Author: admin

Kids are great, in fact I used to be one….as we all did. Kids have exuberance and energy and they fizz with optimism and imagination. So, pity the kids who go to school and instead of classrooms of light and colour are forced to sit in bare rooms with just a sheaf of paper and 140 PowerPoint slides for company…

And if you’re thinking that doesn’t sound like a school near you then perhaps reframe the image from a school to an office and from kids to …us!

We might be ‘grown ups’ and are in charge of the planet, but that doesn’t stop us from getting bored and letting our attention wander. It’s curious that schools have short, pacey lessons, with regular breaks and yet business meetings can drag on for hours, with minimal refreshment and even less stimulation.

We are all kids at heart and so our archaic behaviours are all embedded and will surface when we are listless, underwhelmed, tired, stressed or just plain fed up. Agitation is a good indication that ‘something is up’ and if we spot it in others it makes sense to check their understanding, take a break, ask if they’re ok, or perhaps end the meeting and give people time to go away and let their brain cool off and their thinking to develop.

Spotting agitated kids is easy and telltale signs include…

1. Tapping feet – people let their energy out safely under the table.
2. Drawing boxes – doodling is generally a sign of frustration.
3. Drumming fingers – this can mean we are thinking about something else.
4. Clicking pens – people often don’t realise they are doing it.
5. Rolling eyes – our bodies may be trapped in the meeting and our souls fly free!

Great leaders keep people interested. They notice agitation and gently inquire what is going on for the person, or use it as a cue to take a break or finish the meeting. Agitation is information and we can spot it and decide how to respond thoughtfully.

Have fun this week, watching out for tapping toes in boring business meetings!

Next week: Valuing Our Archive

How good are you at lighting a pipe, sitting by a snug, crackling log fire, pulling a tartan blanket around your knees and pondering on where you are and what’s getting in your way of progress, whilst you puff contentedly in a Bilbo Baggins-esque way?

Brilliant?

Not so good?

Lacking a pipe?

Well, no problem because this week we are talking about self coaching – namely the art of asking ourselves reflective questions to help us out. It doesn’t matter that we don’t yet know the answers, because asking a question is half the battle. Questions jiggle the snow dome that we have for a brain and the little chaffs of snow then swirl around and settle back into a different pattern – and it’s this difference that spurs us onto new activity, new thoughts, or the release of a past blockage.

Here are a few hobbit-sized questions to shake our snow domes:

1)  What is it that I’m missing?

2) What do I really want to achieve?

3) What truth am I denying to myself?

4) What are my options? …List them all…No cheating!

5) What am I really frightened of?

6) If I was a client, what advice/support/permission would I offer myself?

7) What are the real facts of the situation? …Real facts, not assumptions dressed up as facts…

8) Who has already solved this issue before? …Who else could I talk to?

9) What am I really saying to myself? …Is this true? What am I distorting or ignoring?

10) What’s one new option that I could explore? …However silly/easy it might seem today!

11) What is one simple safe step that I can take? …I mean really small…Take a break? Get a drink?

12) How do I keep myself safe here? …Get help? Write a draft? Re-contract with my boss?

If we are stuck, it is likely that we really know what is going for us and we might be too frightened to think clearly, or to say the words. Perhaps the safest thing to do is to have a conversation with ourselves when we are driving in our car, safe in our own little bubble? Success can be as simple as letting ourselves hear the words which are locked in our head, or our heart.

If you would like a FREE TA-flavoured self coaching sheet, complete with helpful ‘touchstones’ then email me via www.richardmaun.com with the words ‘Self Coaching Please’ in the subject line.

Self coaching can bring great results, but sadly can’t help with your hairy hobbit feet! Sorry!

This week…take time to think. Help yourself out and give your snow dome a shake!

Next week: Spotting Agitated Kids In Meetings

PS Check out the NEW BLOG ARCHIVE at www.richardmaun.com over 250 posts to enjoy and share! I love it…!!!