Beware of “Analysis paralysis”!

by | Apr 4, 2018 | English Blog

From WeAreTheCity’s Future Leader’s Blog

 

 

 

A reporter asked a very successful businessman: “What is the secret to your success?”
The man replied: “Two words”

“And they are?”

 “Right decisions”

 “OK, I see – and how do you make the right decisions?”

 “One word”

“And that is?”

 “Experience”

 “I see, and how do you get experience?”

“Two words”

 “And what are they?”

 “Wrong decisions”

We heard this story years ago – and still think it’s a great one.

So many people have “analysis paralysis”, worrying about what decision to make, worrying that there is a “right” and a “wrong” decision. The thing is, we can never really know – whatever decision we make, we can’t go back and compare the outcome with what the outcome would have been if we had taken the other option. Nothing stands still, there’s no way of knowing what result the other decision would have rendered. We must simply see it all as learning. There is no such thing as failure, only results. Learning helps us to develop and grow. If we don’t learn we don’t grow.

We of course need to do some analysis and comparison of the options – and then make the decision and move on. And recognize that even the “wrong” decisions are “right”, as they always bring us experience and an outcome that can be evaluated and used as fuel for the next steps.

And in a fast changing world, there is definitely no time for endless “analysis paralysis” – we need to be able to make decisions where we balance the need for speed with depth and breadth of data – to be able to progress the situation/project etc.

It of course takes a certain amount of courage to make a decision and take responsibility for its outcome. Courage is crucial to progress and success. We must be willing for all of our decisions to not all be perfect. Let’s be honest, when is anything every “perfect”? Is there even such a thing? Maybe perfection is to learn? Maybe perfection is to keep getting better at something? Maybe perfection in the analysis paralysis form is outdated?

 

Let’s be honest, when is anything every “perfect”? Is there even such a thing?
Maybe perfection is to learn?
Maybe perfection is to keep getting better at something?

 

So beware the illusion of “perfection” too. It so easily makes us too cautious, too worried of not getting it “right”. Don’t let analysis paralysis stop you. Do the analysis you need to do and then make the decision and follow through on it – and evaluate the results you get, learn from it – value the experience it gives you. If it’s not great, then get up, brush yourself off and keep going, taking your learning and experience with you on the way. This is resilience and it is crucial to success.

 

About the authors 

Mandy Flint & Elisabet Vinberg Hearn, award-winning authors of ”The Team Formula”.

Their latest book ”Leading Teams – 10 Challenges: 10 Solutions” is out now, published by Financial Times International.

Praise for ”Leading Teams: ”This book is a 21st-century guide on how to build a world-class team. I highly recommend it” Steve Siebold, Founder, Mental Toughness University, Florida USA.

The curse of multitasking

by | Mar 28, 2018 | English Blog

From WeAreTheCity’s Future Leader’s Blog

 

Last week in our blog we talked about the “busy bug”, well let us carry on this week with another symptom of the having the busy bug.

Multitasking has long been praised as a great thing. Well, we think it’s a curse – and let us tell you why.

When you’re multitasking you are not really giving anything your full attention.

And if nothing gets full attention, it’s not getting all of you. And are you at your best if you’re not tapping into all of you? We’d say probably not.

If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.’

Anonymous

We are sure we’re not the only ones who recognize scenarios such as these:

  • Responding to emails while on a conference call – missing out on some key information that was shared at some point
  • Checking text messages while listening to what the children did at school – not really hearing how their day has been
  • Checking the phone while in meetings – sending the message to the other meeting participants that they are less important (even if not meaning to
  • Working on a presentation and getting distracted by the pinging sound of an email in the inbox – going to check the email and losing trail of thought on the presentation, having to spend more time than needed on it

Sure, it’s good to be able to multitask when needed – when a crisis hits, when a deadline looms – but to operate out of a multitasking mode all the time is to waste our capability away.

A more effective mode is to be 100% present in whatever we do, whomever we’re with. It may not work all the time, but any improvement is an improvement.

Try it out; it’s a pretty cool being 100% present. And it sure beats a constant state of multitasking. AND it makes the people we are with feel very special, when they get our full attention.

About the authors  

Mandy Flint & Elisabet Vinberg Hearn, award-winning authors of ”The Team Formula”.

Their latest book ”Leading Teams – 10 Challenges: 10 Solutions” is out now, published by Financial Times International.

Praise for ”Leading Teams: ”This book is a 21st-century guide on how to build a world-class team. I highly recommend it” Steve Siebold, Founder, Mental Toughness University, Florida USA.

Who has the busy “bug”?

by | Mar 21, 2018 | English Blog

From WeAreTheCity’s Future Leader’s Blog

 

“Busy is a bug that a lot of people are addicted to”

There is an epidemic that the world is suffering from, it is called the busy “bug”. Do you have it ? Check it out.

In the course of a normal day we will ask people “How are you?”

How many times do you hear the answer. “I am so busy!”? What are we all so busy doing? We have to keep stopping and asking ourselves that question.

Life can feel like we are on the hamster wheel. We spin around and are running running running.

If we ask the hamster “Where are you going?”

The hamster answers “don’t know, got to go, I’m busy busy, running”

We then ask “ Why are you going there”

The hamster replies” don’t know but I am busy , got to go”

So we need to get off that wheel and stop and take a look at it from a distance. Allow ourselves the time and space to say Hey where are we going, where have we been and why are we doing this? We are after all human beings, not human doings. It’s not just about doing a lot of stuff. Unless we are doing the right, relevant things – the things that really make a difference – we maybe shouldn’t be doing them.

 

Some causes and symptoms ….

There are many pressures on us to be busy; there is so much to do, there is the pressure of work, home, family, the balance in our life. The next job, the next promotion , the next meeting we HAVE to go to, the flight we have to take, the next thing we cannot miss. We get into the busy wheel and it feels like we can’t get off . We feel like we HAVE to, OUGHT to or SHOULD do. There are demands on our time from every angle.

It can feel like we are missing life and great moments when we are in the busy bug mode.

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” Michael Altshuler.

Some remedies…..

So let’s take control of the busy bug and think about what we can do. Try some of these remedies :-

  • Make some fundamental choices. Start to feel like you are at choice – after all you are in control of this crazy schedule, you drive it, so start to make choices. There are so many great things to do and things you would love to do, but you don’t have to do them all. Make sure you are making choices not just “wants”.
  • Take some reflection time, during your busy day/week/month. Take some time out even if it’s only a walk, a breath, a moment to reflect and put things into perspective. Why not put it into your calendar, it will be really productive use of your time.
  • If you are “always on” then you will miss the chance to celebate success and the little things and the big things that you have achieved will get missed. Take a few moments at the end of each day, maybe during your commute, to think about the positives an what you have achieved today and how you can take those positives with you into the next day and the future.
  • When you get very busy, break the tasks down and simply take it one step at a time, you can only do what you can do. Take control and it feels better already.
  • Being busy is a bug, so we also need to ensure that we are saying no when we need to. If we say no we need to work on HOW we say no. It is the way we communicate the no that is important, to create understanding and acceptance as to why we are doing it
  • Think about how often you are asking for help and support from others. Others are usually happy to help, if we just ask. Think about when you were last asked for help, did you help and how did it feel? Pretty good, right? Someone trusted in you and reached out to you.

If we constantly say to ourselves and others that we are busy, guess what we will be – busy. So next time you hear someone say ‘I am really busy”, what is your response, how can you help them off the hamster wheel? And the next time someone asks you how you are, what could you replace the busy bug reference with?

“Beware the barrenness of a busy life. Socrates.”

In next weeks, let’s explore the curse of multitasking…..

About the authors

Mandy Flint & Elisabet Vinberg Hearn, award-winning authors of ”The Team Formula”.

Their latest book ”Leading Teams – 10 Challenges: 10 Solutions” is out now, published by Financial Times International.

Praise for ”Leading Teams: ”This book is a 21st-century guide on how to build a world-class team. I highly recommend it” Steve Siebold, Founder, Mental Toughness University, Florida USA.

www.leadingteamsbook.com

The Art of Asking Questions

by | Mar 14, 2018 | English Blog

From WeAreTheCity’s Future Leader’s Blog

Written by Mandy Flint and Elisabet Vinberg Hearn

 

 

Last week we talked about really great leaders and what makes them great.

Three key characteristics that great leaders have are that they:

• Are interested in other people

• Are good at listening

• Know that they don’t know everything!

Great leaders ask really smart questions – they don’t give the answers.

And as such, they realise that the art of asking questions is crucial to create engaged team members. Think about it – when someone asks you a question – and are being genuinely interested and listening – how great does that feel! It makes you feel seen and important, it makes you want to get involved. It also makes you learn, it gets you to think of the answer and therefore you learn from it.

No, a leader definitely doesn’t need to have all the answers, she/he just needs to have really smart questions! In fact, it can be easy to give the answer. It is more challenging to think of a smart question that allows the other person to think about the answer and for the leader to think about how the answer will get the person thinking differently.

Look at this example:

I recently worked with a leader who was talking to me about how much time they spend thinking about the future. Instead of giving them the answer on how to work out their time to allow for more of this (which is an answer), I asked them “ As the leader of this team that you are responsible for, how much time do you think you should be spending thinking about the future and the longer term? And how could you make that happen?”

They stopped and reflected and came up with the answer for themselves, which means they are now going to put it into action. I gave them a question, not the answer.

So if you want to become an expert at asking questions, to connect with people, to learn and to create better answers, here are some of our top tips to consider.

TIP 1

What is the purpose of the questioning? This is important so that you can target your questions at that purpose.

TIP 2

Open or closed questions? Open questions gather more information, but there are times when a quick yes or now is all you need or have time for – and then a closed question is the best option.

TIP 3

Use softening phrases. Too many questions can sound like an interrogation ? so think about how you can best frame the question to make it interesting for the other person to answer it. Here are some examples of softening phrases:

• I’m curious…
• I’m really interested in your thoughts on….
• Tell me more about ….

TIP 4
Ask the question (with softening phrases if relevant). Here are some examples of great open questions:

• What do you think we should do next? What would you recommend?
• If you could do anything, what would you do?
• Where could we find that information, do you think?

TIP 5
The most important thing – LISTEN. Don’t think about how you will respond to what’s being said – just listen. It’s amazing to see what happens when we fully listen to other people.

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand;
they listen with the intent to reply.
They’re either speaking or preparing to speak.”
Stephen Covey

TIP 6
Thank them. Whomever you’ve talked to, whatever the subject – thank them. Make sure they know that you really appreciate their input.

TIP 7
Think about how to make the most of the insight you’ve had from talking to others. Consider the different views you’ve been privy to. Don’t forget to formally credit those that have given input, if relevant.

So think about it – who will you be meeting with today, tomorrow or next week? What questions can you prepare (in your head) to make that meeting interesting and rewarding for you both?

About the authors

Mandy Flint & Elisabet Vinberg Hearn, award-winning authors of ”The Team Formula”.

Their latest book ”Leading Teams – 10 Challenges: 10 Solutions” is out now, published by Financial Times International.

Praise for ”Leading Teams: ”This book is a 21st-century guide on how to build a world-class team. I highly recommend it” Steve Siebold, Founder, Mental Toughness University, Florida USA.

www.leadingteamsbook.com

Who was the best boss you ever had?

by | Mar 7, 2018 | English Blog

From WeAreTheCity’s Future Leader’s Blog

Written by Mandy Flint and Elisabet Vinberg Hearn

 

Who was the best boss you ever had? And what made her/him the best? What did they do? What did they say? How did they relate to you? What did they NOT do?

We are often asked the question if great leaders are born or made. And our answer is always “well it depends….”. It’s not a cop out, hear us out.

When we use the word leadership we usually include the practices of both leadership AND management. And a great leader needs to have a bit of both.

As leadership is about influencing others, leadership is largely about behaviours. BUT there also needs to be a certain amount of structure, follow-up and action (=management). A great leader can connect with and influence others to want to give it their best at any time, but they can also make sure things happen according to plan and expectations.

And let’s face it, some people will be better at relating to others, whilst others may be better at putting together a good plan and deliver to it. Some of these capabilities are natural talents, whereas other things need to be worked at. No one is best at everything. We have found that the best leaders are often those that are able to make the most of their natural talents. This is often referred to as Authentic Leadership, meaning that there is an honesty in there, that the person is true to their own character and build on that to be able to influence others in a positive way. And the best leaders are of course also good at just making people feel seen and heard.

 

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”

Maya Angelou

 

So, great leaders – born or made? There are natural born leaders out there who can seemingly effortlessly rally the troops and make them want to give it their all, but we have also seen many, many leaders who have worked hard at relating to people to be able to influence authentically in that way. And it often starts with developing the ability to listen and understand the person/situation. We’ll come back to this subject next week – and get practical about how to do just that.

OK, coming back to our original question now – who was the best boss you ever had? And what did they do that really made a difference to YOU? What is it that they did that made the biggest difference to you and how did t make you feel?

We would love to hear, and welcome your comments below.

About the authors

Mandy Flint & Elisabet Vinberg Hearn, award-winning authors of ”The Team Formula”.

Their latest book ”Leading Teams – 10 Challenges: 10 Solutions” is out now, published by Financial Times International.

Praise for ”Leading Teams: ”This book is a 21st-century guide on how to build a world-class team. I highly recommend it” Steve Siebold, Founder, Mental Toughness University, Florida USA.

www.leadingteamsbook.com