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As U2 sang, back in the 1980’s …”I still haven’t found what I’m looking for…” (check out their Joshua Tree album, it’s very good).

I hope Bono, the leader singer (if you don’t know the band) has found it now.

Maybe he was referring to his TV remote control? Mine keeps growing legs and walking off, or throwing itself down the back of the sofa.

It’s the same with reading glasses, when you get to a certain age. They just teleport into another dimension for a bit and then you find them either:

1. On the coffee table, where you had left them.

2. On top of your head, hiding in your hair.

3. On your nose.

You might think it’s difficult to lose a pair of glasses that you’re actually wearing, but not so. Mine have clear rims and so when clean they have no colour. You get used to looking through smudged lenses and so clean ones can be invisible.

Like Bono, we are all looking for things. Companionship, money to pay the bills, happiness and in the case of Arthur Dent (see the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) a decent cup of tea.

In business I meet people who are looking for ‘customers.’ When I ask them what this means precisely they can’t articulate it. Talking in general terms is a waste of energy because customers could mean anybody and everybody. If a bus drives past and we look into it, are all the people on board our potential customers? I doubt it. We know this instinctively.

If we go to a networking event are we going to sell to 100% of the attendees? Doubtful. That would be an ambitious target.

So, we need to really think about what we are looking for. Maybe we need customers who will pay on time. Maybe we need competent staff, who will free us up to develop our business. Perhaps we need tax advice to maximise our profitability?

At a more basic level we might need to look for a holiday. Something to anticipate with relish and energise us through the long business days until we can escape to the beach.

Many of us have a ‘to do’ list and jolly good things they are too. How many have a ‘looking for list’ though?

How many of us even stop to consider what we really need to look for?

We might react to events in business and yet it’s smarter to plan for the future, anticipate our needs and share our thoughts with trusted allies.

I am looking for a CEO who values coaching and would like to support their staff. This person also needs to understand the benefits of organisational Transactional Analysis, or be open to hearing about them. They also need to know that a good coach can increase staff well-being, which in turn can boost productivity.

It’s always good in business to keep an eye on the bottom line!

If you know of such a CEO, please invite them to make contact.

As we say in radio, other coaches are available. There’s only one me though!

And if you’re looking for something, let me know. I may know someone too! Be specific though …if we ask for the world we may get nothing.

If we ask for an ice cream, then all we have to do is agree on the flavour and it’s easily sorted.

Maybe Bono is still looking. Perhaps he’d have been better off being more specific and he could have sung:

“I’ve just found the specific thing I was looking for.”

Maybe I should go into the pop business? Probably not…

This week, have fun being specific!

Next week: Grandiosity And Me Me Me!

There I was, parked in front of my laptop, tapping out a new workshop, and I wondered how I could make it fun.

I believe good education needs a fun side to it, because we learn when we laugh. It’s a positive experience that stays with us. Think of how we used to quote comedy sketches in the school playground.

We delighted in the language and the word play and in doing so carried the writer’s words around with us. We laughed and we learned.

The workshop was about team management. An interesting take on leadership. I teach a lot of leadership skills, which are great fun, as I weave in useful model and tools about Transactional Analysis. If you’re interested then please get in touch.

Team management includes the team, which sounds obvious, but can be left out of leadership work. There we can focus on the self, and forget there is a team behind us.

To make the team management day fun I included a classic ‘desert island’ exercise. On the day I split the group into smaller teams, appointed leaders and gave the task only to them, the rest of the delegates being banished from the room.

The leaders had a list of items to choose from and were sent out to discuss things with their teams. Sounds simple? Would they choose the water bottle, or the fish hooks, or the gold coins to take with them, and so on. Would they invite discussion and come to a healthy consensus?

Would they all complete the task?

Well, the answer was no.

Out of 5 groups, 2 had their answers back on time and 3 failed. They were so late back that I locked the door on them. They hadn’t expected that. A little wrinkle for them to remember! I did let them back in eventually. I’m not so mean really.

Although there was no set answer, the task wasn’t about choosing items. It was really about completing the task, which meant sticking to the time deadline.

The task also became more fun for the successful teams when I awarded +5 points for success and -5 for failure.

There were consequences to the failure, which people hadn’t appreciated.

The task can be completed in 30 seconds, if you take the trouble to understand what the task is really all about. It’s easy!

Before the task I had taught the whole group a useful leadership routine that runs:

1. Grip self. Take a moment to ground yourself and catch your breath.

2. Grip task. Read the task carefully, ask questions and gain a clear understanding of what’s being asked.

3. Grip team. Only when you are in control of yourself and have the task fully understood do you engage with the team to complete it.

Leaders often fail because they rush off and start doing something. They fail before they start because they don’t stop and make sure they are fully in control.

A stress load means we can forget what we’ve just been taught, and we revert to type. The task sensitises us to this.

The workshop was great fun. We laughed at the failures, celebrated the successes and the education was, to use a favourite term of mine, sticky.

You don’t forget being locked out of a room in a hurry. Losing points hurts too.

Team management is easy when we take the time to grip self, grip task and grip team. If we skip a stage then we run the risk of being locked out of a new contract, or an important new piece of business.

So, this week take a fresh look at how you manage your team. Do you take time for yourself first, or do you dive in and start working a bit too hastily?

I love running fun and useful workshops. They are such a joy!

Next week: What Are You Looking For?