When you make decisions you need to be at your very best. You’ll be able to spot risk, solve problems and see the opportunities for more. Pattern recognition will also increase, so your ability to join the dots goes through the roof. It feels flowy.
But before you take the decision, hit send or call the meeting it is well worth reviewing your choices in the cold light of day. Maybe the risks outweigh the reward. You have committed to do too
Continue Reading
In order to be at your best you need to get our of your comfort zone. Not true – this is a well held myth that can be a bit misleading. You do you need to stretch yourself however, but you can still operate within your perceived comfort zone.
So it’s actually stretch that defines the outcome. The paradox being you need to find a degree of stretch within your comfort zone. Enough to feel comfortable, with a hint of discomfort – not the
Continue Reading
Many of us bring our own devices to work, for professional endeavours. If your tech outweighs that of the organisation then it is a choice you can make. There is a fusion between the two, more so than ever, phone lines are blurred.
Likewise people are bringing their own learning to work. A TED talk, social media or a video platform. We can house and reference these resources but Learning professionals have to focus on things they can’t bring to work.
It has to
Continue Reading
This book undeniably describes what it is like to be in the zone. On pitches, courses and courts Brolin interviewed over 100 athletes and coaches.
But for me this book does two things. It clearly demonstrates that whatever you call it (zone, flow etc) these heights of human performance do exist. It wasn’t hard for him to find people who could quickly describe it. Maybe if we treated our work more like a sporting endeavour we’d hit the ground running.
But describing how to
Continue Reading
The word awesome has crept up the rankings over the years, and the clue is in the name – awe. We need a sense of awe in our lives to gain a sense of perspective. Outdoor environments are great for this, they put us in our place. I have previously posted about a Place of power – or perhaps it’s the power of place.
We often get lost in these environments, literally – or more simply when time flies and our minds wander. But
Continue Reading
Riffing off a Stone Roses classic, I wanna be adored. I have to sell my soul. It’s in me. And in order to do so I wanna be in flow. That’s what other people value and appreciate. Someone who is at their very best, giving it their all. Practicing what they are preaching. Backstage I plan to open and empty myself.
OK the stages we operate on might not be sold out arenas but they can still be wide open spaces. Outstanding, all alone, it’s yours.
Continue Reading
Performing at your very best is a game changer. To get into a flow state you have to be a state changer. Press the release button to shift from the day to day struggle and you’ll soon be in flow. But like many things in life there are always short cuts. But they are often expensive and damaging long term.
Various substances can change your state. Wander down any high street and in most countries you’ll find – alcohol, gambling, tobacco,
Continue Reading
In a recent posting (New learning needs new media) I shared an e-book on change. This time round it’s a 9 pager on The Art of Coaching that I use as a handout for my 1-day coach training workshops. There are two foundations to the ebook. Firstly, coaching needs to focus on states more so than skills. State trumps skills. If we are feeling confident, brave and in the zone then abilities accelerate. Secondly, it’s not about the coach. The
Continue Reading
The evaluation of learning often divides opinion. Should we spend the time and energy doing so? Can we accurately evaluate intangible results? If you can overcome some of the following challenges then yes it’s probably a worthwhile pursuit. If not you can be confident that evaluation may not be the answer you are looking for.
First up you don’t fatten pigs by weighing them. Evaluation therefore needs to confirm or change your approach. ROI often gets banded about, but what’s behind
Continue Reading
I presented at a conference recently on the familiar subject of authenticity. I want to share it here today because I managed to get this somewhat unwieldy subject down to 4 key areas – define, describe, develop and demonstrate.
Starting with definitions there are lots of different words attached to authenticity, in the video below I share some of the usual suspects. The etymology of the word value gets me every time. Making values valuable already gives an outcome to authentic behaviour.
When
Continue Reading