Building on strengths

There are many ways to look at what drives people. Some people are principles-driven, for example, whilst others are prize-driven. Some believe in following eternal principles; others believe in going for economic or other prizes.

People make these choices at a deep level and these govern their daily actions. Each choice does, of course, bring with it consequences.

People who follow their principles often seem to be happier. Why? They try to follow their inner compass each day and, as the French Proverb says:

There is no pillow so soft as a clear conscience.

People who focus exclusively on ‘prizes’ can be dependent on others awarding them a badge of honour. Sometimes they may become consumed by simply grasping the prize.

There is a third category. Some people make following their principles the actual prize and, in the process, may be given prizes. They do what they believe-in and recognition is simply a by-product.

Let’s explore how it is possible to take this latter route in your life and work.

1) You can clarify the purpose, principles and practice you want to follow in life.

So how do you define your principles? Some people can verbalise them easily. They may say things like:

“It is important: a) To be true to myself; b) To be kind to other people; c) To make a positive difference in the world.”

Others may describe more spiritual or material themes. Many people have written about the power of principles.

As Thomas Paine said: “An army of principles can penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot.” So what can you do if your principles do not roll off the tongue?

One approach is start even deeper. It is to clarify your purpose. This is your ‘what’ – what you are here to do.

There are many exercises that people can use to define their purpose. You may have tackled some of these when attending workshops or reading books.

Virtually all invite you to ‘start from your destination and work backwards’. Such exercises include, for example, this one on clarifying your overall picture of success.

Let’s assume that you have settled on your purpose. You can translate this into key principles you want to follow to reach the goal. This is your ‘how’.

You may believe in encouraging people, creating beauty, working to build a better world or whatever. Finally you can translate these principles into daily practice. This is your ‘when’.

Try completing the following exercise.

You can use all three sections regarding your purpose, principles and practice as a road map to follow in your daily life. In this article, however, we are mainly exploring the principles. So let’s move on to the next step.

2) You can focus on the principles you want to follow and how these be expressed by achieving certain ‘prizes’.

The ‘principles’ and ‘prizes’ approaches are often thrown into sharp relief. When looking at education, for example, these can result in totally different philosophies.

Sometimes these approaches can be combined, but let’s start be looking at the extremes.

* The principles approach in education.

This route focuses on following key learning principles that can be used in many areas of life.

These principles include, for example, taking responsibility, setting learning goals, exploring ideas, developing your thinking, improving your work and achieving your goal.

A key factor is that the learning must be relevant and rewarding. So it is important:

a) To clarify what you want to learn and to set specific goals.

b) To follow your preferred learning style and to keep developing.

c) To master the topic and to reach your specific goal.

The process involves learning how to learn. So you can then apply this skill in other areas of life.

* The prizes approach in education.

This route focuses on doing what is required to achieve a specific prize. The goal may be to gain a badge or pass an exam that will open other doors in life.

Sometimes this approach makes absolute sense. For example, it vital that people achieve certain standards to perform a medical operation or fly an aircraft. So it is important:

a) To clarify the ‘rules’ for achieving the specific goal.

b) To follow the required studying style and deliver the right answers.

c) To do whatever is necessary to achieve the goal and gain the prize.

The process emphasises passing a test. Whilst there are benefits, there can be downsides.

Sometimes the process rewards learning by rote, remembering facts and repeating these to get the right result. People may also ‘put on hold’ certain aspects of development and do whatever is necessary to achieve the prize.

Sometimes it is possible to combine focusing on your principles with also aiming for certain prizes.

The Appreciative Inquiry Model, for example, takes this approach. It invites organisations to find and follow their successful patterns. People focus on the 4D model: Discovery, Dream, Design and Destiny (sometimes called Delivery).

Picking a specific topic, they explore when they have performed brilliantly in this area in the past. What did they do right then? What were the principles they followed? How can they follow similar patterns in the future?

People then express these principles in the form of setting a future goal or Dream. They design how to achieve the goal and put in the hard work. People keep going until they deliver the goods and fulfil the Destiny.

AI’s language may sound ‘soft’: but the model delivers ‘hard’ results. One reason it works is because the principles the organisation believes in are expressed in the form of a stretching but satisfying ‘prize’.

This organic approach is more likely to deliver ongoing sustainable success. You can discover more at the Appreciative Inquiry Commons.

http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/

Choosing to follow your
principles to achieve certain prizes

Let’s go back to the principles you believe in. How can you express these in going for a particular prize? Bearing in mind that you can only do your best and ‘control the controllables’, let’s explores some possible goals.

Imagine you have a certain style of writing. You may aim to produce an article, get it published and, if possible, get a specific reaction from people who read the article.

Imagine you believe in running a business in a certain way. You may aim to hit certain targets in terms of your profits, ‘products’ – such as the customer satisfaction ratings – and engagement shown by your people.

Imagine you are a football manager and you believe in certain style of football. Other teams will be trying to stop you, but you can aim to ‘control the controllables’.

So you may aim to ensure your players have a positive attitude, play positive football and do their best to get positive results.

Whatever target your choose, you will aim to express your principles by aiming to lift particular ‘prizes’.

Try tackling the exercise on this theme.

First, describe the principles you want to express in your life or work.

Second, bearing these in mind, describe a prize you want to achieve.

Third, describe the specific things that will be happening on a certain date that will show you have followed the principles and achieved the prize.

Try completing the following exercise.

3) You can make following the principles the actual prize.

“Being true to yourself is the greatest prize,” we are told. Because, to paraphrase the old saying: “What does it profit a person to gain the whole world but lose their soul?”

This highlights a paradox I have found in my own work. Certainly I am results-focused and spend lots of time clarifying the picture of success.

Looking back, however, the most satisfaction has come from following key principles and, as a consequence, achieving a prize.

Twenty years ago, for example, I was asked to help a leadership team to clarify the values for its growing company. Arriving at the off-site, we were told that two senior team members would be late. They had chosen to squeeze in a meeting on-route to the workshop.

We got messages they were on their way, but the traffic was bad. Some of the group suggested we start this first values workshop without the late arrivals, because they could ‘catch up’. But that would be pointless.

The two eventually arrived and I invited the group to make a decision, saying:

“The benefits of living the values in an organisation are enormous. Looking at the values you are going to create, there will probably be one about taking responsibility or showing respect.

"It is a double-message to say it is okay to turn up late and then talk about such values.

"Bearing this in mind, I want you as a team to make a decision. Are you really serious?

"I will go out of the room and give you 15 minutes to discuss the issue. If you are serious – and really want to translate the values into action – then it will be great to work with you. If not, then it is better we go home.

"It is up to you. So I will leave you for a quarter of an hour. Come and get me if you are serious and want to live the values.”

The team took ten minutes to decide. Yes, they were serious.

The two late arrivals apologised for their behaviour and we started afresh. I spent four years working with the company, who actually lived the values they created on that workshop.

Try tackling the exercise on this theme.

First, describe the pluses and minuses of following the principles.

Second, describe how you can build on the pluses and manage the minuses.

Third, rate the extent to which you are serious about following the principles. Do this on a scale 0 – 10.

“That sounds very idealistic,” somebody may say. “But does it work in practice?”

Strangely, it does. Business writers such as Jim Collins, in Good to Great and John Kay, in his book Obliquity, show how companies that pursued their long term principles – rather than short term profit – actually reaped the greatest reward.

“Ah, but some of the companies described in such books hit the buffers,” somebody may say.

Yes, they do. Why?

They often stop following the eternal principles they claim to believe-in. Certainly such guidelines must be expressed in modern day practice.

But such values are forever. They need to be lived, rather than laminated and left to gather dust.

Certainly there are challenges if you aim to follow your principles.

Imagine you are a golfer who is taking part in a pre-qualifying tournament for a major championship. Your ball is deep in the roof and, unbeknown to others, you accidently touch it when preparing to drive.

Do you show you have committed a foul? Or do you hide the offence? The choice is yours. And so are the consequences.

Franklin D. Roosevelt said that: “Rules are not necessarily sacred, but principles are.”

Frank Lloyd Wright continually drew his inspiration for architecture from nature. He said:

“I go to nature every day for inspiration in the day's work. I follow in building the principles which nature has used in its domain.”

Try completing the following exercise.

First, describe the specific things you can do to keep checking you are following the principles.

Second, describe the specific things you can do to check you are on course for the prize.

Third, describe how you can make following the principles the actual prize.

Albert Camus’s book The Fall charts the demise of its narrator who had the opportunity to live in ‘good faith’, but instead chose to live in ‘bad faith'.

The narrator says: “I'll tell you a big secret, my friend: Don't wait for the Last Judgment. It happens every day.”

The people we admire often make following their principles the actual prize. Try completing the following exercise.

Peak performers buy time during the day. They do several things during these time-outs.

* They relax and re-energise.

* They re-centre.

* They refocus.

Let’s explore how you can follow these steps in your own way.

1) You can buy time to relax and re-energise.

Start by drawing a map of your day.

You may get up, eat breakfast, get into the car, spend an hour driving, reach the office, get coffee, sit down at your desk, answer emails, go into a meeting, go straight into another meeting, do emails, make phone calls, have several back-to-back meetings, grab lunch, go into two more meetings, make phone calls, do emails, make phone calls, get into the car, spend an hour driving home, eat, spend time with the family, do emails, relax, go to bed. Then begin again.

Looking at your schedule, when do you get time to relax and re-energise?

Peak performers break down their day into blocks. They always build-in time to re-gather their energy. This rule holds true whether they are pursuing their working day, writing an article, climbing a mountain or whatever.

It’s impossible to go flat-out all the time. So sometimes they take a complete break; other times they slip into a lower gear or cruise control. Re-energising themselves can take different forms. It might involve walking outside, spending time in a quiet area or whatever.

Refreshed by the time-out, they then become completely engaged in the next activity. Failing to take this step leads to running on empty and can affect their ability to make good decisions.

Take a look at your working day or at a specific project you are tackling. How can you create time to re-energise? What will be the benefits of taking this step? Try completing the following sentences.

2) You can buy time to re-centre.

“This is a technique I learned from painful experience,” explained one leader. “Sometimes in the past I rushed into taking action too quickly. Certainly it is vital to act, but first you must focus on the right goal. Nowadays when faced by a crisis I go through the process of asking myself:

‘What are the real results to achieve? What are the potential options, together with the pluses and minuses? Bearing this in mind, what is the option I want to pursue?’

"People say you grow through experience. But it depends what you learn from experience. Buying time gives you the chance to dip into that experience and make good decisions.”

How do you behave at crucial moments? You may be solving a problem, tackling a crisis, making a key decision or whatever. Sometimes at such moments it is vital to re-centre and go back to your deepest values. Taking an helicopter view, you are then more able:

* To clarify the real goal you want to achieve.

* To clarify the potential options.

* To settle on your strategy for achieving the goal.

Try tackling the exercise on this theme. First, describe a situation where you may need to buy time to make a good decision. Second, describe the specific things you can do to buy time. Third, describe the benefits of this approach. Try completing the following sentences.

 

3) You can buy time to refocus.   

Imagine you have settled on your chosen strategies. Take the time to translate these into specific action plans. Good leaders, for example, go beyond clarifying what their team must do to achieve the goals.

They also ask themselves: “How can I communicate these plans in a way that people can understand and use to achieve success?” Certainly if the ‘aircraft is in a spin’ you may simply take the controls and say: “Just do it.” Other times you may want to educate people about:

* The ‘What’ – the specific results to achieve.

* The ‘How’ – the strategies to follow to achieve the results.

* The ‘When’ – the specific things that should be done by who and when.

Peak performers then take an interesting step. They do what they say they are going to do. Sounds obvious, but many other people don’t implement their plans, get side tracked or find an excuse for failing to deliver.

Getting results calls for buying the time to formulate and implement your plans properly. How can you take this step in your own way? Try completing the following sentences.

“The pressures are enormous, so I haven’t got time to buy time,” somebody may say. But paramedics, trouble-shooters and crisis managers believe in taking the helicopter view, even if only for 10 seconds. Taking this view enables them to make the right decisions at the right moments.

Peak performers often have a form of OCD. By this I mean ‘Obsessive Compulsive Discipline’ rather than ‘Disorder’. They tend to be obsessively disciplined in the activities where they excel. Such people know how to use the obsession, however, rather than be used by it.

Let’s explore where you may have such tendencies in certain activities.

1) You can recognise where you have OCD.

Recently I was asked by a retail chain to identify the characteristics of their great store managers. Virtually all of them were extremely systematic in the way they organised their work. One person said:

“I get into the store two hours before everybody else. After organising my day, I walk the store, making sure everything looks perfect.

"When I am in other retailers supermarkets, I find myself pulling the tins forward so they are flush with the edge of the shelf.”

Peak performers love to be in control and have natural discipline in the areas where they are brilliant. They organise things in order to, as far as possible, create predictability. This gives them freedom to respond when the unexpected happens.

So what are the areas in which you have such OCD? You may be obsessively disciplined in running aspects of your business, exercising every day, organising your time, setting up a room before running a workshop, rehearsing what will happen during the day or whatever.

Try tackling the exercise on this theme. First, describe the specific activity where you may have some aspects of OCD. Second, describe the ways that you express this behaviour. Try completing the following sentences.

2) You can recognise the pluses and minuses of your OCD.

Peak performers are systematic in their areas where they perform best. Such an approach does, of course, have both pluses and minuses.

The pluses may be that: they stay ahead of the game, are fully prepared, know some areas in great detail, get things done, anticipate future scenarios, have cleared their brain to think quickly or whatever.

The potential minuses may be that: they appear anti-social when organising their work, sometimes appear odd, may affect others with their OCD behaviour or whatever.

“I am obsessive when running a workshop,” said one facilitator. “I like to visit the venue before the event or, if that is not possible, look at photos on the web and call the person in charge of the building.

"I make sure that the room has natural light, is big enough and there is no outside noise. Frequently I have been told by event organisers: ‘Yes, it is big enough, we have had many more people in the room.’ But I want to know the exact dimensions."

"On the day of the workshop, I arrive 90 minutes before the start, set-up the room properly and produce all the flip charts. I do this even though I may have run such a session 100 times. Going through this ritual ensures I have rehearsed everything before the first participant arrives.”

Try tackling the exercise on this theme. Looking at the specific activity in which you have OCD tendencies, do three things.

First, describe the pluses of behaving in such a way. Second, describe the potential minuses. Third, describe how you can build on the pluses and minimise the minuses.

Try completing the following sentences.

3) You can use your OCD to achieve success.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder was so named because a person chose to let the obsessions rule them, rather than they ruling the obsession. Peak performers use their natural disciplines to help them to reach their goals. This calls for:

* Knowing the OCD behaviour.

* Knowing how to build on the pluses and minimise the minuses.

* Knowing how to use these disciplines to achieve success.

“I have strong control needs,” said one manager. “These are expressed in several ways. For example, I love to keep my email inbox absolutely clear.

"Sometimes people suggest I relax, rather than clear the messages. What they don’t realise is that clearing my inbox is very relaxing. I then feel in control and able to concentrate on everything else. Sometimes it is not possible to give a considered response to some messages, of course, but then I send a holding email.”

“People say I have a similar pattern in other areas. For example, I tend to deal quickly with my ‘emotional in-box’.

"When confronted with an issue, I take control by either dealing with it straight away or doing something to ‘buy time’ before getting back with a considered response. I like to have a clear mind, rather than lots of clutter.

"This helps me to be on top of my game when it matters.”

Try tackling the exercise on this theme. Bearing in mind the area in which you want to excel, describe the specific things you can do to use your OCD behaviour to help you reach your goals. Try completing the following sentences.

Peak performers have the desire and discipline to reach their chosen destination. Sometimes the discipline is obsessive.

Recognising such tendencies in yourself, you can build on the pluses and manage the minuses. Providing these are channelled properly, you can use these disciplines as a platform for delivering success.

A person’s key relationship at work is often with their immediate manager. If the relationship is great, then good work is likely to follow. If the relationship is poor, it is likely to lead to frustration.

Here are three steps you can take to clarify the kind of manager with whom you work best.

1) You can clarify the qualities in your previous good managers.

Try tackling the exercise on this theme called My Good Managers. Looking back on your life and work, write the names of the managers you have had who helped you to perform at your best.

If you are new to the world of work, list the teachers, sports coaches and other people who have enabled you to succeed.

Looking at these people, describe the qualities that you believe made them good managers. Try to be as specific as possible.

2) You can clarify the qualities you want in a manager.

Bearing in mind what has worked for you in the past, clarify the qualities you want in a manager. For example, you may want somebody:

* Who you respect.

* Who gives you some input into the results to achieve – the ‘What’.

* Who, providing you deliver the results, gives you lots of freedom on the ‘How’.

* Who sticks to the agreed working contracts.

* Who you can have a dialogue with and who shares their knowledge in a generous way.

Try completing the following exercise.

3) You can clarify your action plan for finding or working with such a manager.  

Sometimes you get lucky early in your career; but sometimes it can take years to find a manager with whom you can form a good working relationship.

Once you find such a person, it is quite common to follow them around from place to place. This does not necessarily mean you are dependent. But it does may mean that you know each other so well that you automatically start-off at 7/10. You can then work together to reach 10/10.

What if you do not work for such a person? Start by identifying the qualities you admire in a manager, then look around your own and other organisations to find people who demonstrate these qualities.

One point is crucial: it is vital to have a professional values-fit with your manager. So diplomatically ask others how a particular manager reacts under pressure. Find-out what the people who work for them say about that person.

Once you have chosen a manager, use your creativity to find ways to do some work for them, even if it is on a voluntary basis.

Sounds difficult? Perhaps, but the alternative is to suffer from poor management, which is even more difficult. Build credibility by showing the manager what you can deliver. You will then have a head start when they are looking to recruit new team members.

Try tackling the exercise on this theme. Describe the specific things you can do find such a manager – or managers – in the future. Try completing the following sentence.

What is your natural working style? Are you a sprinter or a marathon runner? Do you like to work in short bursts or prefer the long haul? Perhaps you apply the best of both worlds.

Let’s explore how you can take this path by improving your stamina, speed and ‘sleep’ to achieve success.

1) You can focus on your stamina.

“My natural style is to be a sprinter – but my working life seems to be one long marathon,” said one person. “People say I must slow down, but I rather enjoy going fast. I’m not getting any younger, however, so I wonder if I need to reduce my pace.”

People can learn to channel their personality, rather than change their personality. Certainly a ‘sprinter’ can learn to run ‘marathons’, but they may still want the adrenalin kick of working in short bursts. You can take this step by, for example, improving your psychological and physical stamina.

On the physical side, we can learn from peak performers. They break down their time into blocks.

They set aside time to relax, rehearse and then go into the arena to deliver results. They follow this pattern when planning their days, weeks, months and year.

You can do this in your own way. So your days, weeks and months may look something like the picture below. It is vital to build in sufficient time to rest and rehearse in order to deliver results.

“That sounds good in theory,” somebody may say, “but it is hard in practice.” I agree – but it is the method used by peak performers in many fields. One person said:

“During the year there are four hectic periods when I immerse myself in work. Anticipating I will be tired at those times, I always keep the weekends free.

"During the other months I work at home on Fridays. I also never interrupt the weekend by travelling on Sunday.

“Each working day I do creative activities in the mornings. This when I have most energy. Whenever possible, I take breaks between meetings, because this helps me to reflect and make better decisions.”

Look ahead to your work schedule – the marathon – and break it down into reasonable blocks. Create time to prepare properly before each tough period. Build-in time to rest and recover afterwards.

Eat good food that releases energy slowly. This will help to develop your long-term stamina. Try completing the following sentence.

2) You can focus on your speed.

So how can you be a good ‘sprinter’? Providing you have divided your time into reasonable working blocks, you can then concentrate fully and give your best. Let’s explore how to take that step.

First, get enough rest beforehand.

Make sure you are physically and psychologically on top of your game. Concentration is crucial in order to perform at your best.

Second, prepare properly.

Make sure all the practical things are in place – then rehearse properly. Look ahead to the situation – be it a meeting, client visit or whatever. Rehearse what you must do to get positive results.

Third, go into the situation and be fully present.

Give 100% attention. Be fully alert and use your ‘radar’ and repertoire to get the right results. Because you have rested and rehearsed, your ideas will come ‘speedily’.

You will then be able to sprint during this part of the marathon. Try completing the following sentence.

3) You can focus on your ‘sleep’.

Certainly it is vital to get at least 6 hours sleep to refresh the body and soul. Peak performers also create times for rest and recovery during the day or the ‘event’.

Some have an ‘official’ after-lunch cat-nap. Others have ‘un-official’ naps, or times when they relax and re-centre.

They may take 15 minutes between meetings to collect their thoughts. Sometimes they reinvigorate themselves by going for a walk. They are then able to give their best at the critical moments.

Try completing the following sentence.

You will work at a fast pace when ‘on stage’. So sometimes it is important to slow down, gather strength and rehearse the next performance.

The long haul can be broken down into a series of sprints where you give your best. This is more enjoyable and also increases the chance of success. Try completing the following sentence.

You can then be both a sprinter and marathon runner.