We look inwards as to how we can handle them and whether we have the means to deal them. Such as knowledge, time, emotional proficiencies!

Control levels then step in which determine how stressed we become regarding how well we can face the threat. This leads to how we work and deal with other people.

So how do we deal with it? Awareness is the first thing and then what to do with that awareness? Here are three approaches that can help according to your way of thinking.

EMOTION ORIENTATED

Consider the way you perceive the situation. In coaching we say that you have control over how things make you feel and this is true… but it does take practice to look at things objectively and when stress is building, it can seem an impossible task. Look to explore:

Thought awareness – looking within and becoming aware of how situations make you feel
Positive mind-set – Create affirmations and seek the positives.

ACTION ORIENTATED

Take one situation, take action to change it!

People –Take control and learn how to say ‘No’ when consistently being called upon to do things. Know what your boundaries or limitations are. Develop an assertive (not aggressive) disposition.
Time Management –How do you manage what you do in the time you have! A major cause for stress. Create ‘Scheduled’ to-do lists. Turn off email notification warnings. Avoid multitasking.
Environment – Cluttered work space, climate conditions, Uncomfortable working conditions, Poor lighting, and even noise pollution. Become aware of these and change what you can.

ACCEPTANCE ORIENTATION

Unlike the other two, this area concentrates on building your own resilience where you are powerless to change the situation. See what may apply to you.

Down Time – Get away from it all as this helps you break away from the situation to return with a fresh outlook. Get some exercise and enough sleep.
Change management – we are creatures of habit and don’t always enjoy change. Learn how to accept or cope with change.
Networks – We know of business networks but consider friends and family as a ‘support’ network. Look at other professions such as consultants as well as coaches to help you see the wood in that forest!
Physical relaxation – We use an audio tool for self-meditation to relax the mind and body. There are techniques such as PMR (Progressive Muscle Relaxation) and even I’m about to take up Yoga!

This is just by means of an over-view. Each component is a topic in its own right and this article is really about helping you obtain some clarity as to what further avenues to explore.

Coaching to Success have helped many people to understand what is causing them stress, then create a programme to get over the obstacle, so we invite you to contact our author, Neil on 07761 187238 or email neil.nutburn@coachingtosuccess.co.uk to set up a free initial conversation to discuss areas on how to reduce stress for you or those close to you.

Mar 17 2014

Management vs Motivation

For this article, I thought I would look at how Management can complement but also deter motivation and bring to your attention some key areas to consider.

I’ve combined Douglas McGregor theory on human motivation which describes two contrasting models of workforce motivation and Extrinsic/Intrinsic motivators.

To start, looking at McGeror’s theory. Simple in its delivery but look how it illustrates two opposing sets of assumptions underlining management policies and practices, can you see these within your own workplace:

Theory ‘X’ naturally exhibit:

Inherent dislike of work
Lack of ambition
Prefer to be directed
Avoid responsibility

Coercion, direction, punishment, monetary rewards needed to meet objectives

Theory ‘X’ managers typically use:

Time-keeping and close supervision
3^rd party quality control (Gets another person to check your work rather than allowing you to check it yourself)
Narrowly-defined jobs & precise, legalistic job descriptions

I find such managers may be autocratic, judgmental & over-bearing, and essentially ‘Controlling’. Companies/organisations with such assumptions are likely to be rigid and unresponsive to customer needs.

Theory ‘Y’ naturally exhibit:

Self-direction in serving objectives to which they are committed
Rewards associated with achievement
Accept and seek responsibility
Creativity, imagination and ingenuity
Intellectual capabilities are generally only partly utilised.

Theory ‘Y’ managers typically:

Affirm people, exhibit trust
Create conditions where individuals can achieve satisfaction while directing efforts to the achievement of organisational objectives.
Provide employees with scope to use talents & creativity
Believe in participation not prescription

Companies with such assumptions about people are more likely to be flexible in facing a changing world.

EXTRINSIC & INTRINSIC MOTIVATORS

Money helps attract and retain good people but consider this for yourself, is it enough to keep people motivated. Research shows these are the most important motivators.

Full appreciation of work done
Feeling of being involved / knowing what’s going on
Job security
High salary
Interesting work

EXTRINSIC

Cash, material benefits, holidays
Security
Working conditions
Career development

INTRINSIC (*)

Sense of purpose & achievement
Autonomy
Sense of knowing what’s going on
Feeling of job competence

(*) Team leaders need to concentrate on this area

CREATING A MOTIVATING WORK ENVIRONMENT

Set challenging targets
Fully inform your team about decisions
Involve more people in planning & innovation
Delegate effectively
Give responsibility for achievement
Clear linkage between effort and reward
Recognise achievements

My belief is taking theory ‘Y’ and combining with the motivators makes not only for a happy working environment but a much more productive one.

Coaching to Success looks at the way you or your team(s) manages the business and then help you to find the best way forward for all concerned.

Aristotle quoted “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” so we give you the means to make your company/firm better than your competition, all you have to do is take the first step by contacting Neil on 07761 187238 or email neil.nutburn@coachingtosuccess.co.uk to set up a free initial conversation to discuss areas you care to improve – take a step into Theory Y!

Mar 03 2014

Six hats to help you make that decision!

I would love to take credit for this but, alas, this is the work of Edward de Bono in his book ‘6 Thinking Hats’. What I have done here is illustrate the basis behind what he writes and will give you my thoughts as to how this style of thought process is great for helping make those decisions.

Often we think from a logical or rational thought process but so many other factors need to be considered and this tool brings them to the fore.

Now I’m a fan of wearing hats and have many different styles and colours. I’m not going to grab them all to carry out this exercise, besides which, the only white one I can think of is my wife’s garden one with a floral ribbon … not quite my style. So, let us look at this metaphorically.

White Hat: (Data)
This is all about looking at the information available to you, what logical things can you recall from past trends? Make deductions from these and what information do you require to complete your knowledge base? Assess, analyse and learn.

Red Hat: (Intuition)
Time to use your gut feelings with a good dose of non-logical emotion. How will your decision ‘emotionally’ affect others? How will they asses your reasoning for taking such action?

Black Hat: (Defensive)
Well, come on, it’s obvious why it isn’t going to work! And this is the voice in our head that normally wins over and we stop. However, this is a great way to look at potential weak points. Develop a plan to overcome them, ignore them for what they are or simply fix them.

Yellow Hat: (Optimism)
Positive thought process is the energy behind any decision. The benefit finder that sees the value in what you’re planning. It’s bright, like sunshine, helps lift you when other things may not quite be going as expected.

Green Hat: (Creativity)
Imagine sticking this one on your bonce to develop creative solutions to a tricky situation. A carefree way of open-minded thinking, void of criticism. Brain dump all yours and other people’s ideas and sift through even the wackiest ones.

Blue Hat: (Process)
Take control of the situation. If things are starting to look glum, order the Yellow hat brigade and their ideas to come forward, if contingency is the name of the game, grab the black hat etc. Blue Hat thinking is the over-view process and insures the idea remains on track.

All too often, we start an idea with ‘Yellow Hat’ optimism yet allow ‘Black’ gloom squash it rather than taking ‘Blue’ approach of listening to what both have to say then introducing White, Red and Green to the discussion!

Coaching to success use this and another similar tool to really explore decision outcomes and will dig much deeper into you or your teams pyche and deliver some amazing thoughts to give that edge over competition or just the betterment of your organisation.

So stick on your ‘Blue’ hat and make contact with Neil either by email (neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk) or call (m: 07761 187238) to set up a discussion to discuss your fashion accessories of hats.

Feb 17 2014

Are you on the Chair-Lift or the Slippery Slopes when it comes to achieving your Dreams?

I’m going to let you into a little secret here. In coaching, one of the tools we use is the GROW model and to help you start to understand coaching better, here’s a quick adaptation of a 20-30min coaching session exercise obtained from The Coaching Academy.

The idea of coaching is to provide the cutters for mental chains that hold you back, allowing you the freedom to explore all avenues. This is only a glimpse as coaches will listen to your replies and question further based on your replies.

GOAL

What do you want to focus on improving? This must matter to you and be something that you have control over

Go forward in time to when things are exactly as you’d like them to be in this area of your life.
What would be happening that tells you this issue has been resolved? What would you be doing? Where might you be going? How might you be feeling?
How will you know when you’ve got there?
What’s the first step that you can achieve in the short term?
Write it down as a ‘positive’ sentence (eg “It’s Friday 10th May and I am skiing down the slopes” keeping to the theme!)

REALITY

Thinking about your goal …

What tells you that this is an issue at the moment?
What’s missing that you want? Be clear.
What’s good in your current situation that you want to keep?
What might stop you achieving what you wrote down you want?
What have you done before to overcome these sorts of obstacles?
When have you achieved something similar to this before?
What can you learn from all of this?

OPTIONS

Make a list of things that you COULD do that will move you closer to your goal. Let all thoughts flow.

If you actually believed in yourself fully, what could you do?
If you weren’t scared of anything, what could you do?
If others gave you space, what could you do?
What if you were advising a friend/colleague? What would you suggest?
Look at your list, read through… what else?
Write down two more

WILL/WAY FORWARD

Select a couple and think specifically ‘what are the actions that I need to do to bring this option about’
If it’s too big, what are the components that you can break it down into?
What actions do you need to negotiate barriers within?
Who else may need to be involved?
When’s a realistic time for you to complete those actions?
Project yourself forward to when we have taken these actions … What will you be thinking, what will your self-talk voice be saying to you?
Think about what you’ll be thinking, seeing, hearing or feeling, whatever is best for you?
How strong is your intention to take that step and carry out the action? Score yourself out of 10. If below 10, what would make it a ten?

Coaching to Success’ Neil Nutburn takes these, and other, principles to finding the best way forward in helping you secure your dream. The first step to take is to contact him for a friendly chat either via phone (m: 07761 187238) or email neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk to see how you can benefit from GROWing yourself or your business.

Feb 03 2014

The art of Delegation, a 5 step process … have you mastered it?

I was reading an article on BBC’s website this morning, fascinated by a leading car manufacturer taking the next step of automated self-parking cars (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25815244) which then got me thinking of how you delegate a responsible task that could potentially result in a very expensive outcome if not done correctly.

1. Learn to Let Go – First and foremost, much like the car, you have to trust that it will work. How many times have you heard it said “If you need something done, it’s best to do it yourself”? … It’s a ‘Must’ to let this go.

Difficult to begin with, so start with singular, low priority tasks. Remember, it’s the end result that’s important, not necessarily the route someone takes. Who knows, they may even find a more efficient way!

With continued examples of success, your own confidence will grow and further more complex tasks can be delegated.

2. Invest Time – Effective delegation is a long-term process needing guidance and patience. Short-term, yes, it is quicker to do something yourself but this seriously puts the brakes on development of the business!

I was guilty of this myself as a director. Once I realised that spending a little time helping and training those around me, I soon found I could let things go.

Invest time in training and teaching others. This may appear painful but in the long-term, benefits of not just saving you time can be seen. People respond better when they feel they are trusted to accomplish a task.

3. Clear Instructions – As with the earlier car example, previously, the input to enable a car to park itself filled the boot with technology, now it fits above the wheel arch. With experience and responsibility, less time is required teaching or training the person(s) you’re delegating too but clarity is necessary throughout.

As with delegation, to begin, some tasks may need constant supervision. This is not to say you micro-manage but help and give motivation that the task is being performed correctly.

Clarity of objective and expectations must be set so the delegated person takes the responsibility and not just the task.

4. Empowerment – All too often I have seen things forgotten or distasteful tasks dumped on someone else to deal with. Thoughtful delegation empowers an employee to develop their own skill sets enhancing knowledge and abilities. They will eventually take over a task without you even getting involved, becoming independent and even more of an asset.

5. Downward Delegation – Carry out a time-audit on what you do over a week/month. Assess how you are spending your time on tasks not necessarily fitting of your position! I too got caught in the chains of progressing through the ranks to the position of director only to find that I was still doing the tasks of the junior manager.

Know what is necessary (both unlikeable and ‘likeable’ tasks!) for you to do and what can be delegated. Set about passing these on to someone else which starts to raise their levels of responsibility as well as freeing up your time.

Clarity is the key throughout the whole process. Successful managers know the importance of delegation and the strength this brings. Coaching to success knows how delegation works best and we can help your company/firm to achieving the best way forward creating a happy workforce as a consequential outcome.

This is only a brief overview so contact Neil on 07761 187238 or email neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk to set up a free, no obligation meeting or chat to see how you can benefit from the skill of delegation as part of ongoing development.