The Blue Pea Leader

In this podcast I want to talk about how you can create a culture change quickly.

First let’s start by looking at why creating the right culture is important.

It’s the hidden force that drives most of our behaviour in the company.  Therefore, it drives our choices or decisions

Culture and leadership are the same coin, just different sides.  Leaders are responsible for managing the culture, re-enforcing what’s still working, leading the way and role modelling what needs to evolve.

A leader must be right for that stage of a business.  There are leaders that are great at turning a business round, those who are great for stability and those great for growth.  There are leaders who are great for start-ups, those taking it to the next level and those who are right for large, mature organisations.

Bring in the wrong leader for the phase of the business you’re in and complications ensue.

When new Leaders join a team or business and don’t know how to manage culture then things can get messy, fast.

They either fight the existing culture – which can result in them being spat out quickly by the company or employees play the game and on the surface go along with the new leader, waiting it out till the leader moves on.  Existing cultures usually win here.

The new leader could give in to the culture – in which case what needed to change and evolve doesn’t.  This is usually a slow creeping death.

In a nutshell it’s derived from unspoken behaviours, mindsets and social patterns

Culture shapes the attitudes, decisions, choices that are made.  It defines what’s normal, acceptable and rewarded in this team, site or company.

Culture is like a soup, if it’s a healthy one it nourishes you.  If it’s unhealthy for you then you want to get out – it’s one reason people leave within 6 months of joining an organisation.  What’s more as an organisation grows the culture will evolve, as it does, some people choose to leave, the soup no longer right for them.  Sometimes though evolution is required but it’s fought by all and then the soup becomes toxic and if nothing happens the company goes under.

Observing the culture could be split into 3 aspects

What do you see around you, the artefacts, the behaviours.  Eg Is it open plan, formal dress, mini football table, what’s the art on the wall, the way the phone is answered or you’re greeted at reception – it’s the surface presentation of the culture, but it might not actually be the culture.  Some of what you see could be the desired culture or it could be the espoused culture.  In some cases it’s just a collection of stuff and means nothing at all.  Without further enquiry, observation and interrogation you don’t really know how valid this stuff that you’re observing is.  Plus you need to remember you’re observing it through your subjective filters.

The values they state.  Eg Teamwork.  But how do they behave that demonstrates teamwork?  Is it that no decision is made until we all agree.  People can attend any meeting they fancy if they believe they have something to contribute.  We work together and no one is left to sink.  No shouting or strong expression of emotion.  It’s OK to let rip if it’s at the idea not the person.  You see how these are all different and without being explicit then each person will come with their expectation of what this value means.  The upshot is that people think they’re living the value and others might disagree.

Then you need to observe – are decisions made in line with the values or conveniently forgotten if it’s going to cost time or money.

What’s the history of the team or organisation.  What were the key values, beliefs, assumptions and mindset of the founders.  What worked, brought success that was then taken for granted as the way to do things and is no longer considered, or challenged.  It’s also taught or passed on to newcomers as this is the way to think / feel and act to experience success. Or stay safe or have some stability.

Here you’re looking to discover what are the deeper underlying thought patterns that drive emotions and behaviour

In summary then culture is highly unconscious and unless you become aware of it, it is managing you and the results that are possible.  As a leader it’s critical you become aware of it and learn how to use it.  This will help you navigate challenges better as well as bring greater results.

Which brings me to a question I’m often asked

Discover the underlying thought patterns that are driving the culture and then you know where to start the shift.

What still works, what’s outlived its use, what are people strongly attached to that they are reluctant to let it go.  What’s required to support the desired culture.

Now sometimes a leader in a team can step back and observe, discover, and implement – no external 3rd party help is required.

Often though external help is.  Now again sometimes the external can be external to the team.  But external to the company gives you that ultimate fresh perspective, plus we’ve also done this a lot, so we can guide you as to ways of getting the outcome as fast as possible.

A lot of change initiatives fail because no one considered the culture and whether the new change could operate in the current culture.

Culture change initiatives fail for a variety of reasons

If you’re looking to create a culture shift in your team then these are some key elements.

Effectively you’re doing the above on a larger scale.  Which can be daunting.  It’s good to know there are tools and frameworks that allow you to get insight as to where you are right now, where is the low hanging fruit, what looks like the best path to take to get you where you want to be.  What are the other considerations you need to focus on and improve so that the culture shift is sustainable – systems / recruitment / leadership / relationships / learning and growth / product.  I love the Barrett’s Values Culture Assessment for helping with all of this.  Yes there is a cost associated with doing this, however the insights it reveals and support it provides is worth it’s weight in gold.

How long is a piece of string – in a team it can happen in as little as 90 days, if it’s managed well.  And then extrapolate from there.  If we’re changing the culture of an entire organisation of 1000+ people then you’re looking at a good year plus, (again if it’s well managed).  The reason it takes longer is because there will definitely be shifts required as I mentioned in areas like recruitment, compensation and benefits, general organisational systems.

Culture indicates the future performance of the business.  It affects engagement, staff retention, being able to attract future talent.  These things impact customer satisfaction and trust in the brand.  All of which hit the bottom line.

I come back to something I mentioned earlier – if you’re not actively managing the culture of your team / department / company then it is definitely managing you.

If you want to discuss how you can get better at managing your culture contact me

In the meantime

Go be the difference in leadership

The post How to Create a Culture Change – FAST appeared first on Blue Pea POD.

With the end of 2022 in sight, I’ve been looking at my productivity.  My August went by so fast I missed it, and September wasn’t much slower.  So much so that I began October with more work than I knew I could get through.  I started to get that sinking feeling, where I have this crazy desire to pull the duvet over my head and hope I wake up when it’s all over.  Instead, I muttered some inspiring words, in this case “pull yourself together Ruth”.  And thought I’d better sort out my focus, priorities and relook at a few of those entertaining but time sucking distractions.

And voila I entered November feeling like I’d finally got a grip of the year, rather than the year having a grip of me.

Now I don’t know how your diary and productivity are as December knocks on the door with its plate of mince pies.  But if you think you want to be more ta dah, tick, tick, tick…hey I’m making things happen.  Then I have a few ideas for you.

Have an honest look at them.  Do they still excite you?  Are they still valid?  Knowing what you do today could they be improved?

Once you’ve reassessed you have your priorities.  And that does mean making some tough decisions.  In my case I moved the deadline on one.  I’m getting better at being human, rather than demanding I’m wonder woman.  I also binned one goal, which was a result of looking at it from where I and the world is right now, rather than when I set it.

Now look at your daily actions.  Have they got anything to do with any of your priorities?

Too often we get sucked in to working on those priorities that come in via email, slack and a quick phone call.  If we step back, and hit pause, there’s a good chance that the request isn’t aligned to your priorities / goals.  I’m not saying it isn’t important and a priority for the other person.  If we enjoy collaborating, supporting our team, or suffer from people pleasing and the word no struggles to make it into our vocabulary, then we can pay a higher price.

To achieve your goal, there will be actions that are easy and those that are more complicated, uncomfortable or just plain who knows how they’ll turn out.  If you’re only doing the easy, comfortable actions you’re not going to make the progress you could.  Are you choosing the equivalent of the banana smoothie and pretending you’re full when it comes to the spinach and kale one.  The latter is nutritious, the taste takes a bit of getting used to.

What are you putting off and why?  When you get honest with yourself you can then do something about your answer.  There are things I put off, and when I’m honest with myself it allows me to make better decisions.  That might be I decide not to do it and manage the consequences.  Or I diarise it along with a reward for doing it.  Sometimes it’s realising that I’ve attached some drama to it.  Like…

“What it if all goes wrong”

“What if I do this and they laugh at me”

“I’m not ready yet, I just need to…..”

Now you’re reading this far, so I’ve had your attention for more than 8 seconds.  And I appreciate that.  I read the other day that we now live in a world where the average attention span is 8 seconds before the person begins to get itchy and looks to move on.  Multi-tasking is a myth, or an illusion at least.  If something is worth doing, I’d bet my tuna sandwich this lunch time that it’s worth focusing on 100%.   And getting the real reward from doing it will come when you do it for longer than 8 seconds.

Check out how often you get seduced by wanting instant gratification for your action.

If you’re looking to lead from significance and service, then instant gratification and multi-tasking aren’t going to help you.  Growth, learning, being uncomfortable, doing the hard stuff are the ingredients that take you to success.  Stamina and focus are required.

If you’re looking for quick pick me ups, satisfaction and being busy busy busy then switch your attention and focus frequently.  As you do this more you train your brain to work this way.  Do it enough times and your brain won’t want to focus for a long period of time.  The downside here is that your ability to be creative and innovative is also reduced.  The next effect is that you set smaller goals and off round the roundabout you go again.

A phrase I hear and sometimes use myself.  The thing is, we don’t make time.  Time just is.  60 minutes in an hour.  24 hours in a day.  Here’s one shift for you.

Are you spending time or investing it?

Look at your day.  You’ve planned it out and intentionally allocated tim e to those actions that are going to achieve your goal, including some spinach and kale smoothie ones.

So, use hindsight at the end of the day to help you refine, would you classify each action as an investment or a spend.

Let’s say I spend 30 minutes chatting to Yvonne about the latest Tik Tok dance craze.  Investment or Spend? Well, if it’s helped me get to know her more and build our relationship, then investment.  If one of my goals is to nail the Tik Tok dance craze, then investment.  If, on the other hand we have a great relationship, or I’ll never see her again, then it’s a spend.

All work and no play make Edward very boring.  Look at your day or week and schedule time to play, to indulge in a distraction.  It will make you more productive.  And in case you think I’ve gone completely nuts.  Hang on.  When you pay more attention to what you do, and how you use your day.  You’ll notice there are things that you do and they’re not an investment, they’re not a priority, in fact they probably don’t even align to any goal.  What you will notice is that when you do them you feel rejuvenated.

Remember I said that sometimes I diarise a task I would procrastinate on with a reward straight after.  Well, that reward can be one of my distractions.

Over the years I’ve come to know what I do when my mind is exhausted.  Until I moved to the sea it was surfing the web for shoes.  I just needed to learn to set a time limit, or the pleasure comes with regret and panic that I still need to complete the rest of my diarised actions.  The magic timeframe, well longer than 8 seconds, I usually set a timer for 5 minutes.

Leaders often set a bad example when taking breaks.  Eating lunch at your desk whilst preparing for that afternoon’s meeting.  We so easily get caught in the trap of cannibalising our breaks to fit in those extra requests.  And our energy levels begin to drop.

Distractions when done with discipline, give us those 5-minute breaks.  30 mins for lunch, 10-15 minutes for a coffee and a distraction or two a day, and we’re recharging and working with our brain.  Lunch and coffee on the go only ever looks cool and good in the movies.  In real life it results in us having lower concentration, poor decision-making and indulging in too many undisciplined distractions and metaphorical banana smoothies.

If you want a highly productive team, then revisit everything I’ve shared.  What are you role modelling and teaching them to impersonate?

Until next time, go and be the difference in leadership

Ruth

The post Is Distraction Good for Your Productivity? appeared first on Blue Pea POD.

Carl Jung was the first person to bring archetypes into the more mainstream.  He said you could no more separate yourself from your archetypes than you could separate yourself from your DNA. 

We’re familiar with archetypes and their influence even if we don’t go around thinking consciously about them. 

The word archetype means original imprint.  It’s a pattern or essential properties of something that determine how it behaves.  

If I say the word Caregiver, you have a pattern of qualities, properties and behaviours underneath the word. 

Knowing more about an archetype helps you understand how it’s influencing your life, shaping your decisions and choices.  Being conscious of which archetype is at play in your life and leadership allows you to create a more fulfilling, meaningful and successful life.  One in which you’re in the driving seat, rather than being driven. 

 And so in this episode of the blue pea Leader I want to explore the Caregiver archetype  

When we talk about Emotional Intelligence, Compassion, Wellbeing, Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace, there are a variety of archetypes that underpin this conversation.  And one of them is the caregiver.  

Now how easy or otherwise you find it to access this archetype will shape how you work with the above subjects.  And indeed it will certainly influence how others see you working with the above subjects.  

I’ve had clients who were very high in caregiver and whilst they took immense care of their staff and teams, they ignored their own wellbeing.  

When the caregiver is high for you then your nurturing, compassionate, giving side will be a core part of your identity.   

If it’s low for you it can indicate a few things.  It’s not a core part of your identity and self image.  It’s something you find hard to access and need to learn to get better at, aka a development opportunity.  Or it can indicate that you’ve recently had an intense spell of drawing upon this archetype and it’s in currently having a holiday so to speak.  

The Caregiver is focussed on being of service to others, to care, nurture and protect. 

Of course they decide what or who they are in service of, care about, look to nurture and protect.  For some this could be their family.  For others it’s a wider concept of family i.e. their team or department.  For others it could be the ocean, the local park or the village bus service. 

Selfless and self-sacrificing they can give without thinking of the consequences or the cost.  I mention above, it’s not uncommon for them to take care of others and neglect their own needs. 

This archetype is motivated to provide reassurance, service, advice, listening and an open heart to support the welfare of others. The Caregiver is compassionate, generous, efficient, self-sacrificing, patient, highly competent and an excellent multitasker. Able to find the silver lining in any cloud, the Caregiver remains calm in a crisis, makes friends with everyone, and radiates the lightness of optimism. 

On the downside this archetype can also be overprotective, overly involved, rather than allowing their loved ones or their employees the space to solve their own problems they dive in to rescue them.   

They can also get serious tunnel vision. 

Lastly I’ve alluded to this earlier, whilst they’re good at taking care of others and spotting when someone needs attention, or is getting out of balance. They can miss this completely in themselves.  Continuing to push through and sacrifice when they should say no and apply some self-care. 

There are of course still stereotypes in the workplace associated with this archetype.  I often describe a stereotype and a dead or lifeless version of an archetype.  Archetypes are animated, active, shaping.  Stereotypes are limiting. 

And so within the workplace we see situations where a person knows that the caregiver archetype would be the best solution here.  And rather than look for the archetype, which is present in all of us to some degree. They look for the stereotype.  Oh, you’re a woman or a mother, I’ll assign you the task.  

I’ve had male clients who demonstrated the caregiver archetype in a team more obviously or readily than some of the females.   

And let’s not forget that as they are animated forces of nature not lifeless structures, we benefit from learning how to draw upon each archetype as the powerful resource it is.   

That self-knowledge of whether this is an archetype you can easily access and draw upon when required pays dividends.  When we get feedback on our leadership, we are able to make use of it when we can see if this is a difference is archetypal access rather than skills.   

Let me give an example.  A client easily accessed and often led with their caregiver.  The wellbeing of staff was important.  They were collaborative and often involved many people in discussions before making a decision.  They received some feedback from their boss that they needed to be tougher, to push people, just do it, and stop talking to others as much. The caregiver archetype wasn’t as strong for their boss.  They led with their warrior.  Rather than be offended by the feedback or go into conflict over it.  My client could see the difference and knew why their boss saw things that way and so had given that feedback.  Neither did they dismiss it, rather they looked for balance.  Were there times when they were leading with their caregiver and their warrior would have been more helpful?  

This self-awareness and reflection allowed them to grow as a leader and also opened up more opportunities.  Including the subsequent conversation with their boss about the impact of them leading with their warrior.   

If this has sparked a desire in you to learn more about how archetypes are influencing your choices, decisions, leadership and relationships with others then check out our programme on https://www.bluepeapod.com/archetypal-leadership-programme/  

In the meantime one of the areas you can work on with your caregiver is self-care.  What can you do this week or weekend that allows you to rejuvenate and balance.  A walk out in nature, a long soak in the bath listening to the latest album, losing yourself in a good book, movie or the theatre, or perhaps a lie in.  Too often we get into the habit of being there for others and neglect ourselves.  Now is the time for you to revive yourself so you can really be there for others.  

Go and be the difference in leadership 

Ruth 

The post Archetypes – The Impact of the Caregiver appeared first on Blue Pea POD.

This is an AI transcript of the podcast, please excuse any minor errors.  

Sadly there is still an all too common belief amongst leaders that they won’t benefit from personal development and it’s over rated.  They believe that the technical skills that got them to where they are will be enough to keep them going.  These leaders are intelligent, good at figuring things out and as long as they hit their targets, then whippi doodee and all is good.  

Honing their technical skills is something they still pay attention to.  Looking at themselves and the soft skill side of leadership isn’t seen as important. 

One of the reasons for this is that they don’t hear or see leaders around them doing the sort of personal development that leads to increased self awareness, authenticity and real empowerment. 

Lifelong learning and continuous growth is something we know is fundamental to business success.  If our staff arrive having left university and think “that’s it, I know it all, now let’s get on the career ladder” we’d laugh our heads off. 

There is a point in our leadership journey that our learning and growth isn’t technical, binary or external, rather it’s subjective, contextual and internal. 

That aspect of our growth and development can get a bit messy and messy isn’t something that’s talked about much in business and leadership development.     

I think of leadership as a profession, just like dentistry or accountancy.  There are skills leaders should have, like delegation, influence, coaching, consequential thinking, to name but a few.  Qualities we admire in great leaders include authenticity, humility, resilience, courage, empathy.  

How do we learn those skills and embody those qualities in ourselves? 

The answer, personal development.  

Consistent personal development through a variety of approaches brings with it many benefits:- 

1. Increased self-awareness.  You can’t change what you don’t know.  Which means if you don’t know, aka aren’t aware of something, you can’t improve, change or stop it.  Authenticity – is so much harder when you don’t know who you really are.  

2. Becoming the best version of you.  Through reflection, study, practice, feedback you can enhance your strengths and lead on purpose.  Of course, becoming the best version of you, also requires increased self-awareness.  

3. Harness your talents.  There are things we’re good at, and then there are our talents or gifts.  These we often take for granted and therefore overlook.  Personal Development can make you aware of these and then learn how to harness them further so they benefit you, your team and the business.  

4. Demystifying your blind spots and weaknesses.  We all have them.  And sometimes a blind spot can hide within it a talent.  Personal Development isn’t about eradicating the weaknesses, rather it’s understanding how to manage and minimize the impact.  

5. Add more value.  As we continually learn and grow, we look to apply and contribute more, typically through others or strategically.  We talk about empowerment.  For a start this involves us learning to have dominion over ourselves, to own our power.  To become aware of when we give it away or when we look to control others / situations.  Until we learn this, we’re never going to be comfortable empowering others, even if we talk about it and aspire to it.  We’re going to sabotage our efforts here.  

6. Comfortably Uncomfortable.  Again our growth keeps us on the leading edge of our comfort zone. It’s short bouts of discomfort, continuously repeated and we build our leadership muscles. Let’s face it, if we’re truly being a leader and adding value then we’re going to be making some tough decisions.  If we like feeling comfortable we’re going to seek that in the decisions we make.  

7. Inspire others.  I said at the beginning that one of the reasons leaders deprioritize their development because they don’t see other leaders doing it.  So as well as the above benefits I’ve mentioned, you get to lead by example, be a role model and inspire your team to want to continuously learn, grow and be the best version of themselves they can be.  A lot of leaders I work with really do want to unlock the potential within their team.  And they now understand that first they need to unlock the potential within themselves.  

1. Overwhelmed by choice.  Where to start, what to focus on?  What the next step that’s going to give you a return both short and long term.

2. Method.  DIY, TED talk, podcast, book, online learning, immersive workshop, coach or mentor.  Which route, or combination will give you the greatest ROI?

3. Staying power.  You start off with good intentions and then get side tracked or experience a few “oops so that’s how not to do it” moments and before you know it, the book and your good intentions are mothballed.

Whatever you’re choosing to develop, whether that’s a skill or a quality and by whatever method.  Keep in mind that to maximise your growth and return on investment you need clarity on the following 3 things  

1. Accountability – who and how will you be held accountable for what you’re learning.  No accountability and it’s easy to back slide or fall prey to your favourite excuses. 

2. Impact – Given what you want to develop what’s the impact to the business, the impact to your team/department, the impact to you. 

3. Investment – time, money, energy.  The magic triangle.  Beware false economy.   

I’m seeing an increase in the number of private clients I have, leaders who are investing in themselves.   

Sometimes this is because the company they work for doesn’t see leadership development as critical to business success.  Or the company is investing in technical L&D or the simpler aspects of leadership development.   

Remember I said there is a point where your development is subjective, non-binary, contextual and internal.  A lot of companies don’t know how to select and invest in that, so they keep their fingers crossed and hope for the best.  And many of my private clients are getting promoted because they are the best.  

I also have private clients invest in themselves rather than wait for the company to do it because it gives them autonomy over their development and there is no feeling tied or a sense of obligation to remain should an opportunity appear for them elsewhere. 

There is a wonderful thought, “Wherever you go, there you are.”  You are the one constant, in every situation that went well and ever situation that didn’t. 

Investing in yourself is one way to ensure you’re maximising your potential in any given moment.  

Take a few minutes to reflect on your leadership and where you want to go.  Who do you want to be, what do you want to do and have?  

If the next phase of your growth and development is more subjective, contextual or internal get in touch.  

If you’re looking to own your power and truly empower others, get in touch.  

And in the meantime, go and be the difference in leadership 

Ruth 

The post Why Smart Leaders Invest in Personal Development appeared first on Blue Pea POD.

As a leader we’re constantly taking risks. Or should be.  The question is are we mitigating, minimising or trying to eliminate and which is the best for the situation to encourage growth.

I was running a group leadership programme the other week and they were sharing their wins in applying the material.  I also got them to share their learnings.  This is often where the ‘learn from making a mistake’ shows up.  And it did for one participant.  A significant learning too.  And I could see that they were beating themselves up about it.

The thing is it was a valuable learning for others too, one that meant they didn’t need to personally make the same mistake in order to learn from it.

One of the things that’s important to me as the leader of the course is being able to reframe things for participants.

And so, I said to her that as a leader if you get to the end of the year and you haven’t made any mistakes, you haven’t been leading.

It was like watching the night sky light up.  Her entire physiology changed.  Her response, along the lines of “I’d never thought of it like that before, thank you”.

I went from having someone in their head, beating themselves up and feeling ashamed, to someone raring to learn the next chunk and with the confidence to go back and apply it.

I also had a few more of the participants willing to step further outside their comfort zone and take a risk.

Now of course when we take risks we can also take measures to mitigate or minimize the impact if something does go wrong.

Talking and sharing with others in the field really helps you with this, especially if the field is relatively new for you.

I moved to the coast a few years ago and the other year we got a small boat and tender.  We also got life jackets and never go out without them on.  They’re the self-inflating version so should you hit the water unconscious they’ll still go off and keep your head above water.  Now I really hope that unconscious bit never happens, but just in case the risk of drowning because you can’t pull the inflate cord is mitigated.

The other week we decided to take the tender round to what I call the 3rd beach.  The main beach is always accessible, the 2nd beach via steps or when the tide is out.  The 3rd by boat and at high tide is completely covered.

So dry bag filled with coffee and cake and a small towel, off we went.

Coming into the beach I’m giving clear instructions to avoid the rocks.

We have a lovely time on the beach and then notice the waves have changed slightly and think, it’s time to head back.

So there I am getting in to the tender and just as I’m 1 leg in the boat and the other mid air, the 7th wave hits the bow and I’m now leaving the boat, stylishly backwards and land in the water.  Wet and surprised I gasp for air as a wave breaks over my head.  Poof, poof, poof the life vest inflates. My husband is seeing the funny side of all of this as he helps me up.  And he later informed me that apparently my stylishly backwards wasn’t so stylish.

Anyway take 2 and I’m onboard.  Wet and with a fully inflated life vest and off we go back to the 1st beach.

It’s a village and the next day one of the old fisherman asked how our trip went.  He also had a knowing smile on his face.

We told him, and it brightened his day.  Over the next 3 or 4 days people asked me how I was, yes word had got around.

What accompanied the good natured teasing was also a story of I’ve done a similar thing and here are some other things to look out for.

It turns out that most accidents with boats happen when you’re getting in to and out of them.  Apparently, most people only think to wear their life vest when they’re out at sea.

We both knew how lucky I was as there are rocks around that area.  I was flung from the boat in enough water to cushion the fall and we weren’t near the rocks.  I did think, oh next time I’ll get on board and then put my life vest on.  And after hearing other’s stories, I’ve revised my opinion.

Then the other week one of the fishermen moored his boat in the harbour as usual, except it broke free in the night with the weather.  Fortunately, someone else’s boat saved it from being smashed against the harbour wall.  The fisherman was beating himself up.  And again there was the good natured teasing and I heard someone remind him that his error was either a lesson everyone could learn from or a good reminder for everyone.

A couple of the villagers have since asked me if my little adventure has put me off, the answer is no.

What it has reminded me is that you can mitigate risks, and it’s also in the sharing of your mistakes that you learn more, so you minimise the chance of the risk happening too.

Yes, there is an important distinction between elimination, mitigating and minimising.  I could eliminate the risk of falling from a boat completely by never going out again.  It’s a choice eliminate, minimise, mitigate.  When you think about your business/ team/ leadership are you looking to eliminate, minimise or mitigate the risks?

Sharing and talking about your mistakes does make you feel vulnerable and yet if you’re surrounded by the right people, amongst that good natured teasing, there will be empathy and perhaps someone will feel comfortable enough to share their learnings and wisdom too.

And you’ll all grow together, in more ways than one.

The post Learning From Risk appeared first on Blue Pea POD.

Welcome to the 2nd Podcast on Success Principles.   

Our mind has several higher faculties – these include reason, will, perception, intuition, memory and the one I’m going to talk about today – IMAGINATION. 

Of course depending on how you use these higher faculties, determines what you think about and therefore bring about. 

Imagination for me is one of the most powerful and possible the first faculty you need to learn to work with and harness the power of. 

In fact, Einstein said “Imagination is more important than knowledge” 

Close your eyes for a minute and imagine yourself lying on a beautiful sandy beach, feel the warmth of the sun on your skin, hear the waves gently lapping the shore line.  Now add in the action of your choice – perhaps your children are building sandcastles, or you’re about to swim in the ocean. 

You can spend as little or as much time on that beach using your imagination. 

I think sometimes we forget we are creative beings.  We get to run movies in our head of pain or pleasure.  Of things working out for us or against us.   

Of course we can delegate this faculty to others.  When we read the news or listen to others they’re giving us a narrative, a stream of instructions that we imagineer in our heads.  Just like I gave you the instructions to see yourself on a beach.   

Amazon and Netflix recommends other movies based on movies you’ve watched (and liked).  Our mind does the same thing.  We imagine relaxing on a beach and then our mind goes ooh what other holidays can we imagine (or recall) and what other ways of relaxing are there. 

All good stuff. 

And the mind doesn’t discriminate – you run a movie of giving a presentation for a job and it being a flop and then your mind goes, how else could we be a flop, be rejected, make a complete nit of ourselves.  Or when else have we made a mistake, been rejected, or made a fool of ourselves.  

 And down the rabbit hole we go.   

 Now I said that what we think about we bring about.   

Which is true, and there are a few additions to that. 

Firstly we have to repeatedly think about it – and as I’ve said the mind is like Netflix, so we don’t have to repeatedly think about the same beach scene, variations on a theme are repetition enough. 

We also have to feel it.  Now if you run the movie of the beach scene for a couple of mins you’ll feel more relaxed, happy, peaceful etc – unless of course you have a real dislike for the beach, all those grains of sand getting everywhere, in which case you might notice you’re increased frustration or annoyance as you continue to imagine yourself there. 

By running a movie of you experiencing success in something regularly, with feeling, you’ll begin to build a bridge between what’s currently going on for you and what you wish were going on for you. 

You’re impressing your goal on to your subconscious mind.   

Your unconscious mind will now be on the look out for any opportunities to get to you your goal.  I.e. the thing you’ve been imagining and thinking about.  And so when anything that is a fit and a match to the map of you getting from A to G, your unconscious mind will seize upon it. 

And some of these actions that you take will be outside of your conscious awareness. 

Let me illustrate.  Have you ever given someone a compliment about something they’ve just done and they said nothing.  A little later on they’re telling someone else about the event and highlighting all the things that went wrong.  No mention of your positive feedback.  Their unconscious view of what happened / the global narrative they have of themselves is what they’re sharing.   

Now if their goal was to be an amazing presenter and they’d been imagining that.  And you’d given them the same compliment. Then when they’d been sharing the event, whilst they may still have told the person what went wrong, they would have also included your feedback and compliment. 

We operate about 97% unconsciously and 3% consciously.   

Which is a slightly scary statistic.  Especially when you’re driving down the road. 

It also highlights the power of using your imagination, wisely.  You’re consciously directing your unconscious to be momentarily aware of what you’d like to experience.  One run of the movie isn’t going to make too much of an impression.  And so nothing will change.  Which is a relief, because we no longer need to panic if we’ve just used our imagination to see ourselves falling over whilst walking to the podium, to present our finest work to an audience that have come equipped with bags of soft ripe tomatoes, and by the way their aim is excellent.  However, let’s say you do this daily for 60 seconds.  Now that is going to register in your unconscious.  You might even find yourself avoiding the tomatoes in the supermarket.  

Let me leave you with this final quote by Stephen R Covey 

“Live out of your imagination, not your history”  

Other Resources to help you get better with your imagination 

Using your creator fruitfully 

Resilient Leader programme 

And it’s also something we can work on together creating a compelling vision and being totally confident that you’ll get there. 

The post Success Principles – Imagination appeared first on Blue Pea POD.

In this episode of the blue pea leader, I want to explore the use of archetypes, well one specifically.  But what are archetypes, well they’re a language of power and a route to know ourselves better.  Why do we do what we do, respond how we do.  What makes us attracted or repelled by someone/thing. 

When a particular archetype is active is influences or shapes how we view the world or our life.  We already speak them fluently and unconsciously recognise them in others.  It’s ours at play that we need to become more conscious of and learn to use as a powerful resource. 

Becoming more conscious as a leader is something I help my clients achieve.  Understanding their archetypes is a significant element of this. 

So then in this podcast I want to explore The Creator archetype specifically. 

The Goal or purpose of the creator archetype is ‘the creation of something new’. Fairly self explanatory then, so let’s look a little deeper. The gifts of this archetype or the resources available include creativity, vision, imagination, following your vocation and identity. 

This archetype should be at its most obvious when we’re brainstorming, problem solving and setting the vision for our business. It should be allowed expression so that we can create our desired reality.  

However all too often it’s stamped down or worse out by the processes and conditioning of life. Children are initially very creative, the other day I was sat on a rock on the beach when a child of about 5 or 6 claimed the next rock, except it wasn’t a rock, no it was a hotel and she was inviting people to check in and the other rocks, well rooms of course.  Although some were not for these guests.  There was at least 15 mins of fun as everyone checked in and out of their rock hotel.  Children have make believe friends, yes that’s who these rooms were reserved for.  Yet as adults we become more disapproving of this.  It’s fine when you’re 6, but not when you’re 16, or 36, it probably becomes OK again when you’re 86 if you can remember how to do it.   

And that’s the thing, we’re encouraged to leave behind this form of creativity. Now I’m not suggesting for a minute that we have imaginary friends at work, but somewhere along the way some of us have had the creative stuffing knocked out of us.  

So perhaps it’s time to get back in touch with this resource. 

Because that’s what it is. A powerful resource, an antidote to stress, handling uncertainty and the route to creating more of what you do want in your life and business. 

People who can easily access the creator archetype tend to have many ideas, flights of fantasy, what if moments, and they’re not too attached to them in the first instance.  

It’s only when they’ve dwelled upon an idea that attachment forms. So these people are good at innovating and coming up with ideas to solve problems (both practical and impractical) they just don’t filter for a start. Of course if as an individual or a business you get too creative, then you need to ensure there is enough space to make things happen (and there is some element of market reality or demand) or you can go in to overload and nothing happens. 

If we look at this from a leadership perspective then the creator archetype allows us to come up with the vision and describe it in such a way that others buy in and want to follow.  

If we look from a brand perspective then this archetype is about producing wonderful works of art, and I mean that in the looser sense.  A good example would be Apple. 

Now of course if you draw upon the creator a lot, then you may find yourself shying away from boring or routine work and people who lack imagination. On the other hand people may perceive you as eccentric or just plain weird. The Creator is also about vocation and identity, which means that if you’re working with people who see their work as just that, you may clash or just want more for them than they think is possible.  Again our conditioning can mean that we see having a vocation as a luxury or worse still aspirational and totally unrealistic. Plus if you meet someone who’s playing roles, then you’re likely to kick off at their inauthenticity. You see a pure creator attitude would be “I have a dream…now I’m off to make it happen”. 

If you’re a high creator then you should watch for the tendency to have too many ideas (not all market relevant) and not be able to act on any of them. You should also watch that you’re not a workaholic, with just one more thing to do before you go home. 

If you’re a low creator then give yourself permission to have the odd daydream or flight of fantasy. Listen to your intuition and follow it a little longer. In fact spend the first 10 minutes of every morning mentally creating the perfect day, how do you want your meetings to work out, what do you want to achieve, how do you want to feel. You may begin to notice how more of what you dream becomes reality. Then again you may notice that between what you day dream and what really is, there is a large gap – if so this could be a sign that you’re in the wrong job or you’re having to curb your true identity in order to ‘fit in’. 

If you want to get to know your creator archetype better and work with it as a powerful and fruitful resource.  Indeed if you’d like to learn more about consciously utilising archetypes then check out our leadership program 

We’ve all had dreams, some of us still have them and sadly even fewer go on to make them happen. Be one of the few, follow your dreams. Because if you’re not following your dreams you’re sure as heck following someone else’s and who decided theirs was more worthy than yours? 

Until the next time 

blue pea POD works with corporate clients and individuals helping them express their true identity to create outstanding results.  If this article has sparked off ideas and thoughts you’d like to make happen then get in touch . 

The post Are You Using Your Creator Archetype Fruitfully? appeared first on Blue Pea POD.

This year I’m exploring and attempting to understand what drives fear(s) more. I know what a topic to pick. Maybe something smaller for next year

However fear is a powerful emotion.  It stops us in our tracks, influences our thoughts and the words or actions we take.

Let’s take Psychological safety – so important in any relationship, work or personal.  Fear is a significant component that reduces this.

So I’ve been asking myself questions like:-

Big questions, and hopefully by the end of the year I’ll have more answers to these.

An email from Thoughts From The Universe dropped in to my inbox.

If you don’t subscribe yet go to TUT.com

A particular sentence jumped out at me

….Even your fears and challenges are admired, along with the courage it took to choose them. (Yeah, you chose them.)…

It stopped me in my tracks and I reflected.

And here’s the magic or the power. I did choose my fears. All of them. In a nano second there was a conscious choice. After that my fears run on autopilot which makes it feel like I didn’t choose them.

Some fears make sense, there is an event and you can correlate it to the fear.

Others, well they’re there, and yet the event that started it all is forgotten. And we wonder why, and did I really pick this one, because it makes absolutely no sense at all etc.

After all, who’d choose to be scared of steps. I mean I’m 52 for goodness sake and still when I walk up or down steps I have to talk to myself – hilarious.  Really, I do see the funny side of this. I was in my 40’s when I almost fell down a flight of stairs, but I’ve had this, what seems like an irrational fear, forever.

I know the saying feel the fear and do it anyway.

And sometimes that works.  We grow, our fear shrinks, or we just find a way of managing the fear, keeping it in proportion or at a level that it doesn’t change our actions.  In other words if we didn’t feel the fear we’d still do this same action.

And we should feel proud of the fact we’re taking the same action, even though we feel anxious or whatever.  It’s true, every time I successfully navigate a set of steps, I acknowledge that I didn’t let my fear make other choices for me.  Because sometimes there is a voice in my head shouting there is a lift over there you could take that, who cares that it’s just one floor.

There is another possible outcome to feeling the fear and doing it anyway.  We feel elated afterwards.  In other words at times we get confused between the feeling of fear and excitement; as they can produce similar sensations in the body.  It’s all a matter of how we label them.  And more often than is useful we’re quick to label the sensation as fear.

Butterflies in the stomach is a sensation commonly present in both emotions.

The fear of presenting is a very a common fear.  It’s another one I had.  Now notice I use the past tense with this fear.  That’s not to say I don’t experience a few nerves occasionally.  It’s an alert telling me there is something else going on, another fear.  A fear that has usually has nothing to do with presenting perse.  What is normal for me to feel is a few butterflies, a slight buzz, it is a feeling of excitement.

Years ago I had the pleasure of chatting with an actor and we were talking about walking out on to a stage.  I was describing how I used to be…. aka, a nervous, shaking wreck that spoke to either the floor or the ceiling.  And how I now felt, which meant I was speaking to my audience’s faces, phew.  Anyway I wanted to know how do I get to feeling nothing and being confident.  He smiled and said if he walked out on to a stage and felt nothing he knew he was in trouble.  We had a great conversation.  And whilst I worked on reducing the fears and their effects.  I stopped trying to get rid of my excitement.

What’s more there are some situations in which you really don’t want to give me the microphone, or you do but with a clear time limit .  And if you’d told me this all those years ago when my heart was about to burst out of my chest I’d have said no way, that’ll never be me.  Just goes to show.

I think sometimes the important question to answer with yourself is do I want to get rid of this fear or manage it?

An inverse question might be what’s this fear costing me?

I’m quite happy talking myself through a set or two of stairs, so my anxiety is manageable.

I wasn’t happy with managing my fear when presenting.  Consequently I looked at what I could do to reduce it significantly.

Learning or improving our skills can be one way.  We can also look a little deeper as to what else is going on.  What beliefs or stories are we running.

Here’s something we can do to help us; talk with the fear.  Having acknowledge what the specific fear is, then we can explore more.

Remember when I said that the magic or power is in realising that we choose the fear, even if it happened in a nano second.

Entering the conversation with the fear from the perspective of having chosen it, results in the exploration being more potent and effective then if we’re still feeling like it chose us, or happened to us.

If I felt that my steps fear was something out there, that picked me, then for a start I’d be unlikely to see the funny side of it and secondly, I doubt very much I would be sharing it with you.

Of course sharing it with you, does feel slightly scary, and if I tap in to what that particular fear is, then it’s that I’m being vulnerable and sharing something I can’t completely explain.  Which of course isn’t the actual fear.  The fear is that you might judge me in an unfavourable way.

Which in continuing my dialog brings up a belief I have and a question

The belief – what someone else thinks of me is none of my business.   Your mind and therefore your thoughts are yours, just as my mind and my thoughts are my own.  In which case how you judge me is up to you.

And then there is the question,  how am I judging me in relation to this fear.  Eg Do I think any less of me?  And in that moment I have my answer, I’m grinning from ear to ear.  And poof, the feeling of fear has gone.

Now we can do this with ourselves and at other times it’s useful or faster to have this conversation with an external.  I love seeing clients have those ‘poof’ moment when a fear vanishes.

Whatever route you choose, it’s good to talk.

We all have fears, explainable or otherwise.  Our power lies in our choice in this moment.  To keep the fear, to manage the fear, to avoid the fear, to reduce or remove the fear.

Which brings me back to one of my questions at the beginning of this podcast.

How do my fears determine what’s possible for me / the group / the business?

So a version of that question might look like this.  “How does this specific fear in its current state determine what’s possible, and am I OK with that choice right now”?

If you fancy some fear busting, or want to make different choices, then do get in touch.

In the meantime, go and be the difference in leadership

The post Working With Fear appeared first on Blue Pea POD.

Welcome to a new series I’ll be covering throughout this year on Success Principles.   

The first principle I’ll be exploring is Attitude.  

Humans have one of those luxuries – something we take for granted and overlook. 

Freewill. 

Often we act like we don’t have a choice. We forget to use our freewill. And something that contributes to this is our attitude. 

Perhaps we get stuck on something and think it’s our ability that’s holding us back from making progress. I need to learn more to do better at this – and maybe you do.  And just check in with yourself, what’s your attitude on this subject? 

Your attitude is what’s going on inside of you, your thoughts and feelings about (you/others/subject). 

As you show up, eg to a meeting, what frame of mind are you in? What’s going round in your head, what mood are you in? 

There is something else that feeds into your attitude and that’s your archetypes.  These are deep patterns of thoughts and behaviours that run unconsciously. On the other hand they’re a fabulous resource for shifting attitudes when you’re consciously aware of how to use them, rather than the other way around.   

Lets briefly explore one. The Realist. In its helpful format it will enable you to process disappointment, learn what you need to learn for your future, increase your resilience.  

In it’s unhelpful form it allows you to wallow in self pity, feel powerless to whatever has been the source of pain. Your attitude would be one of pessimism / cynicism  

In the healthy realist it’s about helpful risk assessment , in the shadow realist it’s more like fatalistic there’s not point / it’s won’t work.  

Now we may not be aware of archetypes in ourselves, yet we will see them in others. The example I’ve just used. I’ll see both expressions of the Realist somewhere in conversations with others this week.  

And there will be times when it’s me doing them  

It’s not about eradicating, rather knowing how to switch to using it in its positive form.  

If you want to know how to work in harmony with your archetypes, check out our Archetypes Programme.

So all of the above comprise your attitude.   

The thing is our attitude is often determined by our past experiences and expectations. We forget that like the clothes we put on this morning, we can choose to change at any moment. 

And we don’t even need to find a telephone box and remove our glasses and whizz around a few times. 

Want more success, here are 3 attitudes that will help 

1. Think with an open mind.  For that we need to be curious, expansive.  And indeed suspend, even if it’s just temporary, our judgements, allowing us to consider more than we thought possible. 

Here is a podcast that expands on this 

2. Think for yourself.  The truth is we like to kid ourselves that we think for ourselves.  I’m an adult or course I think for myself.  Yet if we pay attention to our thoughts and follow them back to where they originated from.  Only a small percentage will have originated from within us as adults.  Most of our thoughts come from what others have said about us, social media, marketing, the news.  Or from our previous experiences when we were a child.  Turns out thinking for yourself is less common than we believe. 

3. Think constructively.  Which is a more expansive useful variation of think positive/optimistic, minus all the happy clappy, lets deny reality stuff.  Reality is what it is, deny it and you make success harder for yourself.  Let me illustrate.  Let’s say you have a goal, to do a leadership retreat with me in Cornwall.  Can’t wait to see you by the way, as these are even more powerful than twirling in a phonebox  Anyway let’s say current reality is you’re in Manchester.  Deny reality and getting to Cornwall is going to take a lot longer than if you acknowledge you’re currently in Manchester.   

Same principles occur if you’re saying I want to motivate my team to stay when turnover is high because we have a toxic culture.  Deny reality and achieving the success of the goal you desire i.e motivating your team to stay isn’t going to happen as smoothly as you’d like.  

In fact, I’d go as far as to say if you like difficult and hard then the quickest way to ensure that is to deny reality.   

And notice that nowhere in this am I saying you have to wallow in reality and inspect it’s every nook.  You only need to know you’re in Manchester not wander every street and have lunch at The Old Grapes. Unless of course you want to.    And should you wonder if I have something against Manchester then relax, I’m looking forward to wandering those streets again and having lunch.   

There is a great book, Man’s Search For Meaning, by Viktor Frankl.  If you’ve haven’t read it I encourage you to do so.  Here is a quote from Viktor. 

Everything can be taken from a man but one things; the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. 

And when you read his book this quote takes on a potency, it strips me of my excuses.  Because if he could choose his attitude in those circumstances then I sure as heck can choose mine.   

I hope you’ve enjoyed this first success principle and I strongly encourage you to check out all the links I’ve mentioned. 

In the meantime, go and be the difference in leadership 

Ruth   

The post SUCCESS PRINCIPLES – ATTITUDE appeared first on Blue Pea POD.

Burnout, exhaustion, stress gone too far. 

For some of us last year we found ways of getting through the turbulence and we entered this year hoping that things would improve.   

It’s possible that you defined last year as stressful or exhausting.  I know several people who by April this year were longing for a holiday and a time to rejuvenate.  I also know they wouldn’t’ have used the words burnt out. 

Yet in more recent conversations and there are some early warning signs that the reserves are depleted and unless attention is paid then burnt out is the destination. 

So if you’re finding yourself with less and less energy here are 10 things you can do to either stop the leaks or restore the energy bank balance. 

1. Set boundaries – be clear with yourself at the very least on what you’re saying yes and no to.  I did an earlier podcast on this subject.  So if you want more information check out the October 2019 episode, The Benefit of Setting Boundaries at Work.  

2. Do something that requires absolutely no brain power for you.  For example, this could be cooking, taking photographs, swimming, even ironing.  It’s an activity that for you doesn’t much thought.  So it’s something that either you’re a natural at or you’ve honed your skills enough that you’re unconsciously competent.  And ideally the activity should be pleasurable.  

3. Do something daft or hedonistic – Next time it rains get your wellies on and go jump in puddles.  Or take your ordinary bath time and add some va va voom, make it a hedonistic experience.  It could be some luxury bath foam, a glass of champagne, candles, aromatherapy, music, any and all of them.  Move it from a functional experience into something that lifts your spirits.  

4. If life is all routine, then shake it up.  Have a freestyle day, half day, even an hour will make a difference.    

5. By contrast, if life is all over the place, then what can you make routine and predictable, in a pleasurable relaxing fashion.  

6. Lists – I love them.  In this case though I’m not suggesting you write a to do list, you probably already have one of those and a long one at that.  Instead write a things I love about ______ list.  Ideally do this about your work.  Then see if you can schedule a day where it’s all the things you love.  Not only is it something to look forward to but that day will recharge your batteries too. 

7. Disconnect – always on, always available, always comparing.  Ideally each day you should set a time when phones and internet devices are put away and then you can read, talk, chill, meditate or if you absolutely must binge on Netflix.  On a weekend schedule a day for no social media / newspapers or email.  And then stretch yourself to have a longer vacation from social media and the news.  I did about 3 months this summer.  I didn’t plan for it to be some long, and after the first 4 weeks it wasn’t a 100% absence, however I was selective as to what I re-introduced.  And very aware of how it impacted me.  

8. Exercise – dance, walk, yoga, boxing.  OK so some require the gym, others you can do in the privacy of your own home.  Just 20 minutes can see a positive biochemical shift in your body, which will help to reduce your stress levels.  

9. Gold stars – if you can’t do this every day then do it once a week.  What would you give someone in your life/work a gold star for?  And tell them.  Now comes the harder part, what would you give yourself a gold star for?  And yes you have to give yourself one.  Then allow yourself to appreciate your star as a gift.  In other words, don’t dismiss, or fault find.  

10. Sleep – get yourself 8 hours, it’s a magic number.  Or allow yourself a mid-afternoon or post lunch powernap, 20 mins.  My go to during the day is meditation, 5 mins.  Works wonders for restoring balance.  Slows down my mind, clarity re-emerges.   In fact if you want to know more about the power of sleep then read Matthew Walkers book Why We Sleep, absolutely fascinating.   

So there we have it, ten things you can do to recharge your batteries and reduce the effects of stress.  Now I’m not saying you have to do them all.  It would probably feel like a chore then instead of the reversal recharge that it is.  So start small, pick a couple you fancy and maybe one you think is a stretch.  Include them in your life for 30 days and then notice the difference.  Be that in your energy levels, your attitude or your resilience. 

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