Radical Reflection Challenge - Day Four - Gratitude
Radical Reflection Challenge - Day Four - Gratitude
Welcome to day four of the radical reflection challenge. The week is flying by. I hope you have found the three topics to date helpful. As a reminder, we started with values, then moved onto success, and yesterday we looked at learning and growth.
I believe today’s focus on gratitude can have a fundamental impact on your optimism and well-being. Gratitude is both a trait and an emotion or state. It’s an outlook we bring to life, and it’s also something we experience at a point in time.
We can practice gratitude - that is, we can actually take time out of our day to be grateful. Researchers have shown a regular practice of gratitude improves sleep, physical health, relationships with others, mental health and life satisfaction. It also reduces the risk of burnout. So, if I had a pill to sell you that did all of that I would be a billionaire. Thankfully gratitude is completely free, however it is also often elusive.
Taking the time to consider things to be grateful for changes our outlook on life. We start to seek out the positive things and focus our attention on those. And, just like a muscle that can be developed with exercise, we can develop our muscle of gratitude. We can shift it from something passing to something that characterises us - from a state to a trait.
The focus of the reflection in your workbook today is all about gratitude. I’ve included a few activities you can try out in the coming weeks to build gratitude. The first is a gratitude journal. It’s a really simple process but research shows some significant benefits after even short periods of three weeks. The idea is to identify three new things each day that you are grateful for, and note them down - either using a notes app or in a physical journal. The second is a gratitude letter. This involved writing a letter expressing your gratitude to someone, typically someone that you haven’t fully thanked to date. The third idea is an act of kindness. To each day intentionally do something nice for someone else. It could be someone you know, or even someone you come across in your day. Try one or more of those gratitude building ideas out today.
Radical Reflection Challenge - Day Three - Growth
Radical Reflection Challenge - Day Three - Growth
Welcome to day three of the radical reflection challenge. We are at the midway point of our challenge, so it’s a great opportunity to think about how you are doing. You might want to consider what’s working well or not so well for you in this challenge. Perhaps you might mix things up and try moving your reflection and review to a different time of day, or vary the location.
Today’s focus is on learning and growth. I love the quote from John Henry Newman who says “Growth is the only evidence of life”. I would go so far as to say that growth is the purpose of life. Without growth we cease to truly be living.
The catch with growth and learning is the discomfort they create. Learning new things means making mistakes, falling short and occasionally bruising our knees. Learning something new creates uncertainty and, generally speaking, we hate uncertainty.
You have probably come across the Johari Window before. It’s a simple framework that compares what we know about ourselves versus what others know about us. There are some things we know about ourselves that others also know - that’s the arena that is on display. Then there are things we know about ourselves that others don’t know - that’s the things we mask. There are things others see in us that we don’t see in ourselves - that’s the blind spot, which could either be good or bad. That leaves one more option - those things we don’t know about ourself that others also don’t know. That’s where the greatest opportunity for growth occurs. It is where we try genuinely new things. So today’s questions in your workbook ask you to consider your learning and growth over the past year, but also challenge you to look forward to new challenges and opportunities for growth. Take a deep breath and dive in. I will see you again tomorrow.
Radical Reflection Challenge - Day Two - Success
Radical Reflection Challenge - Day Two - Success
It is day two of the radical reflection challenge. Yesterday we explored our values and the need to reassess our lives against these values from time to time. Today we are focused on success.
Success is a tricky topic to cover for a range of reasons. Success is different for different people. Society tends to portray certain things in the context of success - whether that be wealth, fame, beauty or anything else. There is a risk of chasing others’ definitions of success. It is all too easy to adopt someone else’s view of what success should be, rather than having our own definition of success.
Here are a few key thoughts about success:
You can and should define what success means for you. If you don’t define success, then someone else will. It is all too easy to climb a ladder only to discover it is leaning against the wrong wall - don’t let that happen to you. You define success for you.
It’s okay for your definition of success to change over time. It is sometimes easier to think of success relating to seasons of your life. For example, your idea of success might be different when you’re studying, early in your career, in the middle of your career, later in your career, and in your retirement. Sure, your values may be consistent, but it is fine to change your definition of success to reflect the season you are in.
Success is accomplishment. It is completing or achieving something. It is a point in time - a moment when you know you’re successful. So if you want to be successful, you need to set goals. And once you have been successful, you need to set some new goals.
Success can feel pretty pointless by yourself. We are created as social beings. Are there people you can team up with in pursuit of success? Are there people you can cheer on? Then why not partner up with them.
You will find some questions to help you reflect about success in your workbook. Make sure you note down some thoughts.
Radical Reflection Challenge - Day One - Values
Radical Reflection Challenge - Day One - Values
Welcome to day one of the radical reflection challenge. I am looking forward to working with you across the next five days. Each day starts with a brief introduction just like this one, followed by an activity in your workbook which you can complete at any point during the day. If you haven’t downloaded the workbook as yet, you will find it at leadership.today/radical or follow the link in the show notes.
We are starting our challenge by examining our values. Perhaps you already know what you value and hold to be most important in life. Maybe you haven’t given your values much thought, or perhaps it has been a while since you reflected on your values.
Values are central to who we are. They influence what we do, how we do it and, most importantly, why we do it. However it’s easy to lose sight of our values. Often times we find ourselves balancing competing priorities. For example, you might really value time with your family and friends, while also valuing financial security. Your quest for financial security may lead you to work longer and longer hours, reducing the time you have available to spend with family and friends.
In this way, I don’t believe values are something we set and forget. It’s important to assess and re-assess what we value. Our values may change over time. It may be that things that used to be really important to us are now less important. I’m sure you know someone who has had a health diagnosis that caused them to question their values in fundamental ways. Maybe you have had a similar experience that caused you to reassess.
I know for me the loss of a parent when I was in my 20s caused a radical shift in my values. Things that I had placed my hope and confidence in were revealed to be less secure than I thought. It made me reconsider what really mattered to me.
I believe reflecting on our values regularly, whether that’s once or twice per year, provides a foundation for deeper reflections on our life. It’s very easy for our life to drift off course away from the things that matter to us most. Reflecting on our values is a great check of how we are directing our focus, our time and our energies.
In your workbook you will find a simple values questionnaire. Read through the list of values, then choose the ten that appeal to you most. You can then reduce that list down to a top three. I then want you to reflect on your life at present, and the extent to which it aligns with those values. In what ways are you currently aligned? In what areas might your values be challenged currently?
As well as completing the reflection in the workbook, I encourage you to grab a friend to complete this week’s challenge with. It’s always better to learn with others.
Radical Reflection Challenge - Introduction
Radical Reflection Challenge - Introduction
Hi everyone. The Leadership Today podcast is going to be a little different over the next week. We are going to be undertaking what I have called the Radical Reflection Five Day Challenge. I believe most leaders are suffering from what I call reflection deficit, so this challenge aims to tackle that head on.
The challenge is running live from 22nd to 26th February 2021 at Leadership Today On-Demand, which is our video-based subscription service. You can always sign up for a 30 day trial to get involved that way. The other option is to go to leadership.today/radical to learn more and download the workbook.
So what are you signing up for here? Each morning starts with a brief introduction to the challenge for that day. The workbook then includes a range of reflection activities to support your reflections. I’ve included all of the links in the show notes. I’m confident this challenge can make a huge difference for you personally and in your leadership. I’m looking forward to working with you across the week.
Episode 107 - When Should I Set a Stretch Goal?
Stretch goals are incredibly popular for individuals and organisations. But are they effective? It depends. This week we explore how to know when to set a stretch goal.
Summary
Stretch goals are incredibly popular for individuals and organisations. But are they effective? It depends. This week we explore how to know when to set a stretch goal.
Transcript
Hello and welcome to episode 107 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we explore how to know when to set a stretch goal.
Stretch goals are incredibly popular for individuals and organisations. But are they effective? Well, that depends.
The modern application of stretch goals can most likely be attributed Jim Collins and Jerry Porras. They coined the term Big Hairy Audacious Goal in their book Built to Last. The book encourages people to set extraordinary stretch goals. But, importantly, these goals are typically set across a long-term time frame of 10 to 25 years. By way of example, when Bill Gates and Paul Allen first started Microsoft they talked to each other about having a computer on every desk and in every home decades before that became reality. That all sounds great - I set myself or my organisation a Big Hairy Audacious Goal for 20 years into the future and chase after it. The problem is that people are applying this approach to one year goals, which was never the intent. Microsoft did not have a one or two year goal to have a computer on every desk - that would have been ridiculous. Instead they used that ambitious goal to draw them forward through years of steady progress.
Shorter-term stretch goals are not always right. The work of Sitkin, Miller and See is really helpful for us to understand when a stretch goal might make sense.
In their 2017 HBR article the authors outline two conditions that are important to consider before setting a stretch goal:
Recent performance. Are you coming from a recent history of success and performance, or of failure and underperformance? Recent success provides the mindset and motivation required to apply to the challenge. This is particularly important.
Excess resources. Do we have additional resources available that aren’t already committed? Is there some slack in the system? Stretch goals require committed resources, not just business as usual.
The perfect time to set a stretch goal is when you have recently been successful and you have available uncommitted resources. People will have the motivation, mindset and capacity to chase that stretch goal. Even if you have been successful, if you don’t have the required additional resources you are setting people up for failure.
But hang on - so if I don’t have recent success, are the authors saying I shouldn’t set a stretch goal even if I have available resources? Where there are available resources but not a recent history of success, the authors suggest running more modest experiments that you can afford to fail. Rather than setting stretch goals, it is better in these situations to work on quick fail experiments. Here you try new things that aren’t huge bets, and celebrate giving things a go. As these experiments begin to work, you will build that track record of success needed to then set stretch goals.
If you haven’t recently been successful and lack spare resources, then stretch goals are not your friend. Instead the authors suggest you should chase small wins - taking those small steps forward until you do have a track record of success. Then your people will feel more confident to reach out towards a stretch goal.
A stretch goal needs a recent track record of success and dedicated resources. Too often people set a stretch goal as a last gasp opportunity for redemption - that’s exactly the wrong time. So, yes, absolutely dream big for the 10 to 25 year future. But then consider the kind of goals you set based on your performance to date and the resources you are willing to commit.
I hope you found that helpful. As always, a link to the reference used is in the show notes.
If you want to become an even better leader, then I’m sure Leadership Today On-Demand can help. It’s where we have all of our online courses, recorded webinars, and quick hits on a broad range of topics, all available with one subscription. Go to leadership.today and follow the on-demand link to sign up for a completely free 30 day trial.
Have a great week.
Reference
The Stretch Goal Paradox by Sim B. Sitkin, C. Chet Miller, and Kelly E. See. Harvard Business Review (January-February 2017).
Episode 106 - The Power of Belief in Potential
What we think about people has an impact not just on how we personally perceive them, but also on their actual behaviour. There’s power when we believe in someone’s potential.
Summary
What we think about people has an impact not just on how we personally perceive them, but also on their actual behaviour. There’s power when we believe in someone’s potential.
Transcript
Hello and welcome to episode 106 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we explore the power of belief in potential.
What we think about people has an impact not just on how we personally perceive them, but also on their actual behaviour. It’s an example of selective attention bias with some expectancy bias thrown in for good measure. If you think that someone is lazy, you will notice everything that they do that appears lazy. You will also ignore anything they do that is energetic and active. So, over time, we just end up thinking that they’re more and more lazy. But, on top of that, we will also modify the way we work with that person. This in turn will lead to them acting in ways that appear even more lazy. We might give them less work to complete, so they end up having more spare time. They might become less engaged, and so seem more lazy. In short, the actions we take can make the other person end up being more lazy.
A recent study demonstrated this impact in a college environment. Through some laboratory and field studies, the researchers discovered that a professor’s mindset about student learning had remarkable positive and negative impacts on those students. For example, when a professor had lower expectations that people could develop and grow, their students demonstrated lower class attendance, reduced engagement in class, less end of semester interest in the subject, they felt more like an impostor in the class, and they even delivered lower grades. So if a professor (who is effectively the leader of learning) thinks you’re not likely to learn, then you, in turn, will actually be less likely to learn. In contrast, if the leader thinks you have potential to learn and grow, you’re much more likely to learn and grow.
In a work context, we often inherit a perspective about a person we lead. “This person is a trouble maker” or “this person doesn’t deliver”. The risk is that we perpetuate and multiply this perspective through our behaviour towards that person.
Here are five ways to challenge our thinking and demonstrate belief in others’ potential:
Reset your expectations. Think about how you see others and give them another chance. Let’s expect that people can improve, grow and develop.
State your positive expectations. It’s what you say that matters. If you think someone is fantastic but never say it, they may completely miss it.
Challenge negative appraisals you might make. Is it more about you than them? What evidence might you have to the contrary?
Challenge negative appraisals others make about people. If you hear others perpetuating negative beliefs about people, appropriately challenge them.
Challenge negative appraisals others make about themselves. Sometimes people perpetuate their own limiting beliefs. Why wouldn’t others believe the person? Use the opportunity to challenge people who consistently run themselves down.
As leaders, what we think about others matters. It shapes not only our perceptions, but also their behaviour. Think about ways you can demonstrate a greater belief in others’ potential.
Well that’s the end of this week’s episode. As always, the reference used is in the show notes.
A quick reminder that our brand new Leading Through Change and Uncertainty online course is now available at Leadership Today On-Demand. It’s video based so you can go at your own pace and work through the content in any order. Just go to Leadership.Today website and follow the On-Demand link to find out more and to sign up for a free 30 day trial. We also offer a 25% discount for groups, so it’s a great option for your team and organisation. Take a look at Leadership Today On-Demand - it’s just like online fitness training for your leadership.
Have a great week, and I look forward to speaking with you again next week.
Reference
Muenks, K., Canning, E. A., LaCosse, J., Green, D. J., Zirkel, S., Garcia, J. A., & Murphy, M. C. (2020). Does my professor think my ability can change? Students’ perceptions of their STEM professors’ mindset beliefs predict their psychological vulnerability, engagement, and performance in class. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 149(11), 2119–2144. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000763
Episode 105 - Strategic Foresight
How do you plan when the future is uncertain? Strategic foresight is a great approach to figuring out how to think about the future.
Summary
How do you plan when the future is uncertain? Strategic foresight is a great approach to figuring out how to think about the future.
Transcript
Hello and welcome to episode 105 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we explore strategic foresight and how to think about the future when things are uncertain.
It’s a classic challenge - how do we lead others through times of uncertainty when we’re not clear ourselves? Perhaps our industry is going through significant change. Or perhaps you report into a leadership team that haven’t provided a clear strategy and direction. We can’t just make things up - that’s not fair on our team - so what do we do?
What we need is strategic foresight, which is outlined in a great Harvard Business Review article with the intriguing title - Learning from the Future.
The author of the article, J Peter Scoblic, says of strategic foresight that the “aim is not to predict the future but rather to make it possible to imagine multiple futures in creative ways that heighten our ability to sense, shape, and adapt to what happens in the years ahead. Strategic foresight doesn’t help us figure out what to think about the future. It helps us figure out how to think about it.”
He outlined the following six stage process for Strategic Foresight - invite, identify, imagine, inhabit, isolate and implement:
The first stage is INVITE - we need to invite the right people to participate. Senior leaders don’t have exclusive rights to think about the future. Rather than just involving those with the greatest responsibility, it is often better to involve those with the greatest vision. That might include some people closest to your customers, or people who have joined from other industries. We really want to bring together a group of people that are diverse in their thinking and experience, and open to new possibilities.
The second stage is IDENTIFY - here we think about assumptions that we might be making as an organisation. We also explore the key drivers for our organisation and any uncertainties in the market.
The third stage is called IMAGINE. This involves imagining what Scoblic describes as plausible, but dramatically different, futures. So let’s take my business as an example. We’re focus on helping people to become even better leaders. I could imagine a few different futures - where leadership development was only face-to-face, only online, some mix of the two, only live, only on-demand. From that diverse range of potential futures, I could then take the three that were most plausible.
The fourth stage is to INHABIT each of those futures. Here we want to really experience what each future could be like, and what that might mean for us. You could encourage your team to describe what each future looks like, how people might respond, and what might or might not be possible.
The fifth stage is to ISOLATE strategies that will be useful across multiple possible futures. Again, with my business, running through a range of options back at the end 2018 showed me that online delivery and content development was something I should focus on. It was a strategy that would work across a range of likely futures.
The final stage is IMPLEMENT. This is where we take those strategies and put them in place.
Why not undertake a strategic foresight activity with your team. Here are some questions to help:
What trends do you see in your market? What are the emerging opportunities and threats?
What are some likely futures for your organisation and team? What are the three most likely futures?
What does each future look like? What are the implications for you and your team?
What might be common in those different futures for you and your team? How might you prepare for each of those futures?
Is there one future that you want to actively pursue? Why? What might you do now to prepare for that?
It is great to be back for 2021 with a brand new episode, and I hope you found it helpful. I must say that 2021 feels a little bit like 2020 part 2, so I do hope you’re keeping safe and well.
I have two exciting new things to tell you about. Our Leading Through Change and Uncertainty online course is now available. If you enjoyed today’s episode then you will love this course. It’s video based so you can go at your own pace and work through the content in any order. It’s all part of Leadership Today On-Demand, so current subscribers will see it there. If you haven’t subscribed as yet, why not take our completely free 30 day trial. Just go to Leadership Today and follow the On-Demand link to find out more - or you can follow the link in the show notes. We also offer a 25% discount for groups, so it’s a great option for your team and organisation.
I see Leadership Today On-Demand as just like online fitness training for your leadership. So I’m really excited to let you know about our very first multi-day challenge. It runs from 22nd to 26th of February and the focus is on Reflection. I believe most leaders are suffering from what I call reflection deficit, so this challenge aims to tackle that head on. Each morning starts with a brief video introducing the challenge for that day. These are backed up by a workbook that includes a range of reflection activities. It’s just like bootcamp, but with far less active wear. Check out the Radical Reflection Challenge at Leadership Today On-Demand for more details.
Have a great week, and I look forward to speaking with you again next week.