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Leadership and Neuroscience Coach

Email: dominique@head4leadership.co.uk
Call: 07703 564451

Archives for November 2021

Why management development matters?

How would you reply?

I was recently asked to contribute to an article on this subject and was delighted to have my contribution published in digit’s blog. https://www.digits.co.uk/lms/the-importance-of-management-training/

Here’s my perspective

Management training with the right content provides a vital opportunity to nurture, sustain and develop an organisation’s culture. It matters because leading and managing others can be tough. It requires many challenging conversations and decisions. That means, to handle these well, being able to think clearly, logically, and compassionately when under pressure. After all, who thrives under a stressed manager? No one!

What can management training help with?

What can management training help with? Communicating your team’s work and direction, ways to enable your team to bond and support each other, how to give each member your individual attention, and feedback. Then there’s the other stuff – reporting, strategising, analysing information, networking and keeping up to date with your industry. Often management training involves processes and policies too. These are all important yet it’s ‘how’ the ideas in training are applied that makes the difference. This requires emotional awareness and intelligence.

It’s all about the ‘how’

In my experience, the ‘how’ sets the tone for an organisation’s culture. A style that triggers fear or overwhelm encourages errors and absence. There is much neuroscience that can be applied to leading. What creates fear or threat? How to create psychological safety and creativity. These, along with skills such as listening to understand and personal awareness with psychometrics, aid the positive impact a leader has on others.

Let’s not forget the phrase ‘behaviour breeds behaviour’! Management development and coaching can create leaders that we’d want others to copy, and healthy and inspiring cultures

Want to collaborate?

I’d like to hear your thoughts too! And if you’d like to discuss the impact your management development is having on your culture, get in touch Dominique@reachnewheights.co.uk

‘If you don’t have self doubt, you’re not trying hard enough’

Wow! This quote sparked so many thoughts and ideas! My brain lit up with excitement as it began to explore this idea from part of an interview with Grayson Perry in the Telegraph (link included). In this blog you’ll find two models that can be applied to understanding your confidence levels.

www.reach new heights.co.uk

The questions that came up.

What does this mean for my work and your work? How am I or you reacting to your times of self-doubt? When has self-doubt pushed me or you to research more, prepare better, to check again? Has self-doubt caused me or you to overthink, withdraw, hold back, not ask the question, not listen, be over confident or be over taken other’s opinions?

Two models

Away I find useful in my client work (and for myself) is to look at moments of doubt through a few lenses. One tool I use is the MTQplus (AQR International). A highly researched psychometric which looks at ‘ingredients’ that impact our mental toughness. These being Control, Commitment, Challenge and Confidence. Rating yourself in these areas creates strong conversations for development. Another lens comes with the use a model from my neuroscience studies – The bottom up, top down, inside out model (Dr Sarah McKay). Both models can be used for more than exploring levels and reasons for levels of confidence.

A model in action

Start with ‘bottom up’ – On any given day our biology impacts how we think and feel physically and mentally. How have you been sleeping, eating, exercising? How well are you? Have any colds or other illnesses been at play? Sometimes our doubt stems from our brains and bodies doing their best on poor fuel. Other times more energy is pushed to mending and healing.

Next, look at ‘top down’ – This is where we investigate and question beliefs and feelings on a particular situation. I had a client, in a senior role who was reluctant to challenge his peer’s points of view. Our session revealed they had a belief that as they had no academic qualification they had less authority to speak up. Challenging this belief by exploring their vast practical and in depth experience AND successes, help to shift this doubt and enhance their self esteem and worth.

Third step, ‘outside in’. Our environment and the personal circumstance impact how we deal with and react to situations. Where are we getting our information? What are the interests of those influencing us? Which life events are you drawing on? Is anything else happening that could be feeding how you feel or think about the ‘situation’? Inquiring into wider context aids you to recognise what is helpful, unhelpful, missing or even out of date.

This is a high level overview of the model. Coaching and application to an individuals and specific situations reveals it’s true impact.

What about high confidence?

The model above (and MTQplus) are good for this too! Exploring beliefs and influences on confidence. Noticing the impact of successes and high confidence on those around you. Staying humble?

Please contact me for more information on this and other ways I support leadership excellence.

Link to the Telegraph article

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/nov/09/grayson-perry-on-art-cats-and-meaning-of-life-if-you-dont-have-self-doubt-youre-not-trying-hard-enough