Monthly Archives: March 2019

When you ask "What motivates you in the workplace?" a quick-fire response is often "Money" but is that really true?   Of course, we all need money and if we don’t have it then life can become very difficult. However, I am not talking about that, I am talking about what really motivates us and it may be surprising for you to hear, but money isn’t the number one!

I believe that motivation is so essential for us as human beings.  I believe that people who struggle in life are actually demotivated.  This could be a behaviour pattern they have developed or conditioned when they are young. Furthermore, society doesn’t help with a need for a level playing field.  We are motivated by challenges and the need to do better; this is an essential part of our make-up as human beings.

Most managers believe that if they offer staff more money, then that will motivate them. However, research shows that isn’t true. A major HR study which asked employees to rank their top ten motivators found

When my mum used the words “Hurry up” to me, then the words “Get ready for school hurry up hurry up” Little did she know what patterns this would set up in me. Hurry up is just one of the five Kahler drivers but I relate very well to this one as I see it in everything that I do and one area I have to manage in myself especially when coaching.

I always work fast. I love juggling lots of tasks to work with, then complain about how much time I don’t have. Then when I get the clear time what stress this can cause for me? Such a strange pattern. When we tell our children to hurry up what we fail to do is to say when not to hurry up, this can cause such an imbalance.

There are five drivers I am just focusing on this one as it resonates with me in everything I do. I always have to consider this when I am coaching, and I have had to learn to deal with this in my coaching sessions. Easy now but at first quite hard to separate my drivers and me from the coachees.

Years ago, I would in my head be

I’m going to share something with you now that not many people know; I really feel uncomfortable meeting new people and making conversation.  Well actually, this statement is how I used to feel because now I make use of a professional trainer skill that is easily turned it into a great way to make easy conversation:

As a personality type, I used to be slightly introverted which for those that meet me now find quite surprising, but I did find engaging in conversations difficult with people I didn’t know.  I could say the initial, “Oh hello lovely to meet you” and pleasantries but would find it awkward and embarrassing as the conversation dried up.  “Where do I go next, what am I going to say” I’m thinking in my head.  ‘Awkward’ probably doesn’t go far enough to describe these moments, especially when you’re a trainer!  Unsurprisingly then, my reaction to struggling to make conversation was to try and avoid it at all costs; avoiding eye contact, making excuses or simply sticking

As a manager, there is one skill set you will have to improve almost immediately when you undertake a management role; it's the skill to make decisions.  It is common for people to struggle with making decisions; we want to ensure we make the right ones!   Unfortunately, and I am saying this not because I want you to make them, but you need to be aware of the reality, you will make the wrong ones (sometimes). I see that making wrong decisions is an opportunity for learning and I would suggest you have to make the wrong decisions to learn and as a manager.  Making wrong decision making can be a regular occurrence as we learn, particularly in a new role and if we do it with positivity it is actually a great place to be.

Of course, a common mistake that many people make regarding decision making (because they don’t want to make wrong decisions) is that they don’t make one.  As a manager, this can be fraught with issues, if we don’t make decisions staff get frustrated and you need

I recently had a bit of a lightbulb moment when I heard someone say that they ask their people if they are coachable? I noticed in myself that I stopped for a second to think about what I had just heard.

I was amazed that someone would even ask their people if they thought they were coachable? And get them to fill a form in!!! I was genuinely really shocked at this statement. Why would they not be coachable? If they were your staff and you asked that question what sort of judgement would come from that!

Coaching is a development and takes place between two people. The two people work together to change past patterns, that is if they want to change. Everyone wants to change if they are honest with themselves. If they don’t is it because of the lack of confidentiality, not feeling safe, not feeling they can trust? I would say you need to look at the practices in your workplace to establish this.

Coaching requires energy, commitment and work to change patterns. Everyone can be coached once

We all have them; ‘you know’ those pesky words that can come out when we deliver our training sessions. ‘OK’ so what are they, why do they appear, what effect can they have and importantly what can we do about them?

You’ve probably noticed already that I’ve used a couple of the more common words that can become ‘verbal ticks’ in the title and the first paragraph, but if you haven’t, they are the “You know” and the “OK”.  So, what are these words?  The words or sounds we use such as ‘OK’, Erm’, ‘You know’, ‘Um’, ‘Erm’ are ‘pause words’ for our brain to catch up with what we are thinking about and what we need to say.  They will always be there but will become more common when we are nervous and under strain which for a lot of us will be when delivering training!  They do act as convenient pauses for our brain to play catch up when we need it but can become a bit of a hindrance to us when we find we repeat them a lot and also a huge distraction to our audience; this is when they’ve

As I travel around our wonderful country, I meet some fantastic people, some people you really warm too and some who you would be happy to sit down and have a beer with. I would suggest most people whom you would sit down and have a beer with.

Of course, sometimes you meet people who you don’t necessarily warm to straight away.  Moreover, in specific roles where your customer-facing or leading or managing staff it is essential that you come across as someone who you can talk to.   This is particularly relevant if you are a manager or leader and you are dealing with the potential of conflict or challenging behaviour.

I am a massive believer in the attitude-behaviour cycle which is “My Attitude is going to affect My Behaviour which is going to affect Your Attitude which will, in turn, affects Your Behaviour”.   This simple but effective cycle is perfect for managers dealing with conflict and confrontation.  It gives you a simple decision to adopt a positive attitude.

Please

A fantastic question for everyone to think about. When was the last time you reflected on your working day? If you are brutally honest with yourself, I suspect not very often. I do hear the word  ‘rarely’ a lot when I am coaching, the most common word I hear from coachees when I ask this question. Why is this? Are we working at our best at work, are there no minor changes you can make to improve your work?

Work for the majority is routine, go to work do your job and leave. Does it have to be this way? If you are not driven why not, how about making yourself feel better, taking more ownership. This, in turn, helps self-esteem and confidence. Think about your working day daily, think what was good through the day, why and what did not go so well. What would you like to change, why and how? What is the purpose of you being there? Sometimes it is good to have the purpose for the day, week and month, always have a long-term goal and look at the small steps you can make for changes.

Reflection