With the launch of a coalition government it got me thinking how often we assume we have to do everything on our own when there may be ways of involving others – others that until now we thought as competitors or rivals. Who could you partner with today?

Food for thought?

Fire-fighting like the professionals ….
A new year is often a time for resolutions, good intentions, plans and new goals. Yet, all too often, our good intentions and resolutions are sabotaged. ‘Fires’ come along that demand our immediate attention and divert our focus. Before we know it we have reverted to our old ways of doing things.

Over the Christmas holiday period we experienced an, unplanned, ‘opportunity’ to observe professional fire personnel in action. We were staying with some friends and, on returning to their home, were alarmed to discover a fire raging in and around their conservatory chimney and smoke starting to fill the house. Luckily the fire had not really taken hold and was quickly doused with some quick thinking and buckets of water. Just as the last flames were extinguished the two fire engines and crews arrived. However, rather than simply saying, ‘It seems you have dealt with the fire so we’ll be on our way’ (which is what we initially thought was all that was required), the fire crews focused their whole attention on us and the need to ensure the fire was completely out; it could not restart; it had not spread and that the building was completely safe.

Working seamlessly as one team the fire crews doused the area to reduce the considerable heat, used thermal imaging cameras to check for hot spots in the cavity walls, removed panes of glass that had shattered with the heat and made the building safe and secure. During this time they radioed back to headquarters to advise that they were unavailable for any other job. Once the crews had cleared up the considerable mess, they carefully accounted for and gathered all their tools before turning their attention to future prevention. An additional smoke detector was installed there and then, with advice on how to maintain and test the alarm. A risk assessment visit was arranged for the following week and subsequently the whole incident was written up in the local paper to remind others of the importance of smoke detectors and not leaving fires unattended.

Reflecting later on the whole incident, I found myself wondering how often we think we have put out ‘fires’ and move on to something else without focussing our attention and ensuring:
• That the ‘fire’ can’t flare up again
• There have been no knock on effects
• We have put everything back in its place
• We have reflected on what happened and what our own contribution might have been
• We have extracted the learning from the experience

Equally, how often do we stop and take time to ensure that ‘fires’ don’t occur in the first place? Take a moment to ask yourself:
• What ‘fires’ are likely to flare up this year?
• What can I do to minimise the risks? Are detectors in place?
• What can I learn from fire-fighting professionals?

Finally, we may also need to reflect on whether we actually enjoy the adrenalin rush of fire-fighting rather than focussing on what may be important but not actually urgent at the present time.

Food for thought?

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We often ask people, ‘which blog post is your favourite?’  We receive a variety of responses.  Different tips appeal to different people.  However, a common theme has emerged.  It seems that many of you like a good story!  

This story illustrates how even the smallest steps and actions can make a difference.

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The Star Thrower – Making a difference

Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing.  He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.  One day he was walking along the shore and, as he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer.  He smiled to himself and wondered what the dance was about.  So, he began to walk faster, to catch up.  As he got closer he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer he called out, “Good morning!  What are you doing?”  “Dont you realise that there is miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it?  You can’t possibly make a difference!”

The young man paused, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish in the ocean”.

“I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?”

“The sun is up and the tide is going out.   If I don’t throw them in they’ll die”.

“But, young man, don’t you

The young man listened politely.  Then, bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves.  “It made a difference for that one!”

Food for thought?

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We were recently on holiday in Tanzania and had the privilege of spending some time in a Masai village. In talking with some of the tribesmen we were surprised how many had been to university. Later that day we were talking to the manager of the hotel we were staying in and he explained how the Tanzanian government were exasperated in their efforts to get the Masai to give up their traditional nomadic way of life, despite providing extensive funds for education. Many went away to university, studied for their degree, and then returned to their village and former way of life.

Research by Gregory Bateson and Robert Dilts suggests that we have a hierarchy in the way we think about things. They identified six ‘logical levels of thought’, each level providing different information and building on the level below.

The Six Logical Levels:

6. Purpose: The big picture for our life or our organisation.

5. Identity: Who are you as an individual or organisation? What role do you play to achieve your purpose? How do you think of yourself as a person/organisation – eg ‘I am a successful person’.

4.Beliefs and Values: Why do you do something? What do you believe in or value?

3. Capabilities: How do you go about doing things? As an individual or organisation, what are your capabilities, skills, strategies or action plans?

2. Behaviours: What are your typical behaviours? The things that others see you doing and saying?

1. Environment: Where, when and with whom do you display your behaviours? What are the external influences on you?

An Example: Many of us have been on a time management training programme. So, in theory, most of us have the capabilities needed for good time management. We also know what behaviours help and we know how to organise our environment to enhance our use of time. So, how is it that one of the main areas that people tell us they would like to improve upon is time management? From the logical levels model we can see that most of us only made changes at the bottom three levels in regards to time management. If, for example, we don’t believe that utilising a rigorous diary system will work, or we value spontaneity over punctuality or our identity is bound up in being open and accessible to people then, because we haven’t made any changes at the higher levels, it is unlikely that after the initial rush of good intentions the principles of time management will be embedded.

Sustainable Change

Making a change at a lower level (eg environment) may, but not necessarily, affect an upper level. However, a change at an upper level (eg belief) will have a distinct impact on the levels below it, as illustrated in the above example. (You may remember previous newsletters that dealt with the fact that beliefs are only beliefs and so can be changed.)

Using Logical Levels to Explain/Understand Change

The above leads to a number of interesting explanations/discoveries:

1. Organisational change. Have you ever been involved in change within an organisation? What are some of the more common change activities?

How about a new organisation chart? Or maybe change to the physical layout of the offices. This is change at the level of environment. Do you think it will be long-lasting? Only if the change is in alignment with the higher levels.

Or maybe staff are told to perform in a different way (behaviour) without receiving the necessary training (capability/strategy). Unfortunately, this happens far too often. When money becomes tight, the first thing cut is the training budget! Again it is unlikely that the change will be long-lasting.

2 Individual Change. Suppose you have a goal for yourself (health, career, …) and it is not in alignment with one of the higher levels. How successful do you think you will be in achieving your goal?

3. An often cited quote from Albert Einstein is “The problems of today can only be solved at a higher level of thinking than that which created them”. I have heard many people refer to this quote yet few can explain how you can actually do it (ie move to a higher level of thinking). Using logical levels, you can easily explain it. For example, if there is a problem at the behavioural level, to solve it we must move to at least the capability/strategy level.

4. Implementing Change. To implement change successfully, either individually or as an organisation, all six levels need to be considered. Something the Tanzania government perhaps needs to think about if they are ever going to succeed in their aim of changing the Masai.

Food for thought?

Over the past few weeks you have no doubt seen some of the coverage of the 40th anniversary of landing on the moon. You may have noticed that much of the coverage has focused on how such a difficult goal could only be achieved through teamwork.

One thing that struck me was the compelling direction that President Kennedy gave the NASA team in his speech in May 1961, declaring:
“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.”

In his book, ‘ Leading Teams’, Richard Hackman argues that, in all successful teams, leaders set a direction for their team which is clear, challenging and compelling. I would also add that they present the direction with impact as Kennedy did.

Kennedy’s goal was clear – notice he didn’t simply give the goal of landing on the moon it was landing on the moon and returning safely to earth. This clarity served to mobililise attention. (In previous posts we have commented that you need to be careful what you wish for when setting goals.)

Kennedy also provided clarity around the timescale associated with the goal. Without the ‘before this decade is out’ time limit NASA would arguably have taken far longer to achieve the goal.
The goal was challenging with a real chance of both success and failure. Hackman suggests that a goal needs around a 50/50 chance of success to be truly challenging and, of course, there were tragedies along the way to the success of Apollo 11.

Finally, the goal was compelling, invoking the importance for mankind as well as for the USA and so emotionally engaging for all those involved. It was also compelling because it was made clear that the means would be provided, but the NASA team had to figure out the way to do it. Clearly they would also be held accountable and the missions would be very open to public scrutiny.

I am reminded of a story, that you may have heard, about a visitor who was touring NASA during the heyday of the manned space programme. The visitor met various engineers. When he asked them what they were doing, they replied, “We are helping to put a man on the moon.” On his way out he passed a janitor who was sweeping. When the visitor asked the janitor what he was doing there, the janitor replied, “I am helping to put a man on the moon.” Everyone in the program was focused on the mission. That’s real employee engagement, isn’t it?

Forty years on I believe there are still powerful lessons that we can take from Kennedy’s ‘Man on the Moon’ goal when thinking about our work, our goals and those of our team.

How engaged are we at a personal level?
How engaged is our team?
Do we have a clear, challenging and compelling direction?
Do we set a clear, challenging and compelling direction for others?

Food for thought?

Have you noticed that sometimes we are so keen to help people that when they make a statement or ask us a question we always try to provide an answer? Perhaps, at times, we don’t know enough about the stuation but we answer anyway. Perhaps they just need some space to work the answer out themselves but we takeover that space. Maybe we would help more by reframing the question into a more powerful question? Equally, perhaps, sometimes the questions we ask ourselves may limit the answers that we get?

Consider each of the following statements/questions. How ‘powerful’ are they? How could they be made powerful?

1. “I want to go to evening classes but there’s no one reliable to look after the children. The situation is just impossible.”

2. “I’m always worried about money. I’m worried about it regardless of how much I have. It’s just always in my thoughts.”

3. “I’ve moved jobs and I’ve moved house and now I have no friends and no social life. It makes the whole thing seem pointless somehow.”

Powerful questions have a number of benefits:

They refocus thought, eg from problem to solution.

They help someone feel more powerful and constructive about a situation.

They tap into creativity and create options.

They make a problem feel more like a challenge or opportunity.

They create forward movement, ie out of the problem state and into solution or action.

Using our original examples some more powerful questions may be:

1. “I want to go to evening classes but there’s no one reliable to look after the children. The situation is just impossible.”

“How can you get someone reliable to look after the children while you go to evening classes?”

2. “I’m always worried about money. I’m worried about it regardless of how much I have. It’s just always in my thoughts.”

“What is it going to take for you to feel relaxed about money?”

3. “I’ve moved jobs and I’ve moved house and now I have no friends and no social life. It makes the whole thing seem pointless somehow.”

“What could you be doing to feel more settled and meet some new friends?”

Food for thought?

How would you reframe the following questions?

1. “I’m really struggling with this job, and my boss doesn’t support me. He doesn’t even know what I do!”

2. “Why can’t my boss help me?”

3. “I am stuck in a rut”

Are you asking enough powerful questions?