Wednesday, November 26, 2014

What to do when you boss doesn't motivate you

We've all had them.  Bosses who don't inspire us to do anything let alone work more than we have to. So what can we do when leaving isn't a choice?



Here are some useful tips about how to deal with that.

Click here.


Monday, November 24, 2014

The high cost of gutlessness

Is Courage missing in your organisation?


Have you stopped to assess the cost of lack of courage in your organisation?

For example: have you costed the failure to manage poor performers? Or the cost of lost productivity when team dynamics go awry and no-one has the courage to deal with the situation because "I don't want to upset them".

What about the cost to an organisation where GroupThink prevails at the very top?

Is your CEO is surrounded by ‘yes' people who, often due to a heightened sense of self-preservation and a fear of rocking the boat, fail to challenge the CEO about the strategic direction of the company or some other decision or direction where the CEO has got it wrong or is in danger of making a big mistake?

The origins of courage

Here's what Charles A. Smith has to say:

"Courage is persevering despite fear. It is gumption, grit, and the capacity to get up after a setback, with one's heart on fire..

The word comes from the French 'curage' for "putting one's heart into action." Courage is an essential virtue, a source of strength that contributes to all significant human endeavors. Every great accomplishment requires courage. 

Courage simply is "making the decision to do what you know is right."
A day comes in every person's life when there is a choice between acting out of fear or doing the right thing. 

Courage finds its roots in two fundamental skills learned during early childhood: persevering despite adversity and remaining mindful despite fear.

This wariness and self-protection are critical skills. 


The problem with fear, though, is that its arousal can trigger mind-numbing panic. The natural push of fear to flight makes self-control challenging. Courage, like all growth, requires taking risks.

Remaining mindful despite fear means acting with grace under pressure. It means learning to link the thinking part of our brains (the cortex) with the emotional arousal in the center of our brains (the limbic system)."

Charles A. Smith, PhD, parent educator and extension specialist in the School of Family Studies and Human and Human Services at Kansas State University in Manhattan Smith, C.A. 2005. First steps to mighty hearts: The origins of courage.

Three recent examples where courage was missing - and yes, these are true

Example one: A manager devised a 360 degree performance feedback scheme for himself and his team with a rating of 1 to 5 where five was ‘above and well beyond expectations' and one was essentially abysmal. When he received the feedback forms from his team (who acted very courageously), he received mostly ones and twos. He simply told his team that they would re-do the assessment in 6 months time and promptly filed the feedback in a bin.

Example two: at a major retail outlet in Sydney, the system for queuing and paying was so disorganised and customers were getting irritated about the length of the wait for service. When the store manager was told the system was not working, she responded: "well it's been alright up to now" and walked away. So clearly the customers were the problem!!

Another customer followed up with: ‘We are trying to give you some helpful feedback", to which she replied: "there's nothing wrong with the system". Then the store started to lose big money as angry customers put down their intended purchases and simply walked out. Finally after further interchanges, the manager said: "Look I only do what I'm told. It's nothing to do with me" and walked away.

I was astonished to have witnessed this and became even more so when another staff member was saying under her breath: "Let her have it!"

Example three: prior to an off-site managers' workshop to discuss how to move the organisation forward, the staff had given extensive confidential feedback to the facilitator about the financial results/mood dependent chief executive and how that led to a lack of trust in the promises that the CEO made. Poor results would usually mean the CEO would do a back flip on previous promises. This in turn led to nervousness on the part of the staff to take risks or a long term approach to the business.

When finally one person had the courage to raise this during the workshop, he was not supported by the other members of staff; nor did the CEO accept what was being said. The trust issue remained unresolved and needless to say, no real progress made on the issue of how to move the company forward.

Do you surround yourself with courageous people? 

 You should - it's an employee retention strategy.

It's a courageous act to surround yourself with courageous people and what an extraordinary place it would be to work. People would be challenged to grow and contribute, listen, be listened to, think outside the square and feel valued and supported. This is what employees tell us they want so see it as part of your employee retention strategy.

Your customers would also benefit as the culture of being courageous would extend to the way staff dealt with customers, listening carefully to their feedback and ideas for improvement. What a low cost way to do research that would improve your performance in the market place.

So why do we hold back? 

What can we do about it? What holds us back from being as courageous as we could be? The Almond Effect ® - our fear based on past experiences. Let me share the first step in overcoming The Almond Effect with an extract from my e-book: "Where Did That Come From?"

What can we do about it?

"Start by identifying the physical sensations you experience prior to, or during, an episode of The Almond Effect ®. Think back to times when you ‘lost it'. What were you feeling, physically? Tick the ones that apply to you on this list.

  • Increased heart rate     
  • Sweaty palms and/or underarms     
  • Trembling or shaking     
  • Blushing     
  • Butterflies in the stomach     
  • Nausea        
  • Tight neck and shoulders        
  • Foot tapping or finger drumming        
  • Teeth grinding     
  • Increased, erratic or shallow breathing     
  • Add your own:        

When you did notice the sensation - was it already too late to do anything about it?

What could you have done if you'd gone into reaction management mode straight away, as soon as you noticed the sensation?

What could you try to do differently when you feel these things in the future?
Make some notes about your answers to these questions somewhere where you can look at them often, especially your answer to question three.

Start training yourself to become body aware so that when you notice any of these physical reactions begin to develop, so you can take steps to get yourself back in control. Whatever you do, don't forget to breathe!"



Change Leader Programs


Anne Riches offers 1/2 day, 1 to 2 days, and longitudinal programs that develop managers into better change leaders who deliver growth and productivity for their business. 


However acquiring the mindset and capability to deliver through successful leadership competencies doesn't happen as a quick fix.


The more you put in, the more you get out.


The focus is on leading the people side of change as an effective, inspirational and motivational leader - it's not simply or only about processes and models. It's about holding a mirror up and discovering whether you see a genuine change leader. 


if you do, we'll build on it. if you don't, we work to make you the best leader you can be.


For more information, contact Anne at anne@anneriches.com


And see her website for testimonials from businesses that have benefited from Anne's interventions: www.anneriches.com

Friday, November 21, 2014

Want to see inside the brain of a psychopath?




Great little news clip describing MRI scanning of 3500 inmates brains. They found their amygdala are smaller.

Click here to watch it.

So I wonder what this means for the prisoner and the non-prisoner population in the future?

Many have written that psychopaths roam company corridors in the guise of CEOs and Executives.

Maybe we should install MRI scanners at the door of every meeting to determine who comes in?

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

What sets leaders (and losers) apart?



 Each year Boss magazine publishes a list of Young Executives of the Year.

Particularly interesting is a list I saw a year or so back of the tendencies of those who don't have what it takes to be on the list:

  • Have good ideas but lack the ability to execute them
  • Have closed discussions and make assumptions
  • Derail frequently and let the dark side of their personality affect their work and relationships at work
  • Be arrogant rather than inclusive
  • Miss opportunities to use empathy
  • Micro-manage instead of delegate
  • Be impulsive rather than evidence based in decision
  • Lack perception about how others are feeling
  • Get confused about managing who they are as people and what's required in the role
Almost everything on the list stems from inadequate insights about themselves, what makes them who they are and their affect on others - in other words self-leadership.

A huge component of that involves The Almond Effect® - understanding how the stressors and challenges of everyday life trigger our primitive survival (flight/fight/flock/freeze) instincts.

The best leaders know that each one of us is the sum of our experiences and that, unless we monitor our behaviors and actions, our brains are hardwired will take us by shortest, most well trodden route to action. This is fine if the action is appropriate but not fine if we end up reacting in ways that are inappropriate either for others or for ourselves.

The change organ


Our brains can and do change - it's called neuro-plasticity. However, it takes courage to deeply examine what makes us tick and triggers our immediate non-thinking behaviors.

Changing embedded patterns of behavior can be hard without determination and practice.

We can change our brains by changing our minds. But you have to stay on track. Understanding The Almond Effect® and mastering STAR helps you do that.



Change Leader Programs

Anne Riches offers 1/2 day, 1 to 2 days, and longitudinal programs that develop managers into better change leaders who deliver growth and productivity for their business. 

However acquiring the mindset and capability to deliver through successful leadership competencies doesn't happen as a quick fix.

The more you put in, the more you get out.

The focus is on leading the people side of change as an effective, inspirational and motivational leader - it's not simply or only about processes and models. It's about holding a mirror up and discovering whether you see a genuine change leader. 

if you do, we'll build on it. if you don't, we work to make you the best leader you can be.

For more information, contact Anne at anne@anneriches.com

And see her website for testimonials from businesses that have benefited from Anne's interventions: www.anneriches.com

Monday, November 17, 2014

Give your money away - it will make you happier! Try this test.








Imagine that every morning someone gives you an envelope with either $5 or $20. You never know which. And each day you are asked to either spend it on a treat for yourself, or spend it on a gift for someone else. Then that same person calls you at 5pm to ask how your day went. How do you feel?

Click here to find out how you might feel.....

Friday, November 14, 2014

Build a change platform, not a change program

Terrific article from McKinseys on re-imagining change.

Build a change platform, not a change program

The authors suggest that many executives still see change as an interruption that has to be managed instead of continuous experience. But that's what most organisations are set up for.

I especially agree with their suggestion that the role of an executive should be change enable in chief not change agent in chief. Well said!

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

I wish I hadn't pressed 'send'

‘I wish I hadn't sent that': Gmail uses STAR

The whole point of learning STAR, the antidote to The Almond Effect®, is to stop ourselves acting impulsively, in the wrong way, at the wrong time, for the wrong reason, when something stirs us up or catches us off-guard.

In the Gmail Labs, there is a fabulous tool that is doing just that.

It gives us a second chance to Stop and Think before we send an email we will regret.

Turn on the ‘Undo Send' feature in Gmail by going to Settings then Labs. Then when you hit ‘send', Gmail will pause for 5 seconds before actually sending the email.

If you realize in that time (and we usually know in an instant when we have done something and wish we hadn't), you press simply ‘Undo' and Gmail redirects the email to your draft box. Email not sent - no harm done!

It's STAR in action

If you're looking for an example of (assisted!) STAR in action, this is it: Stop, Think, Act, Rewire.

Gmail delays (STOPS) the sending for you, giving you time to THINK about what you've just done and what your real intention and the consequences might be.

It gives you 5 seconds to ACT and press ‘undo' if necessary. And if you press ‘undo' it pops it back into your Drafts box so you can REWIRE i.e. review and rewrite the email until it's ready for you to send.

Now all we want is have an ‘undo send' mechanism for our mouths, facial expressions and our body language!

The change organ

Our brains can and do change - it's called neuroplasticity. However, it takes courage to deeply examine what makes us tick and triggers our immediate non-thinking behaviours.

Changing embedded patterns of behaviour can be hard without determination and practice.

We can change our brains by changing our minds. But you have to stay on track. Understanding The Almond Effect® and mastering STAR helps you do that.

Change Leader Programs

Anne Riches offers 1/2 day, 1 to 2 days, and longitudinal programs that develop managers into better change leaders who deliver growth and productivity for their business. 

However acquiring the mindset and capability to deliver through successful leadership competencies doesn't happen as a quick fix.

The more you put in, the more you get out.

The focus is on leading the people side of change as an effective, inspirational and motivational leader - it's not simply or only about processes and models. It's about holding a mirror up and discovering whether you see a genuine change leader. 

if you do, we'll build on it. if you don't, we work to make you the best leader you can be.

For more information, contact Anne at anne@anneriches.com

And see her website for testimonials from businesses that have benefited from Anne's interventions: www.anneriches.com