Practice Makes Perfect–Myth or Reality of 10,000 hours of practice

Practice Makes Perfect —Really

Does 10,000 hours make you expert or master of a subject or performance activity, like tennis or public speaking? From my review it seems that the key is 10,000hours done in deliberative practice structure. So what exactly is deliberative practice? Most research defines it as an activity with a very well-defined end-goal, which should be difficult. The activity needs to be highly repeatable. There needs to be feedback on the quality of each repetition; so it is helpful to have a coach or friend review your performance.

Many cognitive scientist that the key to mastery comes about when a skill is moved from the short term memory of the beginner to the working long term memory of the expert. Once embedded in the working long term memory, the brain can short-cut the slow process of deliberation associated with juggling new rules stored in the short term memory. Indeed, the operation of working long term memory is like snap judgments or “gut decisions” you make on a daily basis because we have been there before and done that thing we wanted to do.

I believe that the neurological rewiring that occurs during focused attention is the driving mechanism behind the deliberative practice process for learning.  Only focused attention can trigger the brain into the process of rewiring the brain. Self-reflection over the feedback seems to be the important element needed to move a skill from short term memory to the working long-term memory. Often, after I’ve practiced a new technique in tennis, a burst of energy and satisfaction of having let my natural  Self 2 do what it does best without interferences of past experience, doubt or negativity. This is probably a consequence of some kind of rewiring. The repetition of this self-awareness in deliberative practice results in the most effective rewiring, leading ultimately to a state of mastery where the activity can be done quickly, and without effort.

http://boscoh.com/books/towards-mastery-deliberative-practice-flow-and-personality-traits

Rediscovering and Executing Successful Change Process–Kurt Lewin’s Model

“ Unfortunately, some people will genuinely be harmed by change, particularly those who benefit strongly from the status quo. Others may take a long time to recognize the benefits that change brings. You need to foresee and manage these situations.” Kurt Lewin, 1939

Sometimes, as I look at the poorly planned approach of the White House and Congress attempts to lead us out of these difficult times I wonder if any of our leader’s have studied or learned about the how to institute and manage the process of successful change projects. Or are they just flying by the intuitive “seat of their pants” which guarantees  a longer period for adjustment and acceptance of change initiatives and more suffering when changing large system like Health Care, Deficit Reduction and job creation programs.

So I am going to provide one straightforward and simple model developed by Dr. Kurt Lewin,who has been called the father of change management for their edification and use.

Lewin’s Model for Understanding the Process of Change  

One of the cornerstone models for understanding organizational change was developed by Kurt Lewin back in the 1950s, and still holds true today. His model is known as the three-step process for change–Unfreeze – Change – Refreeze. Lewin used a clear, concise and compelling analogy for explaining the change process by describing the simple process of changing the shape of a block of ice into the shape of a cone.

Block of Ice Analogy for understanding Change Process

If you have a large cube of ice, but realize that what you want is a cone of ice, what do you do? First you must melt the ice to make it amenable to change (unfreeze). Then you must mold the iced water into the shape you want (change). Finally, you must solidify the new shape (refreeze).

By looking at change as process with distinct stages, you can prepare yourself for what is coming and make a plan to manage the transition – looking before you leap, so to speak. All too often, people go into change blindly, causing much unnecessary turmoil and chaos.

To begin any successful change process, you must first start by understanding why the change must take place. As Lewin put it, “Motivation for change must be generated before change can occur. One must be helped to re-examine many cherished assumptions about oneself and one’s relations to others.” This is the unfreezing stage from which change begins. If you more details on Lewin’s practical Change Management Model see this website or see a summary on our next page. 

Barriers to Communication Skills Development?– Learners Willingness or Abilities?

” The greatest problems with…older learners occur with meaningless learning, complex learning, and the learning of new things that require reassessment of old learning. “ Merriam, S. & Caffarella, R. Learning in Adulthood.(1991)

Communication skills are often addressed in relation to abilities – the ability to listen, to accurately convey information, select the appropriate channel and to speak to others with clarity, respect and dignity.  As a presentation and communication coach I know at times their is a need for improvement in skills, but more often than not, the issue is not ability; it is willingness (attitude) to be open to feedback and to try new things .  At other times, it is true that adult learners must sometimes “unlearn” practices and habits they have been using for years. This factor is called the “curse of knowledge” by by adult learning experts such as Chris Argyris  Yet in the final analysis, people often have the skills or ability to listen, ask effective questions and share information; they simply choose not to be open to change (attitude). 

What are your ideas about facilitating learning and change with Adult Learners?

Bottom Line vs Power Of Emotional Intelligence: Review 19 Research Studies

“Research by the Center for Creative Leadership has found that the primary causes of
derailment in executives involve deficits in emotional competence. The three primary
ones are difficulty in handling change, not being able to work well in a team, and
poor interpersonal relations.”

This is only one study that highlights the importance of Emotional Intelligence and other factors in being successful in business. To do more investigation checkout the through discussion on why EI is one of the most important elements for any organization in reaching their productivity, profitability and people goals.

The 19 studies reported by Cary Cherniss, Ph.D. at Rutgers University, is part of a larger effort by the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations 

This report builds an over whelming business  case for how emotional intelligence contributes to the bottom line in any work organization. Based on data from a variety of sources, this report can be a valuable tool for HR practitioners and managers who need to make the case  for more assessment EI in recruiting and Leadership and Manger training using EI has the foundation for improving their business culture.

As you read the Report try to identify three ways that you could use EI in your organization and always we look forward to hear your feedback an insights.

Key to Getting Unstuck in 2012–Understanding”Locus of Control” and Choice Theory.

Trapped or Stuck?? Find your niche in the world by discovering your strengths and making your own choices. Are you an external or an inner directed type? Internals think they have more choices and can control their futures and externals think things are more determined by outside situations , fate and luck.

An acquaintance of mine talks about his first love for music and the Arts and yet continues to work in the automotive industry to support his family.  The more we talk the more I realize that he feels and thinks being “stuck” is just his fate. Suggestions for problem solving and opportunity finding are seen as an opportunity for him to play–” Yes, but… He is unhappy and feels stuck and trapped in a thankless and meaningless job because of his responsibilities as a bread-winner.  He is a super smart and very talented but seems sad and frustrated most of the time. He has always done what is right and mostly listened to others to find direction in his career. The kids are moving on to college and he feels life slipping by. He hasn’t had time to follow his dreams. He keeps asking me –what should I do?

I avoid answering this question because advice is cheap and he needs to make that decision; so as a good coach, I ask questions and listen so he has a sounding board for his frustrations.  The problem seems to be his powerlessness to make his own choices and his perception that external sources and situation control his life. He has been doing the right thing and following everyone’s advice except his own dream. He constantly worries about what others think about him and his religiosity of faith and God’s will be done keeps him stuck in the “status quo”.  So in my quest for answers I ask–What can Social Psychological theory tell us about these kinds of situations? My search leads me to Dr. Rotter, a social psychologist, who developed a framework called the “Locus of Control” and how inner direction for life decisions provides a strong basis for making life decisions.

New Leadership Model for 21st Century–Get started now “Walk the The Talk” of Strategic Action

Strategic Action Leader–Risk Taker not just talker. 

“Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes… Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action”.

Peter Drucker  Happiness is seeking a balance between pleasure, commitment and meaning – a sense of purpose in one’s life. Happy managers will find it useful to apply this thinking to themselves, and to the people they manage. This final quote again echoes this fundamental philosophy of “The Happy Manager”. Drucker argued that the critical question we should all ask ourselves is not:

“How can I achieve?” but “What can I contribute?”

Read more:http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/p/peter_drucker.html#ixzz1hNvBOJX6Peter Drucker

One thing you need to be as a leader is the ability to take strategic action with limited information. In other words you must be a risk taker. One of the most often overlooked aspects of leadership is the need for pursuit. Great leaders are never satisfied with traditional practice, static thinking, conventional wisdom, or common performance. In fact, the best leaders are simply uncomfortable with anything that embraces the status quo.  The new leader is always imaginative, focused on quality, truthful, and aware of what’s next, of what to do in times of rapid  change and how to produce value and results by being of service to others

So now let us examine –what it means to “walk the talk ” of leadership. I’ll examine the value of being a strategic action leader. Here’s the thing – pursuit leads to visible “walking the talk”. What you  act on will determine  your journey , the people you meet and connect with,, the character you display and ultimately, what your happiness and fulfillment in life. Having a mindset focused on strategic action is critical to leadership that lacking this one quality can be costly. The manner, method, and motivation behind any action is what sets truly great leaders apart from the masses. If you want to become a great leader, become a strategic action leader no matter what position you occupy in the organization.

A failure to embrace opportunities and be action orientated is to a follower. A leader’s failure to act relegates you to the routine and status quo. Your failure to take initiative leaves you stuck  with the present situation.  Your failure to be action orientated  subjects you  to be marked as expendable and of little value to the organization. Let me put this as simply as I can – you cannot attain what you do not act on.

Smart leaders understand it’s not just enough to have a vision of where the organization is going, but action and risk must be a part of it. Action must be   consistent,  focused, assertive and thoughtful. You must take action on the right situation at the right time to the right people by weighing risks and upside potential.  Perhaps most of all, the best action is thoughtful and strategic. Agility and building coalitions to accomplish your goals are the cornerstones of leadership.  Leadership at the core is highly dependent on collaborative,  inclusiveness and transparency. The greatest strength of leaders is the ability to leverage resources and relationships.

I also want to caution you against trivial pursuits – don’t confuse leadership and strategic actions with tactics.  Outcomes are clearly important, but as a leader, it’s what happens after the outcome that you need to be in pursuit of. Pursue discovery, seek dissenting opinions, develop your ability unlearn what you have learned by embracing how much you don’t know, and find the kind of vision that truly does see around corners. Knowing what not to act on is just as important as knowing what to do and when to do it.

It’s important to keep in mind that nothing tells the world more about a leader than what they do. – that which you do not what you say is who you are as a leader.  If your message to your organization you value talent, but don’t treat people well and don’t spend time developing the talent and rewarding them, then I would suggest you are a hypocrite  Put simply, you can speak  all you like, but your actions will ultimately reveal what you truly value.

What’s been the best thing you’ve done as a leader of others’ this year? When and where have you “walked the talk” of an action leader either at work, in the community or with your family? Based on that personal evaluation what do you commit to differently in 2010?

Learn to use the “Ripple Effect” for Unique connections

What is the “Ripple Effect” when it comes to communicating and presenting ideas or a proposal to others.  The Ripple Effect is a simple and practical way to spread an idea virus through your audience and their networks. The ripple effect explains the notion that from small acts we can create big changes In the the book Dragonfly, Andy Smith and Jennifer,  Draggonfly Effect, Part 1 provide a framework and compelling case studies to show readers how to harness social media for change, happiness and positive results.

Why the dragonfly? The dragonfly is the only insect able to propel itself in any direction when its four wings are working in harmony. It symbolizes the importance of integrated and insynch effect and is akin to the ripple effect—a term used in economics, sociology, and psychology to indicate how small acts can create big change.  The method relies on four essential skills, or wings: 1) focus: identify a single concrete and measurable goal; 2) grab attention: cut through the noise of social media with something authentic and memorable; 3) engage: create a personal connection, accessing emotions, empathy, and happiness; and 4) take action: invite and enable  others to take positive action to fulfill original goal or purpose.

The Ripple Effect depends on open and two-way communication to connect and convey information, ideas, experiences and knowledge.  To be effective and efficient the “Ripple Effect” in  interpersonal communications needs to be targeted to the right audience, with the right message by the right messenger and at the right moment when audiences are receptive and feel the message is relevant to their needs. Executing the “Ripple Effect” takes strategic thinking, exquisite planning and timing.

Learn to get what you really want by first giving of your time, your talent and your expertise. As you”’ discover, the ROI of selflessness is truly astounding. The Ripple Effect will teach you how to:

• Connect and create more meaningful relationships

• Use new social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to extend your connecting efforts

• Avoid common networking mistakes, both online and in person

• Leverage your network to open new doors and create new opportunities

• Establish connection lifelines that will bail you out when things get really tough

Painting a tantalizing picture of what business – and life can be once you decide to put other people first, The Ripple Effect is an indispensable resource not only for executives, sales managers, customer service representatives and entrepreneurs, but for anyone who wants to leave this world a better place than they found it.

Exercise on Interpersonal Conflict: How to control frustrations and anger to solve problems

 

“If we don’t change the direction we are going, we are likely to end up where we are heading.” – Chinese Proverb

Of the three basic emotions that lead to poor productivity and interpersonal flare-ups —disappointment, frustration and fear—frustration leading to anger is the most destructive. Your particular situation may involve enormous frustrations and disappointments with others or yourself.  (“I needed to find better ways to handle Danny’s tantrums before I create a never-ending battle of the wills.” Darn him for always having a melt down when I need his cooperation.”) or enormous self-anger (“Why, why, why can’t I be a better Dad when things are not going well with the kids; m expected reaction just raises the temperature and sets him off. I really hurt our relationship when I get anger.” Whatever the proportions, some feel frustrated guilty but resist letting the situation escalate to anger, shouting and demanding; others acknowledge their frustration and inability to handle the situation but feel “stuck” in same old patterns.. Most of these regrets get you stuck in unproductive perseverance.

Considering frustration and anger separately makes both more useful. Right now, think of something or someone you are frustrated with… With that situation or person in mind, finish this sentence: “I’m frustrated that __________.” Repeat the exercise until you run out of frustrations and things related to that person or situation. For example, if you are  frustrated with a building contractor not finishing on time or making major errors on the project, you might say, “I’m frustrated and extremely disappointed that I have to stay on top of every piece of this remodeling project or it doesn’t get done on budget or in a timely manner. I’m angry that I chose such an incompetent builder and that this project is taking up all my time and energy. ” So this first exercise gets at the root causes for the frustrations.

Now that you have fully itemized the causes for the frustrations make another list of possible solutions needed to be implemented to solve the causes. In this part 2 of the exercise begin each sentence with the phrase, “I’m frustrated and angry at ________ because________ and I want to resolve this by _____________” For example, “I’m angry at Bill, the builder,  because of the cost and time over runs and I want to solve this by instituting a daily meeting to set priorities and action items for completion. To ensure we stay on task I am immediately bringing in a new supervisor for the project.” I’m sad about the need for this tight structure and supervision and the finger-pointing and blame game that has been going on” Write down the solution based  on your identification of the causes for the frustrations and anger about the personnel and situation.

Underneath frustrations is the feeling of disappointment when looking back at what we could have done. It does have a piece of self-loathing. Also, anger for what took place or is still happening. Try learning the lessons the experience is teaching you now rather than looking back and obsessively contemplating what could have been. Reflecting on Warren Buffet’s view of looking back may help you put frustrations and disappointments in perspective–”I never look back. I figure there is so much to look forward to that there is no sense thinking of what I might have done. It just doesn’t make any difference. You can only live life forward.”  So as you think about your frustrations right now–If you had the opportunity for a “do over” what would you do differently? What can you do now to correct the situation or put the project back on track?

Finally, remember that you need to focus on living and working fully and intensely in the present, with minimal infringement from the past failures or miscues to solve this problem and improve productively and enable others on the team to do their best work.

Daily Quote and Reflection: When Your Way Forward stalls, de-rails or goes wrong .Try the 5 R’s of moblization

Daily quote: “In the middle of the road of my life I awoke in a dark wood where the true way was wholly lost.”–Dante 

Reflection:

1. Re-evaluate the purpose of your idea or plan. Obtain new information and knowledge about what is working and what is not.

2. Rekindle the “heart” or core of your message. Does your message inspire and bring passion to the cause?

3. Re-strategize—Is the plan mobilizing a following and does it have the staying power to over obstacles and take actions that can make a difference?

4. Re-focus—Make the initiative or idea a top of the mind priority. Stop and re-examine  mission, vision, goals and strategies for action.

5. Re-energize followers by focusing on ownership and “Big” picture. This is our stake in the ground, we own the results or failure of the initiative. No excuses permitted for in action. If you are not committed or don’t own the plan you can’t lead

Action Challenge: Stop tonight and reflect and re-set one of your New Years Resolutions. Good Luck and never give-up. 

Fact: 80% of employees not involved or engaged at work. Want to change this situation?

In the past I have blogged about the chain for success in motivating and creating engaged employees. I have used SAS, rated last year as number one or best place to work and Whole Foods as models because they pay a living wage above their peer group, individual opportunities for growth through education and training and create pleasant, safe and involved workplaces. The results show if employees are treated fairly and with respect then customers will be satisfied and beat a path to their door. I have ask you to reflect on what a great workplace would be like and you respond with replies that essentially follow some of the elements Tony Schwartz in a recent HBR article. I think Mr.Schwartz has it right and wanted to share some of his observations and insights. He and other researchers have found  – That only 20 per cent of employees around the world report their excited and fully engaged at work. This group sees work as a “want to” not as a “have to”.  This 80/20 gap has important significance for workers, company and especially customers.  Mr. Schwartz says “It’s a disconnect that serves no one well. So what’s the solution? Where is the win-win for employers and employees? The answer is that great employers must shift the focus from trying to get more out of people, to investing more in them by addressing their four core needs — physical, emotional, mental and spiritual — so they’re freed, fueled and inspired to bring the best of themselves to work every day.” He identifies 12 elements for successful workplace that engages and respects employees. For example he talks about sharing the wealth and rewards of profitability with all stakeholders. This element would say to employees we ar all in this venture together “Give all employees a stake in the company’s success, in the form of profit-sharing, or stock options, or bonuses tied to performance. If the company does well, all employees should share in the success, in meaningful ways.” He cites  11 other elements that lend credence to his theory of how to go about creating a win-win environment for all. In this article you are provided with a standard to measure your company against. So get busy seeing if your company passes the test of employee engagement and if you are in a position of influence start thinking about what needs to be changed in your workplace to create an environment that gets everyone engaged and supportive of the organizations mission and vision. .

Secret to High Performance–Law of Frequency the Plus-one Mastery technique.

PlusOne Mastery Effect

“Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select—doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.” Dr. John Watson  (1930)

 In attempting to change behavior it is important to look at an “old true and tried” principle of learning called the law of frequency. The law of frequency suggests that the more a person practices the correct and desired behavior, the more a person will use and make the desired behavior a personal habit.  This principle was first introduced by Dr. John Watson,, a noted behavioral psychologist,  introduced the term behaviorism and was a vocal advocate in the early part of the 20th century. Watson called for the use of scientific objectivity and experiment in to the study of psychological phenomena. He also proposed a law of frequency that stressed the importance of repetition.

“The more frequent a stimulus and response to occur in association with each other, the stronger that habit will become.”

The key building block in using the law of frequency in training is to create what we call the Plus One Mastery Learning sequence:

• The technique is to learn a process one step at a time while adding each new step to the preceding learned steps until all steps are mastered.
• To be successful with this technique each skill is broken to its smallest parts so that the experience of executing and practicing the correct skill or chain of skills is achieved. 

Presentation Training Example—in training people to present an effective speech, break the presentation down into manageable and logical steps; such as:

1. A high energy, catchy and attention grabbing opening–This where the key message and challenge for the participants is discovered and delivered.

2.  The body with three–four key points with relevant examples and applications that make assertion and provide evidence to support the key message

3. An enthusiastic and compelling close.  The audience is challenge by a call for change and action regarding the key message. This is where the payoff for a strong persuasive speech is translated from words to constructive action.

The assessment instruments provided tangible evidence that I am a strong leader with a desire to win.  I possess a strong need to dominate, to be independent and yet have a sensitivity and empathy for others situation.  and my impact on them.  Mix this in with a strong sense of the need for rules (responsibility) even though I question, and challenge them.  I produce results so do not breathe down my neck, trust me to get the job done. When questioning the rules I become an advocate for change who is creative in finding workable solutions.

Learn Recovery Techniques: For Coping with Life’s Difficult Challenges

Have you ever thought that your life was out of control and you wanted to live it with more energy, less stress and at your own pace?

Difficulties and challenges are part of life, so when bad things happen it is best if you are armed with skills, a mental set and positive emotions to help you get passed and through these problems. I recently, was introduced to a Mental Health process that I think could be good for anyone any time for any of life’s challenges. This process is called WRAP® -Wellness Recovery Action Plan. It was developed by Mary Ellen Copeland as  a structured plan developed by her to help face and recover from life’s challenges.  It is a system that you devise for yourself that helps you work through stress, anxiety and other mental health challenges or life issues. It is flexible and adaptable to any situation. Through awareness and observation, you identify those things you do to help yourself feel better when you are not feeling well, and those things you do to stay well and enjoy your life. The system demonstrates how to use these tools to develop personal action plans when facing difficult challenges. This a proven system being use by many people all over the world to create more meaningful and happy life’s. Check it out and start gaining control of your life through understanding negative and positive emotions and taking action to put your daily life back on track.

Revisiting Self-Renewal –Smart-Steps and Renewal of Mental Maps

 

“Exploration of the full range of our own potentialities is not something that we can safely leave to the chances of life. It is something to be pursued avidly to the end of our days. We should look forward to an endless and unpredictable dialogue between our own potentialities and the claims of life — not only the claims we encounter, but the claims we invent. And by potentialities I mean not just skills, but the full range of our capacities for sensing, wondering, learning, understanding, loving, and aspiring…Change is the essence of a great civilization and self-renewal and community are the drivers for it.”  John Gardner  

Self-Renewal: Smart-Steps personal change process is about attention and acceptance. Focus, attention, acceptance and deliberate decision making and problem solving are the cornerstones of living a purposeful life. Smart-steps personal change process is not about instant change and magically thinking. It’s about being fully engaged in the “here and now” and being aware of why you are living the way you are, and knowing that life is about choices you have made. SSPC is about designing our lives to align our values, beliefs and daily action on a purposeful life mission.

Want more effective Mental Maps? Try using this learning process technique…

“Our view of reality is like a map with which to negotiate the terrain of life. If the map is true and accurate, we will generally know where we are, and if we have decided where we want to go, we will generally know how to get there. If the map is false and inaccurate, we generally will be lost.” -M Scott Peck.

If it is obvious that asking questions is such a powerful way for learning. So why do we stop asking questions and give more advice or try sell our arguments at any cost. Self-protection? Fear of cognitive dissonance? Or are we just lazy learners? Most in order to create a comfort zone   assume they know all the main things they need to know on a subject and then go through life looking for examples and evidence to reinforce our own believes and view of the world. They don’t bother to ask questions because they do not want to upset their views and beliefs. So they don’t ask questions because would require change and pain for them. They cling to outdate  beliefs and remain certain in their assumptions – yet they often end up saying stupid things like the world is flat or all those “people” are lazy or do such and such. This inability to be open minded and flexible leads to absolute dogma and in many situations looking or sounding foolish.

Other people are afraid that by asking questions they will look weak, ignorant or unsure. They like to give the impression that they are decisive and in command of the relevant issues. They fear that asking questions might introduce uncertainty or show them in a poor light. In fact asking questions is a sign of strength and intelligence – not a sign of weakness or uncertainty. Great leaders constantly ask questions and are well aware that they do not have all the answers.

Finally some people are in such a hurry to get with things that they do not stop to ask questions because it might slow them down. They risk rushing headlong off the cliff.

With prospect, with clients, at school, at home, in business, with our friends, family, colleagues or managers we can check assumptions and gain a better appreciation of the issues by first asking questions. Start with very basic, broad questions then move to more specific areas to clarify your understanding. Open questions are excellent – they give the other person or people chance to give broad answers and they open up matters. Examples of open questions are:

• What business are we really in, what is our added value?
• Why do you think this has happened?
• What are all the things that might have caused this problem?
• How can we reduce customer complaints?
• Why do you think he feels that way?
• What other possibilities should we consider?

As we listen carefully to the answers we formulate further questions. When someone gives an answer we can often ask, “Why?” The temptation is to plunge in with our opinions, responses, conclusions or proposals. The better approach is keep asking questions to deepen our comprehension of the issues before making up our mind. Once we have mapped out the main points we can use closed questions to get specific information. Closed questions give the respondent a limited choice of responses – often just yes or no. Examples of closed questions are:

• When did this happen?
• Was he angry?
• Where is the shipment right now?
• Did you authorise the payment?
• Would you like to go to the cinema with me on Saturday evening?

By giving the other person a limited choice of responses we get specific information and deliberately move the conversation forward in a particular direction.

Asking many questions is very effective but it can make you appear to be inquisitorial and intrusive. So it is important to ask questions in a friendly and unthreatening way. Do not ask accusing questions. “What do you think happened?” will probably get a better response than, “Are you responsible for this disaster?” Try to pose each question in an innocent way and ensure that your body language is relaxed and amicable. Do not jab your finger or lean forward as you as put your requests.

Try to practice asking more questions in your everyday conversations. Instead of telling someone something, ask them a question. Challenging questions stimulate, provoke, inform and inspire engagement and learning. Questions help us to teach as well as to learn.

Smart-Steps for more positive mindset and action

1. To strengthen our own “stress hardiness” and lessen the likelihood of anxiety and burnout: Practice answering the following questions  :

√ Passion and Commitment: What brings purpose to your life?

√ Challenge: Try reframing  difficult situations as  opportunities for learning.

√ Self-Control : To focus your time and energy on areas of your life over which you have  some influence and control.

√ Change intensity of response: Focus on things that happen to you that are unpleasant as inconvenient rather than awful.

Attention Sales Managers who want POSITIVE Change…Learn “Process with Structure” Framework

New Roles for Sales Managers “Process with Structure” 

” If you don’t have a strategy, you will be permanently reactive and part of someone else’s strategy.” Alvin Toffler, author Future Shock    

Definition of Structure:

Structure is an entity or whole system (organization, department, team etc.) made up of parts (reward systems, values, workload, resources, allocation of budgets, market position, sales funnel and so on) that dynamically creates energy that facilitates success by forming interdependent relationships between goal orientated individuals.  Structure helps the parts of an organizations function together in predictable ways to achieve high levels of performance.  Most people think that structure means organization charts, boxes and reporting lines/relationships this is as helpful as saying people are skeletal structures as displayed in x rays.

Why new structural roles needed:

1. Increased customer demands and expectations of sales organizations to understand their business goals and marketplace needs
2. Want salespeople to be more business minded and consultative by providing solutions for business and market challenges and changes. 
3. Want more customized and creative solutions that help organization reach their market goals for increasing revenues and improved productivity.
4. Sales managers must develop new skills of strategy, field marketing communications coaching/training and coalition building with other departments in order to help sales people succeed in the future.
5. Customer is King and don’t ever forget.

Insyn Roles: “Form (role) follows structure”

• Strategist- skill in defining the future imperatives of industries and marketplace by identifying opportunities, messages and partnerships that need or want companies products and services. Also, the ability to identify new sales structures that will support changes in the makeup of the workforce and demands of the market place.
• Coalition Builder- focus on improved communications, network building and collaborative interpersonal skills
• Coach/mentor- provide support and direction for market changes and help in securing long-term customer relationships
• Advocate-for change/ change masters- Understanding the dynamics of change and reasons for implementation failure.  Understanding requires us to gather information and insights about structures that facilitate change strategies and implementation requires us to be thoughtful, disciplined, sensitive and creative in executing change processes or projects.

Issues for the Future