Oh hey,
I hope you're all faring well!
This week, I was running some group coaching sessions for one of our management training programmes and I was asked the question:
“How can I overcome the pressure of 'time', ensuring a better balance in how I operate as a leader, especially when I’m up against it?”
The manager explained: “When I’ve got time to plan and use my new tools and thinking, everything’s fine. However, I find when faced with time issues (or other pressures) - some of my best practice falters. How can I ensure a better balance?”
I love this question because I think it’s something that all of us face. Whether it’s ‘Why can’t I stick to a diet when I’m really hungry or stressed?’ or ‘Why can’t I maintain my new routine when I’m really busy?’ When the chips are down, our best new thinking can tend to falter.
So, what can we do about it?
Firstly, let’s go back to basics - why do we have the old behaviours and patterns that we’re trying to move away from, in the first place?
We have all created ways of working and surviving (in everything from how you manage, how you build relationships, how you communicate to how you eat) in response to experiences that we went through in your younger years. This may well be from when we were in childhood or more recently throughout our working careers - it all leaves its mark. Consider how you’ve perceived the behaviours of colleagues, old bosses or maybe the organisation as a whole and how it might have shaped your thinking.
Anyway, you will have created ways of working that are very comfortable to you as a result of that. They might not be the most effective but you can do them without even thinking about it.
So, now, when you’re taught new ways of working, even if you really see the value of them, they’re going to require a change in behaviour. And that takes energy and focus. Something which, when you’re pressed for time or when your focus is being taken elsewhere, you are going to be likely to be hard-pressed to deliver.
So, let’s break down what’s happening here: Basically, we’re changing our success metrics:
1. When we’re working in a new way, we’re focused on doing something different. So, our success metrics are to develop a new behaviour.
2. When we get busy, our success metrics are speed.
So, we either have to recognise this and be okay with it, or we need to focus on sticking with our previous success metric and slowing down to achieve it.
Make sense?
When conditions change, our brains automatically adapt to what's going on now. The worst thing is when we don’t recognise this, feel on the back foot, and beat ourselves up for it!
So, get on the front foot and work with your brain, not against it. That will help you develop the best executive function and keep working at your best!
As always, I wish you a brilliant week!
Cate x
Oh hey,
I hope you're all faring well!
This week, I was running some group coaching sessions for one of our management training programmes and I was asked the question:
“How can I overcome the pressure of 'time', ensuring a better balance in how I operate as a leader, especially when I’m up against it?”
The manager explained: “When I’ve got time to plan and use my new tools and thinking, everything’s fine. However, I find when faced with time issues (or other pressures) - some of my best practice falters. How can I ensure a better balance?”
I love this question because I think it’s something that all of us face. Whether it’s ‘Why can’t I stick to a diet when I’m really hungry or stressed?’ or ‘Why can’t I maintain my new routine when I’m really busy?’ When the chips are down, our best new thinking can tend to falter.
So, what can we do about it?
Firstly, let’s go back to basics - why do we have the old behaviours and patterns that we’re trying to move away from, in the first place?
We have all created ways of working and surviving (in everything from how you manage, how you build relationships, how you communicate to how you eat) in response to experiences that we went through in your younger years. This may well be from when we were in childhood or more recently throughout our working careers - it all leaves its mark. Consider how you’ve perceived the behaviours of colleagues, old bosses or maybe the organisation as a whole and how it might have shaped your thinking.
Anyway, you will have created ways of working that are very comfortable to you as a result of that. They might not be the most effective but you can do them without even thinking about it.
So, now, when you’re taught new ways of working, even if you really see the value of them, they’re going to require a change in behaviour. And that takes energy and focus. Something which, when you’re pressed for time or when your focus is being taken elsewhere, you are going to be likely to be hard-pressed to deliver.
So, let’s break down what’s happening here: Basically, we’re changing our success metrics:
1. When we’re working in a new way, we’re focused on doing something different. So, our success metrics are to develop a new behaviour.
2. When we get busy, our success metrics are speed.
So, we either have to recognise this and be okay with it, or we need to focus on sticking with our previous success metric and slowing down to achieve it.
Make sense?
When conditions change, our brains automatically adapt to what's going on now. The worst thing is when we don’t recognise this, feel on the back foot, and beat ourselves up for it!
So, get on the front foot and work with your brain, not against it. That will help you develop the best executive function and keep working at your best!
As always, I wish you a brilliant week!
Cate x
