No-Brainers are often No-Gainers
In the May 09 edition of Harvard Business Review the article ‘The right way to close an operation’ suggests that ‘soft hands’ principles of dignity, fairness and respect, whilst obvious are frequently ignored.
This hits my antenna – how frequently written about and discussed topics like engagement, motivation and leadership (that elusive ideal) are so infrequently observed to be effective. Ask any self-respecting business professional whether business is better off with engaged and motivated employees, with strong and effective leadership and you probably get a resounding ‘yes’.
So what makes living by these principles such a challenge? There are more excellent leadership role models emerging, which is a good sign, but a great many companies still seem to rule the roost using antiquated methods, often delegating the responsibility for motivation and engagement to the HR department. It certainly is a paradox when you observe from a distance.
One problem has been highlighted by business psychologists, in that most managers and people in leadership positions think they are doing alright. In fact the people who usually get promoted into management positions are those who exude certainty and confidence. We all want to give the impression we have things pinned down, and we like leaders who appear to know what’s what. But here’s a paradox – the more certain and confident a manager is the more they are likely to think they are doing ok, and so relegate their development. In NLP terms this is an ‘internal reference’, or the tendency to instinctively know what’s right/wrong, good/bad, fitting/unfitting as pertains to any decision or scenario. They just don’t need much external evidence in order to operate.
Often the ‘No-Brainers’ are ‘No-Gainers’ for these reasons and more. In a climate where top business schools are asking themselves ‘where did we go wrong?’ and the race to have the most engaged workforce is hotting up by the day, I wonder where the real intelligence lies?
So what’s going on?
The word is not the thing it describes.
The measure is not the engagement.
The message is not the respect.
The rules are not the dignity.
It seems that so called intelligent people can easily confuse these things. The speed at which change is demanded, and the belief that intellect and facts hold all the answers to all the problems. The drive of the ego and unwillingness to let go of old ineffective models and paradigms. The perpetuation of fractal patterns.
All these things inhibit the ability to achieve what is really being striven for. So there’s a catch 22 at play here, e.g:
‘I want engagement but I want it so damn fast that I haven’t time to make it anything other than a gloss over the unease which lies deep in the belly of the organisation.’
‘I want to be an effective leader but I don’t seem able to break away from the way things are done around here’
‘I want to be able to motivate and connect with people, but I have trouble getting myself going a lot of the time’
‘I want to develop my people, but the thought of face-to-face meetings make me squirm’.
People in Leadership positions could really fastrack their soft skills and achieve the highest order of engagement if they only recognise that it is a skill, and not a tactic or strategy. Whilst NLP has the models to understand where and how things go wrong when people are involved, it also has the most sophisticated tools and techniques for developing mastery in communication, learning, motivation and change – or in current fad terms ‘engagement’. But you have to first be aware of the limitations in your current approach, and seek to develop your capabilities through the direct experience and immersion training found in NLP.
To find out more about Quadrant 1’s appoach to NLP training for leaders, call 0870 762 1300.
