Would you prefer to watch failure or contribute to success?

Would you prefer to watch failure or contribute to success?

In change management we often talk about three categories of people: those who will make it happen; those who will let it happen and those who will resist it happening.  The secret to success is winning the swing voters necessary to tip the balance in favour of change. But don’t underestimate the difficulty of winning them over!

I have a big white van which is full of stuff for the commonwealth games and I was trying to reverse into a tight spot. I got out of the van, looked at the gap, assessed it, got in and moved back a bit more. Then I got out of the van, looked at the gap, assessed it, got in and moved back a bit more. I noticed someone watching me struggle to and was annoyed with myself when I heard a crunch and knew I’d got it wrong.

The person who idly watched me then came over and said “you’ve hit my car.” I was annoyed with myself but astounded that this person’s interest was in watching me fail, rather than helping me or indeed acting in his own interests to safeguard his car.

I apologised and we chatted as we exchanged details. He mentioned “things like this always happen to me” and I wondered if it was because he was someone who just let life happen to him? This was my fault, I reversed into his car, but he had plenty of opportunity to speak-up and didn’t.

I think there are some good lessons here….

1.       Don’t assume people even understand their interests/risks  let alone act on them

2.       Don’t underestimate apathy or laziness (can’t be bothered, someone else’s problem)

3.       The success of TV show “You’ve Been Framed” and most Celebrity Jungle Talent is based on the fact more people are interested in watching than doing and some have a peculiar satisfaction watching people fail rather than making their own effort to succeed.

As a result some good actions might be…

a)      Actively engage people and explain risk/rewards and cause/effect

b)      Motivate people by identifying their best interests and helping them act

c)       Work hard to create a team culture and reward for “doing” rather than “watching” and don’t give failure any airtime for people to gloat, but instead applaud and broadcast action.

ciCHANGE FEEDBACK

Please share your thoughts: what do you want to happen next and what can I do to make that possible? Please feel free to add comments and photos to ciChange on  Linked-In and Facebook 

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ciChange is sponsored by Total Solutions Group http://www.tsgi.co/

THE AUTHOR

Tim Rogers is an experienced Project and Change Leader. He is founder of www.ciChange.org and curator for www.TEDxStHelier.Com (next event 11 April 2014). He is Programme Manager for the commercialization of Jersey Harbours and Jersey Airport. He is also Commonwealth Triathlete and World Championships Rower with a passion for teaching and learning and is a Tutor/Mentor on the Chartered Management Institute courses.

Email: TimHJRogers@AdaptConsultingGroup.com

Mob: 07797762051 | Twitter @timhjrogers | Skype timhjrogers 

Sometimes the best way to break a record is not to think about it too much. The same is true of managing change.

Sometimes the best way to break a record is not to think about it too much. The same is true of managing change.

Top crew from the Jersey Rowing Club shared their secrets to building teams, setting records and changing minds.

I always remember Triathlete Tim Don being asked about his result in a race and he said results don’t mater performance does. His logic is that you can take responsibility and improve performance but results are more hostage to fortune since they depend on a range of other variables that you cannot control including rivals!

This was brought back to me when talking to rower Paul Coutanche who, with his team of 4 rowers and cox beat the previously dominant Guernsey and set a new course record from Sark to Jersey. Paul explained that they had spent a lot of time talking about possibilities and as well as training the team also spent a lot of time thinking. This was not an obsessed focus on the record, but instead an interest in how they work together to create the right rhythm in the boat.

Furthermore, Paul explained that they took their boat out to the half-way point for both the team to practice and the cox to become confident in the route, the landmarks and the pace necessary to manage their efforts on race day.

When it came to race day they didn’t think about the record. Indeed sea and wind conditions suggested that breaking the record simply wouldn’t be possible. Instead they worked with confidence and commitment on their performance. The possibility of breaking the record only became apparent after reaching the half-way mark that they had practiced.

At this point it was hard but familiar territory and the result is a fairy tale ending.

There are some good lessons for those managing teams, performance and change.

1.       Work on the team and the internal relationships you will depend upon when it goes tough

2.       Work on performance and create momentum and progress rather than just hard work

3.       Practice elements  so that the challenge becomes familiar and manageable

4.       Use training and experience to build both self-confidence  and team-confidence

5.       Don’t be distracted by what you cannot control

It would be easy to say their success was down to being good, strong, fit rowers. But I have seen better rowers, stronger rowers and fitter and younger rowers attempt and fail to achieve their results in the Sark to Jersey. The key difference which made this a record breaking team  came from the 5 factors above.

ciCHANGE FEEDBACK

Please share your thoughts: what do you want to happen next and what can I do to make that possible? Please feel free to add comments and photos to ciChange on  Linked-In and Facebook 

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ciChange

Twitter @ciChange https://twitter.com/CIChange

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

ciChange is sponsored by Total Solutions Group http://www.tsgi.co/

THE AUTHOR

Tim Rogers is an experienced Project and Change Leader. He is founder of www.ciChange.org and curator for www.TEDxStHelier.Com (next event 11 April 2014). He is Programme Manager for the commercialization of Jersey Harbours and Jersey Airport. He is also Commonwealth Triathlete and World Championships Rower with a passion for teaching and learning and is a Tutor/Mentor on the Chartered Management Institute courses.

He also used to hold a record for the Sark to Jersey, which got beaten in 2014!

Email: TimHJRogers@AdaptConsultingGroup.com

Mob: 07797762051 | Twitter @timhjrogers | Skype timhjrogers 

Pygmalion Effect: Setting high expectations improves performance.

Pygmalion Effect: Setting high expectations improves performance.

The effect of setting high expectations on people, coined the Pygmalion effect, was first postulated in a study of teachers’ impact on students (Rossenthal & Jacobson, 1968). In the study, students at an elementary school took intelligence pre-tests. Rosenthal and Jacobsen then informed the teachers of the names of twenty percent of the students in the school who were showing “unusual potential for intellectual growth” and would bloom academically within the year. Unknown to the teachers, these students were selected randomly, with no relation to the initial test. When Rosenthal and Jacobson tested the students eight months later, they discovered that the group of randomly selected students scored significantly higher.
In the workplace, a study on the Israeli defence forces (Eden, 1992) revealed two effects of setting expectations:

1. Leadership mediates the Pygmalion effect. Raising manager expectations improves leadership, which in turn promotes subordinate performance.
2. Managers allocate leadership resources to subordinates in proportion to their expectations.

The implications of the first effect are that setting expectations, and setting them high, improves our leadership capabilities and our people’s performance.
The implications of the second effect were reported as, “Evidently, high expectations bring out the best leadership in a manager. This suggests the hypothesis that if managers would treat all their subordinates to the same quality leadership that they lavish upon those of whom they expect the most, all would perform better”.


Source: http://www.changefactory.com.au/our-thinking/articles/managing-performance-pygmalion-effect-leadership/?utm_content=buffer0b3f6&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Enterprise Week from June 10 to 13 2014

ENTERPRISE WEEK EVENTS

	Tuesday 10th June
12.00 – 12.20	Device Advice Session	Airtel Vodafone
12.25 – 12.40 12.45 – 1.00	‘5 mistakes B2Bs make using social media and how you can avoid them’ If I could change one thing!’	Katherine Salt MarketingMy Tracey Turmel CIE Coaching
1.00 – 1.30	Climbing the Corporate Ladder Widely recognised as a leading figure in the world of regulation, governance, risk and compliance, Helen has built her career during an era of great change in the workplace. Reframed legislation, working practices and social attitudes now offer far greater opportunity for women.	Helen Hatton Sator Regulatory Consulting http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jersey-business-b2b-key-note-speaker-helen-hatton-tickets-11774894025?aff=eac2
1.30 – 2.00	‘Why Xero?’	Alex Picot Ltd

	Thursday 12th June
0830	Breakfast Club Talk
12.00 – 12.30	Device Advice Session	Airtel Vodafone
12.30 – 12.45 12.45 – 1.00	Staycation Education Ergonomics @ Work	Jennie Philpott – Ibex Education Grant Henderson –Active Chiropractic
1.00 – 1.45	‘How Not to get Referrals!’ Labelled ‘one of Europe’s leading business networking strategists’ by The Financial Times, Andy Lopata was called a “true master of networking” by The Independent The author of three books on networking, Andy is a regular blogger for The Huffington Post as well as being quoted in national press, both in the UK and overseas.	Andy Lopata Book Here: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jersey-business-b2b-key-note-speaker-andy-lopata-tickets-11775002349?aff=eac2
1.45 – 2.00	E Learning	Ian Lucas BPP

NETWORKING EVENT

Networking events are recognised as the best way of increasing your client base and building links with like minded business people.   An event here in Jersey next week sees businesses across all sectors and sizes engage face to face with exhibitors who will be showcasing their products and services.

WHEN:  10^TH AND 12^TH JUNE 0830 – 5pm both days

WHERE:  LIBERTY WHARF

WHY:  The exhibitors represent a wide range of commercial enterprises  which will be of interest to anyone looking to explore ways to enhance their business offering, make savings or grow their own client base

SPEAKERS: Two full days of ‘added value’ talks and presentations are also scheduled covering a wide range of hot topics. 

10^TH June at 1pm - Helen Hatton, Managing Director of Sator Regulatory Consulting, a  recognised international speaker, she will be delivering an interesting perspective on   ‘Climbing the Corporate Ladder’.

12^th June at 1pm  Internationally renowned speaker Andy Lopata will deliver the keynote  speech highlighting all the Don’t’s when it comes to networking and searching for new business.

For the full speaker timetable see www.ec-jersey.com

Entry is free to all sessions, for anyone wishing to attend Andy Lopata’s or Helen Hatton's presentations see the website for the link to reserve your free tickets.

Businesses exhibiting at the event:  Airtel-Vodafone, Active chiropractic, CIE Coaching, Mailmate, 4Hire Ltd, Magic touch, Orbital Private Medical, Jersey Business, Where UR, Ibex Education, Back to Work, CI Lines, Alex Picot Ltd, Parslows Lawyers, The Event Company.