It's all about people

The great thing about this recession is that organisations are beginning to realise that success depends upon people. As a Business Coach my role is to develop people in order to develop businesses, particularly when headcounts are being seriously reduced. The winners are always going to be the ones who engage their employees by getting them sufficiently motivated to take ownership of their part of the company's success.

I hear so many complaints about managers micro-managing their people and ruling by fear - yet being surprised when the results don't come up to expectations. Surely it makes more sense to empower people to get on with what they do best whilst offering them all the tools and support they need?

I'm pleased to say that I have never been busier because the most successful businesses are recognising the need to invest in their key people, developing the talent they already have. It's a bit like bringing up children - if you continually do everything for them they will never learn to do it for themselves, but if you show them how to do it and encourage them to practice their new behaviours they will soon be able to do it all on their own.

My daughter-in-law is a prime example of how it works. She takes her 4-year-old daughter to the supermarket and shows her how to scan the items in her basket, then allows her to do it herself. Of course she's made some mistakes along the way but has learned from those mistakes and is now fully proficient at checking out her shopping all on her own. Staff and shoppers have been amazed at the child's ability but all that was required to give her the skills was a little bit of time and patience. Of course I like to think that my grandaughter is particularly brilliant but I have to concede that her mother has simply given her the tools and support that she needed!
Perhaps personal development is simply child's play after all.

Confidence - is it without or within?

I've just had a very interesting conversation with someone who has, for 50 years, been looking outside himself for approval. He was brought up believing that he shouldn't expect too much but through sheer determination and necessity has found himself in a senior position in a successful organisation, surpassing everyone's expectations of his ability.

Interestingly, until recently, he was suffering from 'Imposter Syndrome', waiting to be caught out because he didn't feel he deserved to be sitting around the board table with his peers. For years he allowed his self-limiting beliefs to colour his judgement and hold him back from achieving even greater things.

Today however he's realised that confidence is something he carries within himself, not something he gets from other people and now feels empowered and self-dependent. He finally trusts his own judgement and is free to be honest and authentic. He still appreciates it when the boss confirms he's doing a good job - but he's not reliant on his feedback because he knows it already. It's been like a door opening and he's now ready to walk through it and see how far he can go.

It's amazing what happens when you get out of your own way, don't you think?

More food for thought..................................

Watch a Master at Work

One of my clients was recently concerned about her defensiveness at work. She's worked incredibly hard and become very successful but still feels the need to prove herself at every opportunity. The behaviour that has got her so far is now in danger of getting in her way and needs to be changed.

I asked her if she knew anyone who she really admired - someone who has achieved great things without the need for external validation. She had no problem finding a suitable role model and went off to have a conversation with him to see what she needed to change in order to be more like him.

The lesson here? If you want to be the best, learn from a master. Watch great leaders and ask yourself, "how do they do that?"

Think of all the people you admire and work out exactly what it is that you would like to learn from them. If it's confidence you're looking for, find a confident person and watch what they do - ask yourself "How do they look and sound? What are they doing differently?"

If it's listening skills you want to improve, find a good listener and ask yourself the same questions.

Why bother re-inventing the wheel when the answers are all around you? Try it out and let me know what you think.

At Last - A Bit of Sense

I was scanning the Daily Telegraph this morning and happened across a fashion article about Sir Paul Smith. According to Celia Walden he is Britain's most successful designer and his brand has doubled its turnover in the past five years, delivering a 15 per cent rise in profits to £150 million in 2008.

The interesting part of this story (apart from being an amazing success story in the midst of a recession) is Sir Paul's attitude to the fashion industry. He admits that he "prefers the creative process of designing and selling clothes to the idea of putting on a poncey fashion show" and describes the process as "pure, self-indulgent theatre - providing lesser designers with their 15 minutes of fame".

Here is a perfect example of someone who believes in himself enough to stand apart from the crowd and allow his talent and vision to speak for itself. You may be thinking that it's easy for him to say all this now that he's so successful - but perhaps it was precisely this attitude that made him so successful?

The lesson here is about developing an inner strength, fuelled by your values and beliefs (rather than superficial status and ego), as a way of navigating yourself to the top of your game. Perhaps the key is to learn from a master and don't worry too much about what everyone else is doing.

My first lesson

Welcome to my new blog - I'm not quite sure what I'm going to be saying yet but I've decided it's time to leave my old newsletter format behind and embrace a new way of working. My life is moving on at such a pace that I've recently found myself resisting the one thing that I spend my life helping everyone else with - change! It's a comfort zone thing and I know that it's what we cling onto when our boat begins to rock - it's also the thing that stops us from exploring new avenues.

Like I said, the destination of this blog is currently unknown but at least I've begun the journey and I'm so happy that you have chosen to join me. What's my first lesson? If you always do what you've always done then you'll always get what you've always got - so let's dip our toes in the water, try out something new and see where it takes us.

Till next time....................