Patterns of thinking to help help us understand and communicate with others better

Greg Fisher follows-up his February Blog (3 Top Tips to help you influence change and break down resistance.  ) with a review to help recognise patterns of thinking and the primary processing systems which may help us understand and communicate with others better.

In my last blog we looked at Representational (Rep) Systems and how they can help us to understand how a person 'ticks' in order to allow us to build rapport and communicate with them more effectively to achieve our ultimate aim in the context of this blog – influencing change and breaking down resistance to it. 

In this blog we will look at a fascinating phenomenon called Eye acuity. This takes the theory of Rep systems one step further. NLP uses Eye Acuity to help recognise patterns of thinking and the primary processing systems involved to trigger the thinking patterns – the Rep systems.

A persons eye positions whilst in thought or when talking can offer a great insight as to how they're thinking and what part of their mind they are connecting to. Looking upwards and to the left would mean they are recalling a visual memory (ask someone to picture their favourite school teacher). Whereas looking up to the right would mean they are likely to be constructing a visual image (ask someone to picture the same teacher with a green hair)..!!

Have a look at the image below but be aware this is from your viewpoint, looking at someone else.

Although the patterns above are those most commonly found, there are exceptions. Some people have the patterns reversed (typical in, but not exclusive to, many left-handed people), others have a mixture. There are also some cultures where this pattern is not the norm. Bearing in mind the NLP presupposition that 'Everyone lives in their own unique model of the world', you might encounter different patterns.

Learning to read eye-accessing cues will not make you a mind reader but will give you a clue to the way the other person is thinking. A skilled NLP practitioner will notice the sequencing of eye patterns. For example, before answering a question someone might always follow the pattern 'up left, across right, down right'. This suggests that they are remembering a picture, putting together some sound or words, and checking that the idea feels OK. By communicating ideas in the same sequence you will probably gain strong rapport with this person.

Look out for my blog next month where we will briefly cover another fascinating area of NLP to help you influence change and break down resistance to it.

ps. If the recent winter weather conditions are making you feel 'down' – LOOK UP! This helps release endorphins and dopamine that help cheer you up.   

Greg Fisher

March 2013

Greg will be offering the third part of this series on NLP in April. If you are interested in finding out more about Individual and Team communication and how tools like NLP can be used to support change in behaviours please offer feedback via email or Linked-In.

Tim Rogers

Founder ciChange

timrogers@ciChange.org

http://www.linkedin.com/groups/CI-Change-4301853

ciChange seminar and networking events for 2013 sponsored by Total Solutions Group http://www.tsgi.co/

 

Is true leadership about not leading?

Is true leadership about not leading?

The problem with strong leadership is that it can create a command and control culture which undermines cross-functional communications, collaboration and co-operation. An insistence on sticking to the up and down chain of management can also compromise capacity and creativity which along with communications, collaboration and co-operation are key to change.

My favorite study on the subject of leadership is Daniel Goleman’s Leadership That Gets Results, a landmark 2000 Harvard Business Review study. Goleman and his team completed a three-year study with over 3,000 middle-level managers. Their goal was to uncover specific leadership behaviors and determine their effect on the corporate climate and each leadership style’s effect on bottom-line profitability.

The pacesetting leader…

expects and models excellence and self-direction. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be “Do as I do, now.” The pacesetting style works best when the team is already motivated and skilled, and the leader needs quick results. Used extensively, however, this style can overwhelm team members and squelch innovation.

The authoritative leader…

mobilizes the team toward a common vision and focuses on end goals, leaving the means up to each individual. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be “Come with me.” The authoritative style works best when the team needs a new vision because circumstances have changed, or when explicit guidance is not required. Authoritative leaders inspire an entrepreneurial spirit and vibrant enthusiasm for the mission. It is not the best fit when the leader is working with a team of experts who know more than him or her.

The affiliative leader…

works to create emotional bonds that bring a feeling of bonding and belonging to the organization. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be “People come first.” The affiliative style works best in times of stress, when teammates need to heal from a trauma, or when the team needs to rebuild trust. This style should not be used exclusively, because a sole reliance on praise and nurturing can foster mediocre performance and a lack of direction.

The coaching leader…

develops people for the future. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be “Try this.” The coaching style works best when the leader wants to help teammates build lasting personal strengths that make them more successful overall. It is least effective when teammates are defiant and unwilling to change or learn, or if the leader lacks proficiency.

The coercive leader…

demands immediate compliance. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be “Do what I tell you.” The coercive style is most effective in times of crisis, such as in a company turnaround or a takeover attempt, or during an actual emergency like a tornado or a fire. This style can also help control a problem teammate when everything else has failed. However, it should be avoided in almost every other case because it can alienate people and stifle flexibility and inventiveness.

The democratic leader…

builds consensus through participation. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be “What do you think?” The democratic style is most effective when the leader needs the team to buy into or have ownership of a decision, plan, or goal, or if he or she is uncertain and needs fresh ideas from qualified teammates. It is not the best choice in an emergency situation, when time is of the essence for another reason or when teammates are not informed enough to offer sufficient guidance to the leader.

My view is that you need different approaches at different stages of managing change. Once the inertia is overcome (perhaps by coercive and/or authoritative leadership) then the emphasis needs to be creating an organisational snowball effect which focusses more on the team than the leader (perhaps by pacesetting, affiliative and/or coaching leadership)

Sticking to the leadership style that mobilises change ironically can sabotage the organisational communications, collaboration, capacity by creating a dependency upon the leader and stifling the creativity and co-operation which makes real and lasting change happen. If change is entirely dependent upon the leader then it cannot be regarded as having any more substance or permanence than the role and the incumbent.

ciChange is really interested in visual leadership, visual projects and visual communication. Let us know what you think.

Tim Rogers

Founder ciChange

timrogers@ciChange.org

http://www.linkedin.com/groups/CI-Change-4301853

ciChange seminar and networking events for 2013 sponsored by Total Solutions Group http://www.tsgi.co/

Meanings are in people not words!

It is the pictures in their head which motivate behaviour not the words that you say.

ciChange is really interested in visual leadership, visual projects and visual communication. Let us know what you think.

Tim Rogers

Founder ciChange
timrogers@ciChange.org
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/CI-Change-4301853
ciChange seminar and networking events for 2013 sponsored by Total Solutions Group http://www.tsgi.co/

How change works...

ciChange is planning its’ activities for 2013. If you are interested in visual management and visual projects please offer feedback via email or Linked-In.

Tim Rogers

Founder ciChange

timrogers@ciChange.org

http://www.linkedin.com/groups/CI-Change-4301853

ciChange seminar and networking events for 2013 sponsored by Total Solutions Group http://www.tsgi.co/

Forget documentation, think communication!

Forget documentation, think communication!

I was once appointed on a project where things weren’t going according to plan. The clients was 6 months into the project with around 12 weeks left and whilst there had been a lot of talking there wasn’t much action. To make things worse the client faced penalty costs of nearly half a million pounds if the project was late.

I talked to the stakeholders and participants to understand aims, objectives, progress, and issues and quickly noted that lots of emails were being sent around but there was no ownership or action to progress the tasks. Moreover the risks and issues languished in a log that nobody read, and the principal project participants had never all met at the same time. There were silos of misunderstanding and a vacuum of management with no leadership and plenty of problems.

My first task was to abandon the documentation that nobody read, and the emails that people didn’t understand and instead get people to attend set-up meetings to agree roles, responsibilities, controls and actions. That done I set-up a weekly conference call where we discussed what needed to be done and agree action for the next call.

Governance is important. I made sure that the paperwork followed after the conversation, not instead of it! Moreover since dialogue allows us to test each other’s understanding the records only needed to be a bullet-list reminder not a full explanation. On some occasions we agreed to use a dictaphone if we needed to capture detail that could not be summarised.

The above approach helped relationships as well as communications and was also much faster since a ‘round-the-table chat can resolve in 5 minutes what cannot be achieved in 6 weeks of email exchanges. The improved teamwork and light-touch paperwork meant that we delivered the project in the time remaining and avoiding the over-run penalty costs.

I have long believed there is no point in doing paperwork if nobody reads it. Words are not important, understanding is essential. With this in mind I have speculated about how little paperwork I could get away with and have now started using visual communication. Not just PowerPoint, but actually using YouTube and even cartoon story-boards to explain tasks and steps.  Increasingly I use image tiles to explain issues and ideas. My aim is to learn and use communication ideas from iPhone icons and comic book cartoons.

Below are a selection  of some the tiles and  story-boards I have been experimenting with. I would be really interested to know other people’s experienced and suggestions with this (hopefully) novel and engaging form of communication.

ciChange is planning its’ activities for 2013. If you are interested in visual management and visual projects please offer feedback via email or Linked-In.

Tim Rogers

Founder ciChange

timrogers@ciChange.org

http://www.linkedin.com/groups/CI-Change-4301853

ciChange seminar and networking events for 2013 sponsored by Total Solutions Group http://www.tsgi.co/

Trail Blazer or Path Finder – Which are you?

I have noticed that some people won’t venture toward new goals unless the path is clear for them whilst others relish the challenge of creating the path for others to follow. What must Change Leaders do to stop the paralysis of the former who are reluctant to start their journey unless they can see their destination straight in front of them?

I have learned that if you give someone 52 things to do they will sit in awe of them and do nothing. However if you give the same person one thing to do each week, and be damn sure that they must do it then quickly you gather momentum because there are far fewer reasons for not doing one thing than there are for not progressing 52.

It does sometimes surprise me that people can’t take 52 things and break them into bite-size pieces for themselves but instead rely upon leaders to create the path and managers to lead them down it, but I guess that’s why we have personal trainers, directions on food packets and all sorts of other things to prompt and guide us through the maze of information and possibilities that confuse and distract us.

I once thought that giving some templates and guidance was like giving a map and compass and would give people the skills, confidence and ability to set their own path, but I suspect that not everyone likes to be a self-reliant back-packer. Some prefer the five-star comfort of knowing that everything has been done for them and the only thing that they need to consider is what happens next.

The challenge of leadership therefore is to recognize these two very different travelers and give each a role that fits their talents and ensures their progress toward their new destination. If you can blaze a trail and create innovation and creativity, whilst also setting a path for others to easily follow then you are probably on the right track to be a Change Leader.

Tim Rogers

Founder ciChange

timrogers@ciChange.org

http://www.linkedin.com/groups/CI-Change-4301853

ciChange seminar and networking events for 2013 sponsored by Total Solutions Group http://www.tsgi.co/

The first of 3 Top Tips to help you influence change and break down resistance.

It's human nature to shun change. Millions of years of evolution have taught us to constantly seek and protect what we need to survive and reject anything that may threaten us. Freud called it the 'Pleasure principle'; seeking comfort and avoiding pain or suffering. So, why would we want to change something that we believe has served us well?

This theory may have worked well for millions of years and of course still does to an extent. However, in a blink of planet earth's 'eye', the way we live our lives has changed beyond recognition and today more than ever we need to be receptive to change and be able to readily adapt. We are no longer the hunter/ gatherers that we were for millions of years.

A clearly defined everyday example of resistance to change could be the number of people who do not and will not 'use' the internet because they claim it is no benefit and why should they start now? Why indeed....?

If we accept the above, and the need to change, then we need to equip ourselves with the tools that can assist in promoting that change.

Some of you may have heard of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). It was developed in the 1970's and is rapidly gaining recognition globally. NLP explores the relationships between how we think (neuro), how we communicate (linguistic) and our patterns of behaviour and emotion (programmes).

By studying and learning from these relationships people can effectively transform the way they traditionally think and act, adopting new, far more successful models of human excellence. (This activity is called modelling and is a key feature that distinguishes NLP from psychology). In effect, NLP is a powerful change management tool that transforms the way people think and act to have the greatest impact both professionally and personally. That’s why NLP is one of the most powerful skills used in business management, psychology, sales, sports coaching and all forms of personal development and engagement.
Over the next few blogs I will suggest some key NLP tools that could prove useful in the context of this forum starting with..

Representational systems

Which of our senses do we best relate to? Most people have a preference or selection of preferences. For example, if you were asked 'Do you see where I'm coming from'? Could imply the person asking the question may have vision as a preferred sense (if only in this scenario).
 
Here's a link to a simple 5 point test to gauge your preferred Rep system

http://www.transformdestiny.com/nlp-guide/nlp-representational-systems-preference-test.asp


Remember – NLP is not science, it is a pragmatic school of thought that can and may give you an insight as to how others 'tick', create rapport and help promote change. Why not give it a go?

Greg Fisher
February 2013

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a big but fascinating subject. Greg’s introduction to it and examples from the NLP ‘tool-kit’ will be really valuable to anyone interested in engaging people and managing resistance to change.

ciChange is planning its’ activities for 2013. If you are interested in finding out more about Individual and Team communication and how tools like NLP can be used to support change in behaviours please offer feedback via email or Linked-In.

Tim Rogers

Founder ciChange
timrogers@ciChange.org
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/CI-Change-4301853

ciChange seminar and networking events for 2013 sponsored by Total Solutions Group http://www.tsgi.co/