November 03, 2015
“Example isn’t the most important thing in influencing others, it is the only thing.” - A. Lincoln
Everyone lives the reality of what they expect. Change your expectations in order to create different results.
In a constantly changing environment how do we continuously motivate and inspire others to excellence? By modeling for them the ability to create outstanding results based on beliefs, vision and passion. Anyone can observe reality when things are going well, but the visionaries are those who can imagine and create the reality they want when others only see economic downturns and challenges.
The Magic of Vision
Always remember when engaging others it’s essential to help them see/believe part of the vision is theirs.
How do you create visionaries?
- Help them create their own video. Going back to Michael Phelp’s coach Bob Bowman, he taught Michael to create the perfect scenario, and then play it over and over until it became reality. Repetition creates new habits, and therefore a change in beliefs.
- Help others feel the vision. It’s not enough to talk about it, there must be emotion, which drives belief and creates action.
- Ask yourself what do you expect of others and yourself. We all live up and down to others’ expectations.
- Don’t forget the acronyms MMFI (Make Me Feel Important), WIFM (What’s in it For Me) and WTPV (What’s Their Point of View). Finding ways to create a sense of caring is more important to productivity and employee morale than money, perks, office style/space and anything that is in second place.
- And it’s easy to do!
The Magic of Intent/Feeling
People have to see a very clear outcome and need to feel the emotion involved with the success. Working with many engineers, (such as the ones I consulted at Honeywell) I communicated with them from their mindset, what resonated with them. “Think back to a time when you felt incredibly…” was the type of language used to evoke the feelings needed. There is a great deal of insecurity in the business world, and first and foremost people must feel safe. From there trust is established and anything is possible.
Reminder: Olympic coaches have recruited cutting edge methodologies for centuries, and have continuously used the power of visualization. Author and trainer Dennis Waitely, more than 30 years ago, used visualization to train athletes, and noted that the same muscles were fired when they were visualizing the practice as when they were practicing. Engage the subconscious and imagination to accelerate results.
The Magic of Attitude & Fun
Watch out for A.N.T.S. (Automatic Negative Thought Syndrome). It’s essential to pay attention to where you’re putting your attention, and energy. Which wolf are you feeding?
Use FIDO (Forget It and Drive On). It’s not about suppressing, it’s about having the courage to speak out, deal with an issue, and then resolve not to bring it up again. Continuing to dwell on the past is extremely unproductive and saps energy.
Questions:
- If you could say thank you to anyone, who would it be and why? Who can you say thank you to right now, today?
- How can you create more fun at work, remembering that the number one emotion at work is anger, and the least emotion at work is joy!
- How can you ensure everyone feels valued, appreciated and safe to speak out, always?
- How can you help your staff dream bigger?
"We have dreamed it, therefore it is. I have become convinced that everything we think and feel is merely perception: that our lives—individually as well as communally—are molded around such perception: and that if we want to change, we must alter our perception. When we give our energy to a different dream, the world is transformed. To create a new world, we must first create a new dream.” John
Perkins, The World Is As You Dream It
Jennifer Webb, www.magiccomm.com, [email protected]; 775-232-7753