Self-Leadership, Does your thinking have you or do you have your thinking?

Food for Thought from Mike Schwarzer’s Pearls of Wisdom, September 2013

A few years ago I was working with coaching client who was a department head in a 5 star hotel. He was regarded as difficult to work with, very reactive and a bit of a rebel by other department heads and senior managers. He often clashed with his general manager in executive meetings having heated discussions over issues that dragged out to an hour. During one of our coaching sessions he had an insight. He said “I thought that what we think is a given, all we can do is to manage what we think”. ‘His thinking had him’ and at the mercy of his circumstances. And because he was caught in that mindset he had only limited flexibility in responding to his circumstances. He suddenly realised that he could actually change what he was thinking. Now ‘he had his thinking’ and choice about how to respond to his circumstances. As a result, the discussions with his general manager were now more civilised and the issues resolved in ten minutes.

People and organisations are not random in the way they think, feel, speak and perform. They operate in accordance to a map, their inner map of reality, the way they see world. Within that map lies limitation, potential and possibility … failure and success. 

The map is always right! 

Did you know that the map is always right? Your inner map is about what you hold to be true about your world, about yourself and others. From that perspective you cannot not act out your map, it is your servant. It shows up in your way of thinking, feeling, behaving and speaking as an expression of what is going on in your map. 

The question is … does the map serve you or limit you? What is the magic key? 

Learning how the map works, how we create it, the dynamics it generates and how to change it so that it serves us gives you the magic key. The key in ‘having your thinking’, generating and accessing your best states and presence of mind! When we operate from our best states we tend to

• have a higher quality of mind
• have greater awareness and resourcefulness
• think and act with clarity, focus and flexibility
• feel in charge of our feelings, thoughts and behaviours
• see possibilities and come up with ideas and solutions to problems
• relate and engage well with others
• bring the best out of others
• make good decisions
• stretch our abilities
• etc

Self-Leadership is an Inside Game!

Self-Leadership is an Inside Game, the Inner Game of Leadership and it starts with enriching and stretching your map with quality meanings. The more useful meanings you can give to your life’s events and circumstances the more choice and flexibility you have in your ability to respond, to perform and to serve.

This works for you as an individual or as an organisation. It affects the quality of how you lead yourself and your life, the difference you make to the lives of others, how you bring out the best in yourself and in others, how you contribute to the success of your business or your organisation and the community. It affects how an organisation operates in complex and ambiguous environments. It affects its culture, how it works as a unit and how it interacts with its customers. How it maintains its ability to learn, to be creative and innovative and experiences greater levels of resilience, optimism and motivation. 

What quality meanings do you want to hold to be true and embody so that they serve you and others? 

Curious to learn more how to enrich your map with quality meanings? Then contact Mike at mike@mikeschwarzer.com or check out the details for our Self-Leadership – Accessing Personal Genius / Coaching Genius training at www.thoughtleadingpeople.com.au/.

to your highest learning and growth

Mike

About Mike Schwarzer

Mike is a Performance Strategist & Modeler and an Internationally Certified Trainer in Neuro-Semantic NLP with the International Society of Neuro-Sematics ISNS. The ISNS is a global NLP community, operating in over 40 countries, dedicated to helping people actualise excellence by transforming Meaning into Performance. He is also a leadership team member of the Institute of Neuro-Semantics Australia the Australian branch of ISNS.

An experienced facilitator and coach, with an ability to connect and align people and organisations, he helps them to fine tune their performance wizardry to bridge the gap between where they are and where they want to go!

For more information about Mike visit www.mikeschwarzer.com and  

www.thoughtleadingpeople.com.au.

Self-Leadership, Artistry or Misery and Why should you care?

Food for Thought from Mike Schwarzer’s Pearls of Wisdom, July 2013

"We don't see the world as it is. We see the world as we are!" Jamie Smart

What a fantastic line!

Who hasn't experienced moments when you felt on top of the world, full of joy, enthusiasm and highly motivated with an energy that was infectious? And funny enough, the world and the people around you looked beautiful. There seemed to be a harmony between you and your external world. You liked the world and the world liked you. It was easy to get on with people and they seemingly were eating out of your hands. Solutions to problems just appeared. Your creative juices were flowing with new ideas and insights. Time was flying while you were engrossed in activities that would normally be a drag. At the end of the day you felt alive with energy to burn and a strong sense of wellbeing.

On the flip side you may also have experienced the opposite. Moments when you felt that the world was to blame for all your worries and feeling sorry for yourself with an energy that was repelling. You seemed to be at war with yourself and your external world. And in this scenario didn’t the world and the people around you look just the way you felt? You disliked the world and the world disliked you. People didn’t particularly want to be around you and it seemed that they were the cause to all of your problems. You’ve got little collaboration and got not much done! At the end of the day you’ve felt exhausted and burned out.

Does the circumstance have you or do you have the circumstance?

What is the difference between the two scenarios? High quality versus low quality of mind or Artistry versus Misery! Look at it this way, when we operate from a high quality of mind, we experience life with greater clarity, presence of mind and a heightened sense of self-awareness regardless of our circumstances. Here we drive the quality of how we feel our circumstances. We have the circumstance. We call this inside out thinking. A high quality of mind allows us to draw on our inner resources and wisdom. It helps us to develop new insights, see possibilities, expand our mental and behavioural flexibility, focus more on what we can bring to the world rather than what we can take, bring out the best in ourselves and others and enjoy a greater quality of life and wellbeing.

When we operate from a low quality of mind, we experience life quite differently. We experience a lack of clarity, distress and have little self-awareness. We feel at the mercy of our circumstances, being controlled by them. In this case the circumstance has us. We call this outside in thinking. A low quality of mind limits us from drawing on our inner resources and gives us little mental and behavioural flexibility. It prevents us from being the best we can be, live an authentic life, have high quality relationships, help others to be the best they can be. 

Artistry or Misery, which one do you want to lead your life?

Which mind dominates most of your mental space, high quality or low quality? Where do you spend most of your time? What would happen if you practice inside out thinking and develop a high or even higher quality of mind?

How do you bring Artistry to your mind?

We are limited by the boundaries of our assumptions that we make about the world and our circumstances. In other words the meanings that we hold in mind about what we deem is true and what is not true to us. These meanings create an inner map of how we see and experience the world or how it works. This inner map is reflected and expressed in our thinking, in our language and in our behaviours. Depending on the level of distinctions and richness of our map it gives us either a greater or smaller range of mental and behavioural flexibility and choice in how we respond to and interact with our environment.

There is no right nor wrong with what we are holding true about a certain circumstance or the world. Rather it is a question of usefulness. Does the way we think and feel about something or someone serve us? Does it support us? Does it enrich us? If the answer is no, then we may consider changing it or adding further choices to it.

We bring artistry to the mind by expanding on the meanings that we hold about ourselves, others, our capabilities, the world around us, etc.

And how do we expand our meanings? By questioning the assumptions behind those meanings and in doing so giving them new and/or additional meanings. By doing that we stretch our mind and give it greater flexibility.

More on 'Stretching and Growing Bigger Minds' in my next Food for Thought article. In the meantime I leave you to reflect on the following questions:

With what mind do you want to lead yourself and others? With what mind do you want to engage and connect with the world? The one that leads to Artistry or the one that leads to Misery?

When you lead with clarity and presence of mind -

• How do you show up in the world?
• What kind of leader are you?
• What relationships do you have with yourself and others?
• What kind of conversations do you have?
• What difference do you make to your family, friends and the community?
• What problems do you solve and how?
• How do you contribute to your work and serve your clients?
• What levels of health and wellbeing do you enjoy?
• etc.

Curious to find out more about how to bring artistry of the mind to your self-leadership and experience a higher quality of life and work? Then contact Mike at mike@mikeschwarzer.com or check out the details for our Self-Leadership - Accessing Personal Genius training click here!

to your highest learning and growth

Mike

About Mike Schwarzer

Mike is a Performance Strategist & Modeler and an Internationally Certified Trainer in Neuro-Semantic NLP with the International Society of Neuro-Sematics ISNS. The ISNS is a global NLP community, operating in over 40 countries, dedicated to helping people actualise excellence by transforming Meaning into Performance. He is also a leadership team member of the Institute of Neuro-Semantics Australia the Australian branch of ISNS.

An experienced facilitator and coach, with an ability to connect and align people and organisations, he helps them to fine tune their performance wizardry to bridge the gap between where they are and where they want to go!

For more information about Mike visit www.mikeschwarzer.com and www.thoughtleadingpeople.com.au.

If coaching is about transformation, how do we facilitate the change?

Have you or your clients tried to make a transformation, even for the smallest task, and come up short of your goal? How do we know where to start and where to finish the process of that transformation? And how do we know which path to take to help us through the transition?

What we need is a navigation device, a road map. A road map that provides us with a structure within we can facilitate and track the change process and progress, and make the transformation stick.

In this video you will explore:

·   Your Coaching State
·   Coaching Holistically: Body-Mind-Emotion -- Systemic Coaching
·   A roadmap for facilitating change



Want to sharpen your coaching and self-leadership skills join the next Self-Leadership - Accessing Personal Genius Training (Module 2 of the Meta-Coach System) in Adelaide from 2 to 4 August 2013 ... for details and bookings click here now!!!

Introduction to Games Slim People Play

Keeping slim and trim, how do slim people do it?

Weight Loss Skills through NLP

Experiential Workshop with ThoughtleadingPeople

for further details click here Games Slim People Play

10.00am to 4.00 pm, Sunday, 7 July 2013

Higher Health Wellness Centre, Level 1 / 46 Sydenham Road, Norwood, South Australia

Early Bird $97 by 28 June book now at Games Slim People Play

WHY would you want to change your body shape? Why would you want to have a healthy body? How would you like to model healthy eating patterns for your children? Would you like to alter limiting decisions you made about food and drink? Would you like to believe that you can achieve your goal of a healthy, lean body easily? Are you ready to make the change?

For further details and to book your place visit Games Slim People Play or contact Mike at mike@mikeschwarzer.com or 0419 866 427.

If coaching is about transformation, how do we facilitate that transformation?

Skills based session presented by Mike Schwarzer, Internationally Certified Neuro-Semantic NLP Trainer

ICF South Australian Chapter - NLP Special Interest Group

6.45pm to 9pm Thursday, 21 February 2013
Maylands Hotel, 67 Phillis Street, Maylands, South Australia 
Fee: ICF Members $10, Non-Members $20, 
Enquiries and RSVP to Miriam Henke, president.sa@icfaustralasia.com or  
0403 374 694

Have you or your clients tried to make a transformation, even for the smallest task, and come up short of your goal? How do we know where to start and where to finish the process of that transformation? And how do we know which path to take to help us through the transition?

What we need is a navigation device, a road map. A road map that provides us with a structure within we can facilitate and track the change process and progress, and make the transformation stick.

One of these road maps is the Axes of Change a generative change and Neuro-Semantic model from the Meta-Coach Training System http://www.meta-coaching.org. The model and its four stages allow the coach and the client to establish: the motivation to change, the commitment to change, the inner and outer creation of the change, and to reinforce and test the change.

In this skills based session:

1.  Mike will demonstrate and unpack this model including the use of other Neuro-Semantic and NLP models, patterns and strategies that will assist the client in making the desired shift.

2.  You will have the opportunity to play with and experience this change process first hand either as the coach, the client or as an observer.

We will explore:

·   Your Coaching State, Operating Principles & Assumptions

·   A roadmap for facilitating change - The Axes of Change

·   Coaching Holistically: Body-Mind-Emotion – Systemic Coaching

Are you ready to take your coaching craft to the next level? Then expect to participate and have fun learning and honing your skills. If you are a seasoned pro at NLP or an absolute beginner this session caters for all. All you need to bring is an open mind, lots of playfulness, curiosity and glorious fallibility.

In preparation for this session please view the following clip from a previous presentation that Mike delivered on the Structure of NLP.

Creating NLP Magic! Making the Invisible Visible, Seeing the Structure and Enriching the Map https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPqIonF3fbU

About Mike Schwarzer

Mike is a Performance Strategist & Modeler and an Internationally Certified Trainer in Neuro-Semantic NLP with the International Society of Neuro-Sematics ISNS. The ISNS is a global NLP community, operating in over 40 countries, dedicated to helping people actualise excellence by transforming Meaning into Performance. He is also a leadership team member of the Institute of Neuro-Semantics Australia the Australian branch of ISNS.

An experienced facilitator and coach, with an ability to connect and align people and organisations, he helps them to fine tune their performance wizardry to bridge the gap between where they are and where they want to go!

For more information about Mike visit www.mikeschwarzer.com and www.thoughtleadingpeople.com.au.

Is Social-Actualization Replacing Self-Actualization?

by Chip Conley, Founder, Joie de Vivre Hospitality and Author of Peak

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chip-conley/is-socialactualization-re_b_2083797.html

Self-actualization? Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs pyramid with "being all you can be" at the top (co-opted by the U.S. Army as a marketing slogan) was a wake-up call for Americans in the 1950s when personal behavior and goals were so influenced by predominant societal ways. Abe's humanistic psychology theory was made for the '60s with the advent of hippie culture and the idea that we should all "follow our bliss."

Unfortunately, Maslow died young in 1970 at age 62 and the "Me Decade" turned "self-actualization" into "self-absorption." His legacy got lost in the academic psychology world and, for some, the Hierarchy of Needs represented more of a Tyranny of Wants. I was fortunate to be gifted with Maslow's journals written in the last 10 years of his life. In his writing, it's very clear that Abe's desire was to see how his iconic theory could apply to the collective, not just the individual, as he pondered, "Can an organization or a society actualize?" And this is partially why, later in his life, he introduced a seven- and an eight-level pyramid with "self-transcendence" at the top.

It's been more than five years since I wrote PEAK: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow where I outlined how my boutique hotel company reinterpreted Maslow's theory to transform our organization at the bottom of a deep economic downturn. I've had the good fortune of introducing my theories in PEAK to diverse groups on five continents. And, as I spend more time with younger leaders -- and more time in Asia -- it's clear to me that it's time to change the language at the peak of this pyramid.

I see just how important Maslow's theory was in reaction to the stifling social rules of mid-20th century America. And I deeply believe that all of us aspire on some level when we're trying to be all we can be in our lives. But, the times and the calculus of how the world works have changed.

I propose we start imagining "social-actualization" at the top of the pyramid. We're moving from an era when "rugged individualism" was foundational to how we defined success to an era when collaboration is essential for both personal and societal success. Some of my transition may be due to spending so much time in Asia with its historical predilection toward collective rather than individual success. But, it's even more influenced by what I learn from talking to young people all over the world. And the fact that in many business schools the most popular classes today are on how to become a social entrepreneur focused on solving the world's collective problems.

So, what qualities distinguish someone who is social-actualizing as opposed to self-actualizing? Abe Maslow suggested that a "peaker" (someone self-actualizing) had a tendency to get lost in the love of what they were doing. This losing oneself can also be prevalent in a social-actualizer, but what's different is that this person's purpose is focused on a collective good rather than just a personal good (although a longer discussion with the Ayn Rand-ers might suggest these are the same). So a "social peaker" focuses on systemic effects and social gains in their actualization. Additionally, as more research shows the social and emotional contagion that connects us, a social-actualizer also imagines the ripple effect they may have on others. For example, a self-actualizer might pursue their passion - whether it's being a triathlete or learning how to give great speeches - with the primary focus being on how it makes them feel. A social-actualizer might choose to enter a triathlon that supports a cause or use their speech-giving to make a difference.

We may feel the glow from someone who's in the midst of self-actualizing and that can move us to greatness as well. But, when we're in the orbit of a social-actualizer, we feel drawn to a higher calling and one that can create a sort of "collective effervescence" of a group. A self-actualizer rower can win individual speed records, but a crew, when they're in the midst of social-actualization, can experience what is called "swing" in rowing circles. It's that miraculous moment in physics when a group is so connected and in unison of a common purpose that the boat literally elevates in the water -- diminishing friction and increasing speed. Here's to the 21st century being one swinging era in the history of mankind.

Follow Chip Conley on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ChipConley

If what sets a high performing organisation apart is a matter of a question ... what’s the question?

Food for Thought from Mike Schwarzer’s Pearls of Wisdom, November 2012

If your business is the answer to a question, what is the question and why should you care?

How is your business showing up in the market place and how do you want it to show up? Is it a high performing or low performing operation? Is it where you like it to be or moving towards it or moving away from it? Does it serve and enrich you or does it hold you back and impoverish you?

Does it have the right culture and the mental and behavioural flexibility that it requires to operate in a competitive and uncertain environment? Is it a dynamic environment that is buzzing with energy or is it dead? Does it run on optimism, collaboration, resilience, creativity and innovation or is it textured with scepticism, lack of motivation and fear?

Think about it this way, if you were to look at your business from the outside in, what would you notice? What experience does it provide for your customers, the community and your people? What energy does it have? What feel does it have? Is it purposeful? Is it drawing people to you or pushing them away from you? Do your people and your customers believe in your organisation, what it stands for and what it provides?

Could that be a coincidence? The answer may lie in the questions that you ask!

Questions set your intentions, direct what you are paying attention to and drive your behaviours. And questions can be quite unconscious in that they are asked in the back of your mind. This is true for individuals as well as for the organisational psyche.

Why is that important?

Organisations are run by human beings, at least last time I checked. And human beings have a unique ability, they can think ... yes I know a revelation! They can think in terms of creating mental movies about their circumstances through pictures, sounds and sensations. They can then think about and describe those circumstances in words and symbols. And not just that, they can give a meaning or meanings to those circumstances such as reflections, judgements and opinions. This then creates our inner experience about those circumstances in the way we see, hear and feel them on the inside.

It is that inner experience of our outer circumstances that makes the difference. How so you may ask?

High Quality versus Low Quality Experience!

If the inner experience is of high quality it creates a radiant energy around you, one that others want to be part of. An energy that opens your mental pores and that points your attention seeing solutions and possibilities. This type of energy creates mental and behavioural flexibility and movement. Often this energy is directed outwards with our attention pointing towards our environment, the people in it and the things we want to create. We do that through thoughts and questions such as ... how can we best help to solve your problems? How can we make a difference? How can we best support or serve you? Who do we need to become to create an environment where learning, engagement, creativity and innovation can occur?  ... And what other empowering questions do you use?

If the inner experience is of low quality it creates a static or tight energy around you with little movement, one that others want to stay away from. And energy that closes your mental pores and that points your attention at the problems of your problems. This type of energy creates mental and behavioural rigidity and lack of movement. Often this energy points inwards turning at ourselves with thoughts and questions such as ... why does this happen to us? What if we fail? What if we are not good enough? Why do these customers always give us a hard time? Why do we always get picked on?  ... And what other limiting questions do you use?

Think about it! Questions and their direction generate energy in the human body-mind-emotion system and therefore in organisations. Questions and the energy they generate determine how you are showing up in the world and what you are capable of achieving. If there is flow and movement, there is presence of mind and resourcefulness, its operating in the zone. When we operate in the zone, we tap into our inner resources that are beyond the limitations of our intellectual mind. If there is lack of flow and movement we can get stuck in our heads, the intellectual mind, and out of touch with our inner resources.

This might be the difference of showing up as an organisation of grumble bums or that of a ray of refreshing sunshine. One that just cares about itself and what it can get out of others or one that is purposeful and enjoys helping others to solve their problems? Which one would you rather work with and do business with?

So how do you want your business to show up in the world, as a grumble bum or a ray of refreshing sunshine? Then ask yourself, what are your highest intentions, the things that are important to you as an organisation? And what questions underpin these intentions? What are you paying attention to and how is that showing up in the way you as an organisation think, feel, speak and behave?

What high performing organisations know …?

As mentioned earlier, questions drive behaviours. High performing and self-actualising organisations know that and are skilled in asking purposeful questions or core questions, either consciously or subconsciously. Questions that generate creative energies, inner experiences and drive behaviours that are aligned to and supportive of their purpose. Questions that take them into the direction they want to move and that produce quality results.

So if your business is the answer to a question, what is the question? And does it serve you or limit you?

Curious to find out more about how to engage core questions that unleash creative energies and drive behaviours that serve you? Then contact Mike at mike@mikeschwarzer.com. 

to your highest learning and growth

Mike



For upcoming public workshops on leadership, coaching, NLP and Neuro-Semantics that bring out the best in people click here!

For information on tailored in-house programs contact Mike at mike@mikeschwarzer.com or on +61 (0)419 866 427 or +61 (0)8 7200 0808.

www.mikeschwarzer.com, www.thoughtleadingpeople.com.au