What do you need to improve? It might be something about you, your work, a project or your team but whatever it is, you need to review what you have done in order to work out how to progress.

This is the simple premise behind the concept of continuous improvement, a critical element of deliberate practice and fundamental to having a growth mindset. 

And it is not just on the individual level. High-performing teams achieve their level through continual improvement. 

And we all know that right? So why is the process often so difficult?

Well, the main challenge is time. Often review processes are too complex and time-consuming which is why we need a simple, quick but effective method. 

For any review the process largely boils down to three important questions:

• What should we stop doing?
• What should we continue doing?
• What should we start doing?

You can remember this by picturing a set of traffic lights. Or in other words:

• Red – What should we stop?
• Amber – What should we maintain?
• Green – What should we start?

This episode explores each of these questions in more depth.

If you would like to find out more you can also read the accompanying article:
https://therightquestions.co/how-to-simply-and-effectively-review-progress-and-performance/

The term Adaptive Leadership was coined by Harvard University professor Ron Heifetz in his 1994 book, Leadership Without Easy Answers. The theory of Adaptive Leadership addresses the strategic question of how to lead people through change.

Ron Heifetz set out 5 strategic principles to guide leaders, and their teams, through this process.

These are:

1.     Diagnose the situation.

2.     Manage distress.

3.     Identify distractions.

4.     Delegate effectively.

5.     Encourage challenge.

The podcast looks at each principle in more detail.

There is also more information in the accompanying article:
https://therightquestions.co/adaptive-leadership-how-to-effectively-lead-change/

The rule of 3 is very simple. Any time you use a triad of information in your communication you are using the rule of 3. A lot of the time we do it unconsciously but there is a long history of using the rule of three to structure arguments, stories and speeches.

There is something about triads that connects with us on a psychological level and supports effective communication. The rule of 3 certainly encourages clarity, brevity, and memorability.

Neuroscience research has shown that we can generally only remember 3-5 pieces of information. The more complex the information the harder it is to recall all the elements, so it is no surprise that psychologically we fixate on threes.

The podcast explores three simple structures that use this rule of 3. 

If you would like further detail on the Rule of 3 then please use the link to the accompanying article:
https://therightquestions.co/how-to-use-the-rule-of-3-to-structure-your-communication/

The Trust Equation was developed by Charles Green, co-author of The Trusted Advisor, along with David Maister and Robert Galford. They explored the psychology of trust by looking at professional services and how people relate to one another. The result of this study was the Trust Equation. 

The equation is actually a measure of trustworthiness, in other words, how much trust we are willing to invest in a person. In this context, to have trust between two parties, you need someone who is trusting and another person who is trustworthy. The equation gets to the heart of that relationship.

Their conclusion was that Trust (or Trustworthiness) = (Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy), divided by (Self-Orientation)

For clarity, it is worth exploring the terms used in the equation.The podcast includes some questions you can ask to think about how someone might score against each of these terms. 

If you want more information then you can also check out the associated article using the following link:
https://therightquestions.co/?s=trust

We all know that trust is important. But what do we mean by trust? How would you define it? And having defined it, what can we do to develop trust in our relationships at work?

Trust can be thought of as faith, belief, or hope. It is the feeling of confidence that we have in a person, organisation, or thing. Trust has both a logical and emotional quality. We choose to trust a thing because of how we think and how we feel. 

In relationships, trust is foundational, whether that is with friends and family, or with colleagues at work. Thus, whether we are starting to get to know someone and building rapport, or maintaining a long-lasting relationship, trust is critical. But, knowing this, how do you develop a culture of trust and psychological safety in the workplace?

The first thing we need to understand is how our brains work when it comes to putting faith in someone. Paul J. Zak has spent many years studying the neuroscience of trust. His research has centred around how the hormone oxytocin and has shown that higher levels of trust are linked to the brain producing higher levels of oxytocin. 

So here are the eight behaviours, identified by Paul Zak, that can help to release oxytocin naturally and build a more trusting culture in the workplace:

1.     Recognise excellence. 

2.     Induce “challenge stress”. 

3.     Give people discretion in how they do their work. 

4.     Enable job crafting. 

5.     Share information broadly. 

6.     Intentionally build relationships. 

7.     Facilitate whole-person growth. 

8.     Show vulnerability. 

The podcast gives further explanation of each behaviour and you can find out even more in the associated article by following this link:
www.therightquestions.co/8-simple-ways-to-build-trust-and-team-performance/

How do we best learn? That may be a question you have not considered before, but it is certainly important. If we want to have a growth mindset, we need to ensure we are developing effectively. It turns out that effective learning happens cyclically, in a continual loop, and that is what the Kolb learning cycle helps us to embrace.

Following extensive research, David A. Kolb published his learning cycle in 1984. Since then, Kolb’s learning cycle has become probably the best-known and most respected learning model there is.

The four stages of Kolb’s learning cycle are:

1.     Concrete Experience (CE)

2.     Reflective Observation (RO)

3.     Abstract Conceptualisation (AC)

4.     Active Experimentation (AE)

Effective learning is only achieved when the loop is completed. But, the loop can be entered at any point, as long as the full cycle is accomplished. 

The podcast includes a further explanation of each stage with examples. If you would like even more detail then do follow this link to the accompanying article:
https://therightquestions.co/how-to-maximise-your-development-with-kolbs-learning-cycle/

In the previous podcast we highlighted the importance of confidence and that people are wealthier, happier and have better relationships if they are confident.

We then looked at the mindset that assures confidence. Research by Dr Ian Robertson has proven that we need to think that we can do something and that it can happen for us to have real confidence. 

But how do we develop this confidence? 

Dr Robertson goes on to highlight five things to be aware of to improve confidence. These are language, attention, memory, imagery, and posture. By embracing the positive aspects of these factors (and limiting the negative ones) we can get into the can do/can happen mindset. 

In the podcast we explore each of these aspects in turn.

If you would like more detail on the subject then please use the link to the website and the associated article: https://therightquestions.co/the-simple-science-to-help-you-be-more-confident/

How self-assured are you? Are you confident of your success, in your life, work and relationships? 

If you are unsure, then you are not alone. 85% of Americans suffer from low esteem, according to research by Dr Joe Rubino. This lack of confidence affects more than just our feelings, it impacts our earnings too. Best-selling author Barrie Davenport observes that, 

“One of the main obstacles to financial success is low self-confidence.”

 Further studies, such as those highlighted by Francesco Drago, have shown that more confident people earn more. In fact, they earn a lot more; it can amount to thousands of extra dollars a year. Not only that, (and arguably more importantly) having greater confidence improves our relationships and overall well-being. 

So, confidence is a big deal. The important question then becomes: can we improve our confidence, and if so, then how? 

How Confidence Works

Dr Robertson (author of How Confidence Works) has conducted research that has identified the two critical psychological elements of confidence, which he calls ‘can do’ and ‘can happen.’  The ‘can do’ part is the intrinsic belief that we can do something. The ‘can happen’ element is the assurance that our actions can make a differ our given situation.

In the podcast, we use the example of how a confident mindset can affect success with a person wanting to adopt a healthy diet and lose weight.

You can find out more about building a confident mindset in the full article by following this link or pasting it into your browser:
https://therightquestions.co/the-simple-science-to-help-you-be-more-confident/

The SCARF model summarises the main social circumstances that prompt reward or threat responses. The SCARF model was developed by David Rock, author of Your Brain at Work. And based on extensive neuroscience and psychology research.

The SCARF model stands for:

·      Status

·      Certainty

·      Autonomy

·      Relatedness

·      Fairness

These are all concepts that can trigger feelings of reward or threat in social engagements. 

We move away from what we perceive as threatening situations, either consciously or unconsciously. These are the ones that trigger the fight-or-flight response. By contrast, we are drawn towards situations of potential reward. So, the elements of the SCARF model prompt either toward or away behaviours, depending upon the context. 

The Podcast has a fuller explanation of each element and there is further detail in the accompanying article that you can find by following this link:

https://therightquestions.co/how-to-use-the-scarf-model-to-improve-social-interactions/

Are you working for a toxic leader? 

Marcia Lynn Whicker popularised the term ‘toxic leader’ and the phrase is frequently used to describe bad leaders. But what does it actually mean? Sometimes we implicitly know that we are working for a terrible boss, but it can be hard to explain why.

Fortunately, researchers have developed various models to identify the traits of bad leaders. For example, Barbara Kellerman conducted a study in 2004 to define the characteristics of bad leaders.

Kellerman identified seven traits. These are:

• Incompetent 
• Rigid 
• Intemperate
• Callous 
• Corrupt 
• Insular 
• Evil

In the podcast we look at each one in more detail.

If you want some more information, particularly on options for what to do if you are working for a bad leader then check out the full article here:

https://therightquestions.co/how-to-identify-a-toxic-leader/