SMART Objectives
SMART is an acronym often used in management and goal-setting to define objectives that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Each letter represents a different characteristic of a well-defined goal. The value of SMART objective setting is that it is clear in expectations and encourages joint ownership of the objectives. If a doctor instructs a patient to have an objective of losing weight, arguably, walking back to the car or cycling home from the surgery means a few grams could have been lost so therefore objective met. Perhaps a better objective would be ‘to lose 10 kilos by 14 November 2024 through a mix of increased exercise (10,000 steps a day) and reduced fat, salt and sugar to no more than 2500 calories a day.’ SPECIFIC Objectives should be clear and unambiguous, answering the questions of who, what, where, when, and why. MEASURABLE Progress toward the objective should be quantifiable so that you can track and evaluate your success. ACHIEVABLE/AMBITIOUS/AGREED Objectives should be realistic and attainable given available resources and constraints hence the agreed. REALISTIC Objectives should align with broader goals and be meaningful within the context of the project or organization. If they are not realistic, they are simply not motivational. TIME BOUND Objectives should have a defined timeline or deadline to provide a sense of urgency and focus. They should never be ‘on-going’. Set an actual date. By setting SMART objectives, individuals and teams can increase their likelihood of success by providing clear direction and criteria for achievement. Examples of SMART based objectives
Perhaps one of the best examples of a simple but clear SMART based objective was from President John F Kennedy when he said, ‘I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.’ Alec McPhedran Chtd Fellow CIPD, Chtd Mngr CMI, is a creative sector coach and mentor. He specialises in one to one coaching, facilitated learning, media training and career coaching. Alec is the creator of the GENIUS Coaching Model, a unique approach to coaching creative talent. For further information, contact Alec at www.mcphedran.co.uk. Copyright © Alec McPhedran 2024
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Getting behing behaviour
We naturally react to behaviour. In this article, management coach and trainer Alec McPhedran explains the Behind Behaviour model he developed to discuss and explore performance management and change in people. One of the things I really enjoy is the discussion I have when training or coaching managers on behaviour. Our instincts of flight, fight or play dead dominate our subconscious reactions to other peoples behaviour towards us. The challenge for managers is to build on others good behaviour or change underperforming or unacceptable behaviour. What we need to underdstand is why do people behave as they do in order to identify how to help them with their behaviour change. The Behind Behaviour model is a mix of theories developed to have a discussion with others on understanding behaviour. Once we have some approaches to underdstanding behavioiur, it helps to make it more targetted and focussed in the areas to work on in coaching or motivating others to want to change. One of the theories I use by way of example is the 21 Day Habit Theory from Maxwell Maltz. In his work as a plastic surgeon, he suggests “…that it requires a minimum of about 21 days for an old mental image to dissolve and a new one to jell.” This statement was picked up and, the quote was shortened to the myth that “It takes 21 days to form a new habit”. In fact, itg can be anything from 21 days to 265 days depending on the change, desire and motivation. Equally we have the outcome of a study in the European Journal of Social Psychology which analysed the habits of 96 people over 12 weeks. On average, it is said that a habit takes around 2 months to become an automatic behaviour – 66 days to be exact. For some this can take up to eight months. Despite the debates over these and other theories and concepts about behaviour and habit, the point of the simplicity of the Maltz theory is to explain to managers that just instructing someone to change their behaviour does not work. It takes time. So, in a behaviour change context, we explore how managers need to offer support, coaching, praise and consistency over a period of time and to identify when the new behaviour has been embedded and anchored. Pretty much to the point of unconscious competence. For managers, we work on the fact that in the main, the team behaves as you allow them. Habit is a repetitive behaviour to almost the point of unconscious action – good or bad. We need to agree standards of behaviour, what drives their behaviour and then how to support and change behaviour to, as previously mentioned, unconscious competence. Hence the development of the Behind Behaviour model. Behaviour The behaviour is the external bit we see, hear or feel. It is what we tend to make our judgements on about the other person. Some theory has it that we make out ‘perceived’ judgement within four seconds, some theory almost 1/29th of a second. Again, this is because fight, flight or play dead has took over as a self preservation mechanism. People can manage their behaviour. Tools such as Emotional Intelligence pick up on this. The way we behave is the way we can brand ourselves. Values. We all have our personal values. They are what our parents, grandparents, guardians, family and culture have given us. It embeds itself on average up to the age of sevenish and remains constant for 80% of our lives. It takes a significant life changing experience to change our values. Our values are what are important to us, they are an expression of personal worth – good or bad. As Aristotle is said ‘Give me a child up to the age of seven and I will show you the man.’ In coaching and looking at behaviour change, we can only tend to appreciate values and work with them as they will unlikely want to change their values. We are all different and we should value difference. Beliefs Our values in turn inform us of our beliefs of the world. If I value honesty, then I believe people should be and are more likely to be honest. Beliefs are what people hold to be true. People use their beliefs to help them understand the world around them. Exploring beliefs in behaviour change gives a useful platform to build on for moving behaviour, It links to motivation and self-fulfilment. Experiences As we grow and develop, we accumulate experiences. We associate our experiences with the emotions and feelings linked to those experiences. Some we want more of, some we want to avoid happening again. If people link their beliefs to their experiences, it significantly forms their view of the world. Everybody has significantly different experiences to everyone else. We are all different. In looking at behaviour change, perhaps understanding their experiences and the positive emotions to build on can help. We can explore the negative experiences and emotions and if appropriate, look at different ways to approach and overcome historical experiences. As we get older, we can tend to be more defensive or reluctant to change as the negative emotions and experiences can filter though first. When we were young, nothing held us back. We could do amazing things. It is that positivity that might be worth tapping in to. Thinking In all of us, if our instincts work on our values, beliefs, experiences and emotions. That in turn contributes to our initial thinking. If unmanaged, we could work off our intuitive thinking. Some believe our instinctive thinking is a natural reaction of ‘bottom up’ thinking. They are based on instinct and are unintentional. Bottom up thinking is a survival based stress response brain threat detection system. Essentially driven by instinct. Alternatively, coaching behaviour change could look at ‘top down’ thinking. It takes time to develop top down thinking by evolving connections to the top part of our brain, essentially the executive function centre of the brain. Top down thinking is deliberate and intentional. In coaching, it means guiding others to pause for a second before habitually reacting and thinking in a different and positive way. Attitude With all of the above happening in nano seconds, the challenge is to help others pause and reflect before acting. A key area to explore in behaviour change is an individuals ‘chosen’ attitude. We choose our attitude. I choose if I am going to argue back because you say my work is poor or I can pause, think and change my attitude to want to understand why you believe my work is poor? Our attitude manifests itself in the way we behave. If I am looking to change behaviour, I need to understand why did they behave that way? Why did they chose to take that attitude? It is a rich area to explore and then you can work on an individual to identify and develop strategies to manage their attitude in a more positive or progressive way. From values to attitude, this is all the hidden area – the internal processing. In getting behind behaviour we need to work down the chain in order to change behaviour. The value of the Behind Behaviour model is in the discussion in helping others to change behaviour and the areas potentially to explore and work on. Of course, there are bits missing or that people disagree with regards to the Behind Behaviour model, but for me, it is an invaluable discussion tool in exploring behaviour change. Telling people to behave in a different way does not work. Identifying why they behave as they do and how to develop approaches to self-change is the key focus. Changing behaviour takes time, support and appropriate positive reinforcement. As a manager I have learnt that people behave as you allow them. Understanding individuals and working with them is simply a great and positive investment of time. The Behind Behaviour Model has been developed by Alec McPhedran Chtd Fellow CIPD, Chtd Mngr CMI, MAC, MCMI as a tool for people who coach or train others; to help understand potential areas to explore in managing behaviour change. Alec is a creative sector trainer, coach and mentor. To get in touch with Alec, visit www.mcphedran.co.uk. Copyright © Alec McPhedran 2024 What is the Kübler-Ross Change Curve?
The Kübler-Ross Change Transition Curve is also known as the Kübler-Ross Change Curve or the Five Stages of Grief model. It's a psychological model proposed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book "On Death and Dying." The model describes the stages of emotional and psychological response to significant life changes, particularly the process of grieving or significant loss or change. The five stages outlined in the Kübler-Ross Change Transition Curve are:
It's important to note that not everyone experiences these stages in the same way or in the same order. Additionally, the Kübler-Ross Change Transition Curve is not strictly limited to grieving over death but can also apply to various life changes, such as job loss, illness, or significant transitions in personal or professional life. It has been widely applied in fields such as psychology, counselling, organizational change management, and leadership development to help individuals and groups navigate through periods of transition and uncertainty. How does the Kübler-Ross Change Curve help in planning and managing change? The Kübler-Ross Change Curve, despite being initially conceptualized to explain the stages of grief, has found application in various fields, including change management. When managing people through organizational change, understanding and applying this model can help leaders and managers anticipate and address the emotional responses of individuals or teams. Here's how you can use the Kübler-Ross Change Curve in managing people through change: Awareness and Education: Introduce the Kübler-Ross Change Curve to your team or organization to create awareness about the emotional responses people may experience during periods of change. Educate them about the stages and reassure them that it's normal to go through these emotions. Communication: Maintain open and transparent communication throughout the change process. Clearly communicate the reasons for the change, what it entails, and how it will impact individuals and the organization as a whole. Address any concerns or questions people may have, providing them with as much information as possible. Recognize Denial: Understand that denial is a common initial response to change. Some individuals may resist acknowledging the need for change or the severity of the situation. Be patient and empathetic, but gently guide them toward acceptance by providing facts and context. Acknowledge and Manage Anger: Expect that some individuals may express anger or frustration as the reality of the change sinks in. Listen to their concerns, validate their emotions, and address any legitimate grievances. Avoid being defensive and instead focus on finding constructive solutions to alleviate their concerns. Encourage Dialogue and Bargaining: Encourage individuals to express their concerns and engage in dialogue about potential solutions or compromises. While it's essential to maintain the integrity of the change initiative, allowing some degree of input or negotiation can help people feel more empowered and involved in the process. Support Through Depression: Recognize that some individuals may experience feelings of sadness, loss, or anxiety as they come to terms with the change. Provide emotional support, empathy, and resources such as counseling or coaching to help them cope with these feelings. Encourage self-care and resilience-building activities. Facilitate Acceptance and Integration: As individuals move through the stages of the change curve, actively promote acceptance and integration of the new reality. Highlight the benefits and opportunities that the change brings, and celebrate small wins or milestones along the way. Provide ongoing support and encouragement as individuals adjust to the new normal. Monitor Progress and Adapt: Continuously monitor the progress of individuals and teams through the change process. Be flexible and willing to adapt your approach based on feedback and evolving circumstances. Remember that change is a dynamic process, and people may cycle through the stages of the change curve multiple times before fully adapting. By applying the Kübler-Ross Change Curve in managing people through change, you can foster resilience, empathy, and collaboration within your team or organization, ultimately increasing the likelihood of successful change implementation. Alec McPhedran Chtd Fellow CIPD, Chtd Mngr CMI, is a creative sector coach and mentor. He specialises in one to one coaching, facilitated learning, media training and career coaching. Alec is the creator of the GENIUS Coaching Model, a unique approach to coaching creative talent. For further information, contact Alec at www.mcphedran.co.uk. Copyright © Alec McPhedran 2024 What is continuous professional development and why is it important to me?
Continuous professional development, or CPD as it is often referred to, is a career management choice. It is your career so you should manage your career. Leading UK creative sector coaching and mentor, Alec McPhedran, explains a useful approach to planning and managing your own continuous professional development. In career coaching, I often find people are in a role based on the needs of another, higher level person rather than where the individual wants to be. Planning your career is so important as it provides focus and clarity in what you want to do and what you do not want to do. It’s your career so plan where you want to be. Continuous professional development, or CPD as it is often referred to, is the ongoing, systematic self directed learning approach or process that should be a normal part of how you plan and manage your whole working life. The UK’s Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) explain that CPD as Continuing Professional Development is a combination of approaches, ideas and techniques that will help you manage your own learning and growth. The focus of CPD is firmly on results – the benefits that professional development can bring you in the real world. The CPD model is an approach to help you sit down and plan your knowledge, skills and experiences development and transfer your learning objectives and actions on to a personal development plan. This is often required by institutions in order to retain a membership such as the CPD, Institute of Mechanical Engineers or the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. As you progress and gain new knowledge, skills and experiences, you then log these on to a CPD record, reflecting on what you have learnt, the transferable skills and how you can build on these – hence the CPD model. Research The starting point would be research. An honest self appraisal and reflection, likely some valuable 360 feedback. You should know what your current knowledge, skills and experience is and recognise strengths. Essentially you are where you are based on your strengths. You should also focus on areas you might like to develop. Then you focus on the research of the next and potentially future roles you would like to be doing. These will likely have criteria in competencies, knowledge, skills, qualifications, behaviours or experiences needed and this is incredibly useful. You can then map out what you currently have and then what you need to develop. Identify With this information, you should then plan, and if you prefer, discuss with others, what specific knowledge, skills, behaviours and experiences you need to have to progress your career. Clearly note these down as the start of your CPD planning. Plan This is a key element of CPD. You need to plan your development steps. Typically, people would use SMART based objectives, identify key steps on what needs to be achieved and by when. In some cases, it helps to list who can help at each step such as a mentor, an inhouse coach, a colleague, a friend or a professional body. These objectives are transferred to your personal development plan and this should be an ongoing and ,moving plan. It is your road map for your future and of course, in life, we have roadworks and need to at times try a different route to get to our goal. Learn When you complete an activity that gives you new knowledge or skills, you should record these on a CPD log. A log is useful as it captures your learning, new knowledge and skills and reflections in having completed that activity. It captures those new skills that are transferable to other situations. A CPD log is an essential part of development and is widely used in qualifications and institute membership requirements. If you are working on your development with a line manager, mentor or coach, discuss new learning that they too have seen and add to you CPD log. Embed Learning is actually relatively straightforward, embedding new behaviour not quite so easy. A study by the University of London identified that on average, it takes 66 days for a behaviour to become automatic. To change your behaviour requires persistence, motivation and honest self-management and awareness. Maxwell Maltz also identified that from his work, it might take a minimum of 21 days to change one behaviour. To change your behaviour, perhaps consider a close colleague who can remind you if they see, hear or feel you are resorting back to type when you are trying to change an attitude or personal style. Review Once you have achieved a personal CPD objective from your PDP, reflect on the whole process and again, capture reasons for the success and how you achieved these. This is great information as it is something you have achieved and that is something to build on. Your approach to things is not the same as others so it has to be your foundation for moving forward in your career in the way you now know is your approach to succeeding. Of course, within Continuous Professional Development, you have the work continuous. The need to keep moving forward is key in that the model is a cycle. It’s a personal continuous improvement cycle so what’s next and begin the journey again. As a coach, I am regularly impressed in what people achieve once they realise they can take control and make things happen. Again, it is your career so take ownership. Your CPD is your personally designed map that takes you to where you want to be. Have fun. The Continuous Professional Development has been developed by Alec McPhedran Chtd Fellow CIPD, Chtd Mngr CMI, as a tool to guide thoughts and planning in managing and developing their own career. For further information, visit www.mcphedran.co.uk.. Copyright © Alec McPhedran 2022 What are VARK Learning Styles
Developing learning interventions does have to have more focus on the learner or a group of learners. Often, learning events can be developed in the preferred style of the tutor or trainer and of course, that perhaps would not suit quite a few of the people involved in the learning activity. In this article, VARK is discussed by creative sector coach and mentor Alec McPhedran in how consideration should be given to apply the styles to enrich the learner experience. VARK is a popular model that categorizes learning styles based on the way individuals prefer to learn and process information. Developed by Neil Fleming in the late 1980s, the VARK model suggests that people have distinct preferences for how they acquire and understand new information. The acronym VARK stands for four main learning styles. Visual (V): Visual learners prefer to learn through visual aids such as diagrams, charts, graphs, videos, and other visual representations. They tend to remember information best when they can see it presented in a clear and organized manner Auditory (A): Auditory learners develop best through hearing or sound methods, such as listening to lectures, discussions or podcasts. They often remember information by associating it with sounds, tones, and spoken words Read/Write (R): Read/write learners prefer written information, including textbooks, written instructions, and note-taking. They learn effectively by reading and writing out information, summarizing concepts, and creating lists Kinesthetic (K): Kinesthetic learners, also known as tactile learners, learn best through hands-on experiences, physical activities, and interactive learning. They like to engage in activities that involve movement, touch, and practical application of concepts It's important to note that while the VARK model provides a framework for understanding learning preferences, research on the effectiveness of tailoring instruction to specific learning styles has shown mixed results. Some studies suggest that individuals may benefit from a combination of learning styles rather than being strictly confined to one. Additionally, many educators emphasize the importance of incorporating a variety of teaching methods to accommodate different learning preferences and create a more comprehensive learning experience. Designing Learning with VARK When designing instruction or learning experiences using the VARK learning styles model, it's important to keep in mind that learners often have a combination of preferences, and using a variety of methods can enhance their overall learning experience. Here's how you can incorporate the VARK model into your learning design: Assessment of learner preferences
Visual learners (V)
Auditory learners (A)
Read/Write learners (R)
Kinesthetic learners (K)
Multimodal approach Recognize that learners may have preferences in multiple categories. Design activities that cater to different learning styles within a single lesson or unit. Provide options for learners to choose how they engage with content. For example, offer both a visual infographic and a podcast for the same information. Flexible content presentation Present information in multiple formats. For instance, include both text and images to appeal to both visual and read/write learners. Accompany auditory content with visual aids to reinforce learning for aural and visual learners. Varied assessments Offer a range of assessment methods, such as quizzes, written assignments, group discussions, and practical projects. Ensure that the assessment methods align with the learning preferences and activities of different learners Feedback and application Gather feedback from learners about their experiences with different learning methods. Use the feedback to adapt your delivery or teaching strategies and improve the learning design over time Remember that the goal is to create a balanced and inclusive learning environment that accommodates various learning preferences. While the VARK model can provide valuable insights, it's essential to recognize that learners are diverse and may benefit from a combination of approaches. Alec McPhedran Chtd Fellow CIPD, Chtd Mngr CMI, MAC, MCMI is a coach and mentor for talented creative people. He specialises in one to one coaching, facilitated learning, media coaching and team development. For further information, visit www.mcphedran.co.uk. Copyright © Alec McPhedran 2024 Coaching creative talent with GENIUS Coaching is facilitating people to reach their unique potential. A coach should consider the effective management of the coaching process so as to reach session goals as effectively and as focused as possible. Alec McPhedran explains the simple to use but highly effective GENIUS coaching framework for creative coaching sessions. In essence, coaching is a simple process. However, we must make sure we do simple well. At its heart lies good questioning, listening and the ability to summarise. The challenges are building trust and maintaining a positive working and open relationship in which the coachee feels they are the focus of attention and that they are being helped to work on their ideas. The additional skill is managing the process of the coaching session. This has to be timely as well as facilitating the individual to move forward. In the creative industries in which I mainly work, it is critical ideas and solutions came from the individual being coached. That’s really hard when you believe you know what the solution is. But surely that’s one of the issues of coaching, “What you believe the solution is.” Great coaching is about working the individual. It’s their imagination and their aspiration. Our job is to help turn these into a reality. Not the coach’s reality or perceived reality. It has to be owned by the coachee. As a coach, your inputs have to be really relevant, valid and appropriate if and when invited to do so. You, the coach, act as the conductor. The individual has the talent. The coach’s role is to get the best out of the talent. Like most coaches, I have come across a number of really useful coaching models, including the simple but highly effective GROW model. The common view is that the GROW model derived from Performance Coaching by John Whitmore. GROW is used to structure the coaching session; Goals, Realities, Options and Will, as in “What will you do?” This is pretty good, particularly for offering line managers a coaching tool but for professional coaches it sometimes might need a bit more. Another useful model is CLEAR, developed by Peter Hawkins. CLEAR concentrates on Contracting, Listening, Exploring, Action and Review. Working in the creative industries often has me having to work with additional technique in the coaching session. Creativity, innovation, exciting aspirations and ideas that need turning into a reality. That’s the amazing and exciting challenge in media with creative coaching. For me, a new approach was needed to help inspire and push my clients. GENIUS GENIUS coaching developed following a chat with a pretty cynical script-writing friend. She felt coaching had its place but most definitely not in the world of ‘creative people’. Her previous experience of being coached while working at a leading broadcaster had been helpful but only in career progression and not on her desire to be the best in her field of telling stories. A number of coaches had not been able to really meet her creative aspiration. This made me think about myself, my own ability to go further than I had been before with people and therefore how could I meet her challenge? Yes there are excellent coaches who are very focussed on pushing people but are we held back with the SMART objective format? Are we sometimes held back by our own feelings if moving out of our own comfort level? Her point was do we really push people past their boundaries? Was I really helping by agreeing to a coachees initial objectives or was I really stretching them, taking them to new and exciting places, sometimes scary, in their ambition? Over the following months I revisited my coaching sessions, the processes I was using and depending on subjects, the results we were getting. Goals were being achieved but I was wondering could it have been wider reaching, more challenging – truly daring to be different. The GENIUS model of coaching evolved after testing it out on some knowing victims with mixed success. I was particularly influenced by Jenny Rogers, author of Coaching Skills, a Handbook. Jenny mixes coaching fantastically well with Neuro Linguistic Programming. Thinking of end goals, care with use of language and testing the energy to achieve things. People who were really up for a new adventure opened their mind to great new ideas, concepts and opportunities that truly seemed off the wall. But importantly, motivational for a creative person. With some, it made them feel uncomfortable and my learning was that you had to work with the aspiration and the reality of their ambition in their style. Again, not my ambition or my preferred coaching or creative thinking techniques. Eventually the GENIUS model came out, probably the result of a fire, aim ready strategy. It’s now one of my favourite models, particularly when working with exciting creative talent. GENIUS coaching is simple. GENIUS is a guide to running a coaching session. It’s yet another useful model for coaches for their toolkit. It does draw its inspiration from the likes of GROW, OSKAR and other coaching models. Simple is good but the skills is in doing simple well. Goals The first step of GENIUS is to set the GOALS, a rather obvious starting point. We know the goal, purpose or aim is critical for a number of reasons but primarily it provides us with the reminder of what it is we are working on, what needs to be achieved. It makes sure all future conversation is relevant to achieving the goal. With GENIUS coaching, there are three types of goals to set.
Energy Once the aspirational goal and the session goal (or goals) has been set, the next part of GENIUS coaching is to look at the ENERGY of the coachee. They may want to achieve something that is far reaching for them but do they really have the energy? The desire to achieve and the energy to do something can sometimes be poles apart. Get the client to rate their energy levels to make this work, perhaps by giving a score out of 10. Without the genuine energy to achieve the goal, is the goal the right one in the first place? Another useful tool to use here, again thanks to Jenny Rogers, is to ask how motivated they are about achieving the goals. A rating of 1 to 10 equally helps give some indication of possible investigation. A useful read on the importance of personal energy is the high performance pyramid by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz (2003). The focus of the model is the importance and connectivity in the four energy levels: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. The theme is not so much about how you manage your time but how you manage (and control) your personal energy. Really helpful in probing commitment to achieving an aspiration. Nurture Once goals have been established and the energy levels checked to achieve them, you then need to NURTURE the range of opportunities and options. This is very much the Options stage of GROW. This again is where the questioning, listening, summarising and creative thinking skills of the coach come into play. Your ability to brainstorm, encourage creative thinking; thinking of things that are really off the wall, never been done before are absolutely critical. When nurturing ideas, this ideally should be treated in the same way as a pure brainstorming session. Pull out the ideas, don’t critique to early, set the parameters linked to the objectives and work through some of the ideas. This is also a great time to use challenging and creative thinking tools such as de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats (data, emotion, negativity, positiveness, feel good, innovative thinking and process). Once you have looked at each idea, work through and prioritise the key actions that came out of the nurturing process. Priority action one is the way forward. Options two, three and four – potential back up ideas. From the Six Thinking Hats model you will then be able to move into the next stage of GENIUS coaching thanks to the identifying emotions and negatives from the red and black hat discussions. Inhibitors That’s because you need to revisit the agreed priority actions from the nurturing stage and identify the INHIBITORS. That is, what is going to stop the ideas from working? This is really powerful as you seek out the negatives. It’s those negatives that you then address with the client to establish how they will be tackled should they arise. I guess the development of the cunning Plan B scenario. We are great at planning the perfect life with Plan A. Unfortunately life’s not perfect. Therefore it makes sense to anticipate inhibitors. Manage them into positives. It’s worthwhile at this point revisiting your nurtured actions to see if they need revising to reflect the points identified in the inhibitors stage of the session. Utopia So, we now know what we want, how much energy the client has to achieve their goal, we’ve generated some great ideas and have identified the potential problems and the likely responses. If all works fantastically well then… UTOPIA; an imagined perfect place or state of things. This is where the coaches Neuro Linguistic Programming knowledge comes more into play. Can you get the individual to visually, auditory and kinaesthetically imagine their Utopia once the goals will be achieved? This is a powerful tool to make the end result of a coaching session feel real. It’s what turns that aspiration into the reality. Visioning, recording or feeling that end goal gives the goal life. It puts Utopia in the mind of the individual. I have even gone so far as to encourage clients to make that picture real – getting or drawing a close or true to life image and then placing it in eye sight at their desk. Weird I know but it definitely works. For the auditory types, a written statement always at hand seems to have the same effect. We’re back to the immense importance of goals. Once they look and feel real, once we are emotionally attached to them, they will become real. Developing, writing down and imagining goals is an essential role of the coach to get the client to understand this. Steps Finally, the coaching session is rounded off by summarising the STEPS to be taken by the coachee. What will they do between now and the next session? These are developed by writing SMART (specific, measurable, realistic, agreed and timed) Action Goals and clarifying the actual steps to take to achieve the Action Goals. I guess in the good old day that was called action planning. So there you have it. Yet another wonderful tool for coaching. The very simple GENIUS coaching model. It’s about pushing ambition and creativity further for creative people, exploring amazing and varied opportunities and imagining the realities of what success will look, feel or sound like. Obviously I know this model may not be perfect for some, that’s the beauty of the business we’re in. If we were all perfect then we wouldn’t have anybody to coach. The GENIUS Coaching Model G – Goals to be achieved E – Energy to achieve the goals N – Nurturing and exploring options to achieve the goals I – Inhibitors that may arise on the way to achieving goals U – Utopia when the goals will be achieved S – Steps to be taken to achieve the goals Article published in theTraining Journal September 1 2009 GENIUS coaching has been developed by Alec McPhedran Chard FCIPD, Chtd Mngr CMI, MAC, MCMI, as a tool for people who coach creative talent; to guide them through an inspirational and wide reaching coaching session. First published in 2006, the GENIUS Coaching Model helps to manage a creative flowing coaching session. Alec is a creative sector trainer, coach and mentore. He specialises in one to one coaching, facilitated learning, and team development. For further information, visit www.mcphedran.co.uk Copyright 2006 Alec McPhedran. All rights reserved. Giving and Recieving Feedback2/8/2023
0 Comments Giving and Receiving Feedback Giving and receiving feedback is an essential skill in both personal and professional relationships. Constructive feedback can lead to growth, improved performance, and better relationships when delivered and received effectively. Here, Alec McPhedran gives an overview of approaches to giving and receiving feedback. In life as much as in work, it’s important to know how to provide feedback to others, effectively and constructively without causing offence. Equally, and often less considered, is the ability to seek and receive feedback. There are many opportunities in life for providing others with and for receiving feedback, from commenting on the way that your colleague has carried out a task, to discussing your behaviour with them. This item focuses on the process of communicating with someone about something that they have done or said, with a view to changing or encouraging that behaviour. This is often called ‘giving feedback’, and when you do, you want your feedback to be effective. 'Feedback' is a frequently used term in communication theory. It is worth noting that this page is not about what might loosely be called ‘encouragement feedback’—the ‘yes I’m listening’-type nods and ‘uh-huhs’ which you use to tell someone that you are listening. What is Effective Feedback? For our purposes, we will define effective feedback as that which is clearly heard, understood and accepted. Those are the areas that are within your power. You have no control over whether the recipient chooses to act upon your feedback, so let’s put that to one side. So how can you make sure that your feedback is effective? Develop your feedback skills by using these few rules, and you’ll soon find that you’re much more effective. 1. Feedback should be about behaviour not personality The first, and probably the most important rule of feedback is to remember that you are making no comment on what type of person they are, or what they believe or value. You are only commenting on how they behaved. Do not be tempted to discuss aspects of personality, intelligence or anything else. Only behaviour. 2. Feedback should describe the effect of the person’s behaviour on you After all, you do not know the effect on anyone or anything else. You only know how it made you feel or what you thought. Presenting feedback as your opinion makes it much easier for the recipient to hear and accept it, even if you are giving negative feedback. After all, they have no control over how you felt, any more than you have any control over their intention. This approach is a blame-free one, which is therefore much more acceptable. Choose your feedback language carefully. Useful phrases for giving feedback include: “When you did [x], I felt [y].” “I noticed that when you said [x], it made me feel [y].” “I really liked the way that you did [x] and particularly [y] about it.” “It made me feel really [x] to hear you say [y] in that way.” 3. Feedback should be as specific as possible Especially when things are not going well, we all know that it’s tempting to start from the point of view of ‘everything you do is rubbish’, but don’t. Think about specific occasions, and specific behaviour, and point to exactly what the person did, and exactly how it made you feel. The more specific the better, as it is much easier to hear about a specific occasion than about ‘all the time’! 4. Feedback should be timely It’s no good telling someone about something that offended or pleased you six months later. Feedback needs to be timely, which means while everyone can still remember what happened. If you have feedback to give, then just get on and give it. That doesn’t mean without thought. You still need to think about what you’re going to say and how. 5. Pick your moment There are times when people are feeling open to feedback and times when they aren’t. This is where your awareness of the emotions and feelings of others is particularly important. This will help you to pick a suitable moment. For example, an angry person won’t want to accept feedback, even given skilfully. Wait until they’ve calmed down a bit. Feedback doesn’t just happen in formal feedback meetings. Every interaction is an opportunity for feedback, in both directions. Some of the most important feedback may happen casually in a quick interchange, for example, this one, overheard while two colleagues were making coffee: Becks (laughing): “You remind me of my mum.” Ella (her boss): “Really, why?” Becks: “She gets really snappy with me when she’s stressed too.” Ella: “Oh, I’m so sorry, have I been snapping at you? I am a bit stressed, but I’ll try not to do it in future. Thank you for telling me, and I’m sorry you needed to.” Becks had, quite casually, raised a serious behavioural issue with Ella. Ella realised that she was fortunate that Becks had recognised the behavioural pattern from a familial situation and drawn her own conclusions. However, Ella also recognised that not everyone she would ever work with would do the same. Having been made aware of her behaviour, she chose to change it. Becks had also, casually or not, given feedback in line with all the rules: it was about Ella’s recent behaviour, and so was specific and timely, and showed how Becks perceived it. It was also at a good moment when Ella was relaxed and open to discussion. Receiving Feedback It’s also important to think about what skills you need to receive feedback, especially when it is something you don’t want to hear, and not least because not everyone is skilled at giving feedback. Be Open to the Feedback In order to hear feedback, you need to listen to it. Don’t think about what you’re going to say in reply, just listen. And notice the non-verbal communication as well, and listen to what your colleague is not saying, as well as what they are. Ensure that you have fully understood all the nuances of what the other person is saying and avoid misunderstandings. Use different types of questions to clarify the situation, and reflect back your understanding, including emotions. For example, you might say: “So when you said …, would it be fair to say that you meant … and felt …?” “Have I understood correctly that when I did …, you felt …?” Make sure that your reflection and questions focus on behaviour, and not personality. Even if the feedback has been given at another level, you can always return the conversation to the behavioural, and help the person giving feedback to focus on that level. Emotional Intelligence is essential. You need to be aware of your emotions (self-awareness) and also be able to manage them (self-control), so that even if the feedback causes an emotional response, you can control it. And finally… Always thank the person who has given you the feedback. They have already seen that you have listened and understood, now accept it. Acceptance in this way does not mean that you need to act on it. However, you do then need to consider the feedback, and decide how, if at all, you wish to act upon it. That is entirely up to you, but remember that the person giving the feedback felt strongly enough to bother mentioning it to you. Do them the courtesy of at least giving the matter some consideration. If nothing else, with negative feedback, you want to know how not to generate that response again. Behaviour Feedback Of course, there are many feedback models and theories but a really useful and simple model is the AID Feedback Model. The AID model is great for delivering behaviour feedback. AID provides a useful tool for people to structure their feedback or coaching conversation and dialogue around in order to ensure that they are constructively managing how they deliver the feedback – so that the recipient is clear and capable of taking the right action or next step. A Action The person giving the feedback specifically defines the observable action or behaviours that the individual has taken which is either positive or negative. Very importantly and as highlighted here, the action must be observable – in other words, it must be based on actions / behaviours that can be defined and that have been observed by others. You can use things you have seen, heard or felt. One example could be “Over the last two weeks, you’ve signed in for work late on 6 occasions”/ This would be better and less subjective than “You’re building a track record for lateness now, you’re constantly late these days”. Another example could be “I noticed that you refused to respond to Maya three times in the team meeting.” rather than “You seemed pretty rude to Maya in the meeting.” I Impact Here the person presenting the feedback must explain the impact of the action not only for the individuals involved but for the greater ecology i.e. self – team – organisation – industry reputation etc. An example of using Impact within the AID model would be “the impact of this is that key tasks cannot be started until your input is complete. The impact of this is that there is a delay in the department projects for the overall team, specifically connected to your lateness” This would be better than “the impact of this is that everyone is feeling frustrated and is fed up with you.” D Do Lastly, this where the giver of the feedback outlines the behaviour that they would like the person to Do in the future such as continuing or changed behaviour for the future. An example of Do could be “From now, I do expect to see your work attendance without any lateness and if you think you are going to be late, I expect you to call me directly at least 30 minutes before you’re due in. So, can we just clarify, what is it you must do to improve in moving forward.” In a coaching or mentoring context “Tell me what you should now do about this?” rather than “So don’t let it happen again” Of course, this part of AID with Do is easier if the person reports to you. It’s not so easy if it’s a peer or a manager. Perhaps the use of ‘we’ could help here. An example being “So what should we do about it if it happens again to help improve things?” This is just a short introduction to the AID model, the real challenge comes when we are engaging in a dialogue of feedback delivery – we often need to engage coaching and listening skills to really influence behavioural change. Alec McPhedran Chtd Fellow CIPD, Chtd Mngr CMI, MAC, MCMI is a people skills development specialist. This is typically done through one to one coaching, facilitated learning, media training and team development. Visit www.mcphedran.co.uk Copyright © Alec McPhedran 2024 The Coaching Conversation Model is a tool to explain the way a coaching conversation may at times flex into training, teaching or mentoring mode as well as working towards the ideal coaching approach. Here leading creative sector coach Alec explains the model to help new coaches appreciate the skill in flexing coaching conversations.
When I was being trained to become a coach, much of the advice was to mainly use open-ended questions such as who, what, why, where, when and how. Equally to make use of TED, tell me about, explain to me or describe to me, which are of course powerful open-ended questions. The aim therefore was to ensure that I the coach contributed very little by way of advice or influence to the coachee and that the answer sits within them. This of course is true in one sense. Indeed, that would be the perfect coaching session – I ask profound questions, the you answer them, sort yourself out, you leave happy and I send my invoice. What a life. As we develop out coaching understanding, we recognise that the perfect approach to coaching conversation doesn’t always happen. Sometimes we need to use and trust our experience and step back a bit into training mode to explain a concept and then return to coaching on how they can use that concept to develop their ideas. We may well also throw in some personal experience by way of example, which in turn means I may well be in mentoring mode. To me coaching is facilitating the learning of others to help them reach their unique potential. So, if part of coaching is facilitating, then we need to be able to flex and react accordingly for the benefit of the coachee. When I deliver workshops on coaching to managers, the sessions on managing coaching conversations can come over a bit contradictory or confusing. On that basis, and being a visual type, I developed the Coaching Conversation Model as a discussion tool to explore the range of approaches to coaching conversations. This has evolved over a number of years but what is great about the model is that it helps to initiate valuable discussions on the flexibility needed in coaching conversations. Directive to Facilitative Coaching The more we instruct or influence the conversation, the less the coachee contributes to the conversation. That is directive coaching. If for example, I am trying to help a manager work through giving feedback on a colleague’s behaviour, I tend to see how they would approach it and what the likely outcomes would be based on that approach. If we agreed that it might not be the most appropriate approach or the manager was not familiar with feedback theory, I could offer some ideas on feedback theory to help move the situation forward. A typical model I use, because of its simplicity and usefulness, is the AID feedback model. That is A for action or actions I have seen, heard or felt. I is for the impact of those actions and the likely consequences and D for what should they do about it in the future. On that basis, I am in training or teaching mode using my training skills. Once I have put the theory across, we then move back to a coaching approach by getting back to asking them how they could use that model in that particular situation. I am back to facilitating the thinking of the coachee, not contributing ideas but simply coaching. That is facilitative coaching – the main conversation coming from the coachee. Much of this approach has strong links to Heron’s Six Categories of Intervention (1975, in Hawkins & Smith, 2006) offering approaches from an authoritative set of interventions to facilitative interventions. Heron’s models confirm that as a coach, we need to flex our approach as we work with our coachees. Development Through Coaching A frequent misunderstanding I find when coaching managers is their understanding of development. Many people feel that development means training. To me, development is how do we give people new knowledge, skills and behaviours. This widens our options with development opportunities such as coaching, mentoring, teaching, shadowing, secondment and so on. Training may or may not be a part of development. In developing the Coaching Conversations model, and for the sake of simplicity, I have used training, coaching and mentoring by way of example. You can use whatever is appropriate to your learning group with headings such as educating, teaching, facilitating and so on. For me, the basics of training, coaching and mentoring work well. As an introduction to discussing coaching conversations, I run an activity in which the group is normally split in to three. Each group is allocated either training, coaching or mentoring. They then write words on a Post-It that reflects clearly their development option. They then select the top three words and create a simple sentence defining training, coaching or mentoring. During feedback and discussion, we then evolve their work in a way that explains each and differentiates the three. Before the session, they are encouraged to bring along a preferred description on coaching and mentoring. We all have our view on what each development option are but the point of the exercise is to understand those options and develop a way in which to explain them simply and clearly in a coaching session. The value of the exercise is that participants gain a better understanding of each and recognise the differences, especially between mentoring and coaching. I often support this with am anecdote that highlights those differences. From this we can then move on to discussing coaching conversations, and on my events, I tend to use training, coaching and mentoring. To keep it simple, I use the following explanations for training, coaching and mentoring: Training In training mode, we instruct, we tell. Much of the input to the conversation is from the coach. It is explaining ideas, concepts or theories. Coaching When we coach, we facilitate, we ask. This is where the coach concentrates on the objective of the coaching session – be it coachee or jointly identified. This uses questioning, active listening, feedback, problem solving, idea generation and summarising skills to guide the coachee. It’s asking rather than telling. It allows the coachee to develop their thinking capability and self-belief in their capability. The main input on the conversation is ideally from the coachee. Coaching is facilitating the learning of others to help them reach their unique potential. Mentoring A mentor is a more experienced or senior person who offers guidance, support, pastoral care, challenge or wisdom to another in developing them as a person. This is where the coach applies their mentoring skills, jointly contributes to the conversation with the coachee. The mentoring approach allows the coach to offer ideas from their experiences, points out ideas in an appropriate direction and guides based on their wisdom. I’m conscious that my definitions of training, coaching and mentoring will not sit well with others. In fact, when I search on a web browser for ‘definition of coaching’, it tells me if has found 331,000,000 results with thousands of definitions and interpretations of definitions. We all have our own views, beliefs and versions of each based on our unique experiences. The key thing is you have a description in which you feel is right and it helps to explain what it is to a coachee, yet it is simple and easy to understand. I also feel it must clearly differentiate between the three development approaches. The Coaching Conversation Model The purpose of the coaching conversation model is to help a new coach understand that the conversation will flex in to the territory of teaching, training, education or mentoring but with the aim of making sure we focus on and always returning to the coaching approach where appropriate. A pure coaching session is the Utopia but in many cases I have experienced, we do have to flex for the benefit of the coachee and the coaching session or programme goal. The Coaching Conversation Model has been developed by Alec McPhedran Fellow CIPD, Chtd Mngr CMI, MAC, MCMI as a tool for people who coach; to help understand the conversation management of a coaching session. Alec is a trainer, coach and mentor. He specialises in one to one coaching, facilitated learning, media training and team development. He developed the GENIUS Coaching Model, a guide to managing the flow of a coaching conversation. For further information visit www.mcphedran.co.uk Copyright © Alec McPhedran 2024 Coaching is facilitating people to reach their unique potential. A coach should consider the effective management of the coaching process to reach session goals as effectively and as focused as possible. Alec McPhedran explains the simple to use but highly effective GENIUS coaching framework for creative talent coaching sessions. In essence, coaching is a simple process. However, we must make sure we do simple well. At its heart lies good questioning, listening and the ability to summarise. The challenges are building trust and maintaining a positive working and open relationship in which the coachee feels they are the focus of attention and that they are being helped to work on their ideas. The additional skill is managing the process of the coaching session. This has to be timely as well as facilitating the individual to move forward. In the creative industries in which I mainly work, it is critical ideas and solutions came from the individual being coached. That’s really hard when you believe you know what the solution is. But surely that’s one of the issues of coaching, “What you believe the solution is.” Great coaching is about working the individual. It’s their imagination and their aspiration. Our job is to help turn these into a reality. Not the coach’s reality or perceived reality. It has to be owned by the coachee. As a coach, your inputs have to be really relevant, valid and appropriate if and when invited to do so. You, the coach, act as the conductor. The individual has the talent. The coach’s role is to get the best out of the talent. Like most coaches, I have come across a number of really useful coaching models, including the simple but highly effective GROW model. The common view is that the GROW model derived from Performance Coaching by John Whitmore. GROW is used to structure the coaching session; Goals, Realities, Options and Will, as in “What will you do?” This is pretty good, particularly for offering line managers a coaching tool but for professional coaches it sometimes might need a bit more. Another useful model is CLEAR, developed by Peter Hawkins. CLEAR concentrates on Contracting, Listening, Exploring, Action and Review. Working in the creative industries often has me having to work with additional technique in the coaching session. Creativity, innovation, exciting aspirations and ideas that need turning into a reality. That’s the amazing and exciting challenge in media with creative coaching. For me, a new approach was needed to help inspire and push my clients. GENIUS GENIUS coaching developed following a chat with a pretty cynical script-writing friend. She felt coaching had its place but most definitely not in the world of ‘creative people’. Her previous experience of being coached while working at a leading broadcaster had been helpful but only in career progression and not on her desire to be the best in her field of telling stories. A number of coaches had not been able to really meet her creative aspiration. This made me think about myself, my own ability to go further than I had been before with people and therefore how could I meet her challenge? Yes there are excellent coaches who are very focussed on pushing people but are we held back with the SMART objective format? Are we sometimes held back by our own feelings if moving out of our own comfort level? Her point was do we really push people past their boundaries? Was I really helping by agreeing to a coachees initial objectives or was I really stretching them, taking them to new and exciting places, sometimes scary, in their ambition? Over the following months I revisited my coaching sessions, the processes I was using and depending on subjects, the results we were getting. Goals were being achieved but I was wondering could it have been wider reaching, more challenging – truly daring to be different. The GENIUS model of coaching evolved after testing it out on some knowing victims with mixed success. I was particularly influenced by Jenny Rogers, author of Coaching Skills, a Handbook. Jenny mixes coaching fantastically well with Neuro Linguistic Programming. Thinking of end goals, care with use of language and testing the energy to achieve things. People who were really up for a new adventure opened their mind to great new ideas, concepts and opportunities that truly seemed off the wall. But importantly, motivational for a creative person. With some, it made them feel uncomfortable and my learning was that you had to work with the aspiration and the reality of their ambition in their style. Again, not my ambition or my preferred coaching or creative thinking techniques. Eventually the GENIUS model came out, probably the result of a fire, aim ready strategy. It’s now one of my favourite models, particularly when working with exciting creative talent. GENIUS coaching is simple. GENIUS is a guide to running a coaching session. It’s yet another useful model for coaches for their toolkit. It does draw its inspiration from the likes of GROW, OSKAR and other coaching models. Simple is good but the skills is in doing simple well. Goals The first step of GENIUS is to set the GOALS, a rather obvious starting point. We know the goal, purpose or aim is critical for a number of reasons but primarily it provides us with the reminder of what it is we are working on, what needs to be achieved. It makes sure all future conversation is relevant to achieving the goal. With GENIUS coaching, there are three types of goals to set.
By using this three step approach to goal setting, it provides the coachee with consistency and focus for making things happen and with a clear understanding of why they need to do things. The key skill for the coach is managing and setting the aspirational goal. Energy Once the aspirational goal and the session goal (or goals) has been set, the next part of GENIUS coaching is to look at the ENERGY of the coachee. They may want to achieve something that is far reaching for them but do they really have the energy? The desire to achieve and the energy to do something can sometimes be poles apart. Get the client to rate their energy levels to make this work, perhaps by giving a score out of 10. Without the genuine energy to achieve the goal, is the goal the right one in the first place? Another useful tool to use here, again thanks to Jenny Rogers, is to ask how motivated they are about achieving the goals. A rating of 1 to 10 equally helps give some indication of possible investigation. A useful read on the importance of personal energy is the high performance pyramid by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz (2003). The focus of the model is the importance and connectivity in the four energy levels: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. The theme is not so much about how you manage your time but how you manage (and control) your personal energy. Really helpful in probing commitment to achieving an aspiration. Nurture Once goals have been established and the energy levels checked to achieve them, you then need to NURTURE the range of opportunities and options. This is very much the Options stage of GROW. This again is where the questioning, listening, summarising and creative thinking skills of the coach come into play. Your ability to brainstorm, encourage creative thinking; thinking of things that are really off the wall, never been done before are absolutely critical. When nurturing ideas, this ideally should be treated in the same way as a pure brainstorming session. Pull out the ideas, don’t critique to early, set the parameters linked to the objectives and work through some of the ideas. This is also a great time to use challenging and creative thinking tools such as de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats (data, emotion, negativity, positiveness, feel good, innovative thinking and process). Once you have looked at each idea, work through and prioritise the key actions that came out of the nurturing process. Priority action one is the way forward. Options two, three and four – potential back up ideas. From the Six Thinking Hats model you will then be able to move into the next stage of GENIUS coaching thanks to the identifying emotions and negatives from the red and black hat discussions. Inhibitors That’s because you need to revisit the agreed priority actions from the nurturing stage and identify the INHIBITORS. That is, what is going to stop the ideas from working? This is really powerful as you seek out the negatives. It’s those negatives that you then address with the client to establish how they will be tackled should they arise. I guess the development of the cunning Plan B scenario. We are great at planning the perfect life with Plan A. Unfortunately life’s not perfect. Therefore it makes sense to anticipate inhibitors. Manage them into positives. It’s worthwhile at this point revisiting your nurtured actions to see if they need revising to reflect the points identified in the inhibitors stage of the session. Utopia So, we now know what we want, how much energy the client has to achieve their goal, we’ve generated some great ideas and have identified the potential problems and the likely responses. If all works fantastically well then… UTOPIA; an imagined perfect place or state of things. This is where the coaches Neuro Linguistic Programming knowledge comes more into play. Can you get the individual to visually, auditory and kinaesthetically imagine their Utopia once the goals will be achieved? This is a powerful tool to make the end result of a coaching session feel real. It’s what turns that aspiration into the reality. Visioning, recording or feeling that end goal gives the goal life. It puts Utopia in the mind of the individual. I have even gone so far as to encourage clients to make that picture real – getting or drawing a close or true to life image and then placing it in eye sight at their desk. Weird I know but it definitely works. For the auditory types, a written statement always at hand seems to have the same effect. We’re back to the immense importance of goals. Once they look and feel real, once we are emotionally attached to them, they will become real. Developing, writing down and imagining goals is an essential role of the coach to get the client to understand this. Steps Finally, the coaching session is rounded off by summarising the STEPS to be taken by the coachee. What will they do between now and the next session? These are developed by writing SMART (specific, measurable, realistic, agreed and timed) Action Goals and clarifying the actual steps to take to achieve the Action Goals. I guess in the good old day that was called action planning. So there you have it. Yet another wonderful tool for coaching. The very simple GENIUS coaching model. It’s about pushing ambition and creativity further for creative people, exploring amazing and varied opportunities and imagining the realities of what success will look, feel or sound like. Obviously I know this model may not be perfect for some, that’s the beauty of the business we’re in. If we were all perfect then we wouldn’t have anybody to coach. The GENIUS Coaching Model G – Goals to be achieved E – Energy to achieve the goals N – Nurturing and exploring options to achieve the goals I – Inhibitors that may arise on the way to achieving goals U – Utopia when the goals will be achieved S – Steps to be taken to achieve the goals GENIUS coaching has been developed by Alec McPhedran Chard FCIPD, Chtd Mngr CMI, MAC, MCMI, as a tool for people who coach; to guide them through an inspirational and wide reaching coaching session for talented creative people. Alec is trainer, coach and mentor in the creative sector. For further information visit www.mcphedran.co.uk An Overview of the Pareto Principle
Do you know what contributes to your successes or your results? If you do know, how well therefore do you plan and prioritise those as key actions to be completed or areas to focus on? Understanding the Pareto Principle is a great planning tool to help you focus on the important things. Here, creative sector coach and trainer Alec McPhedran shares his thoughts on the Pareto Principle. The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule or the law of the vital few, states that roughly 80% of the effects or results come from 20% of the causes or inputs. This principle is named after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed in 1895 that approximately 80% of Italy's land was owned by 20% of the population. Since Pareto’s findings, academics have applied Pareto’s 80/20 rule of cause and effect, also known as the Pareto principle, to a variety of situations outside of wealth distribution, including business principles, planning and professional development. It highlights the imbalanced distribution of outcomes, suggesting that a significant majority of the outcomes are driven by a relatively small portion of the inputs. For example, in business, the Pareto Principle implies that roughly 80% of a company's profits come from 20% of its customers, services or products. In project management, it suggests that 80% of the project's results are achieved through 20% of the effort and resources invested. In personal productivity, it implies that 80% of your results come from 20% of activities or tasks. It's important to note that the specific ratio of 80/20 is not always exact and can vary. It serves as a general guideline rather than a rigid rule. The key insight is that a small portion of the causes or inputs have a disproportionately significant impact on the outcomes. Specific highlights are: The 80/20 rule is a statistical rule that states that 80% of outcomes result from 20% of causes The 80/20 rule can help determine how to best allocate time, money, effort or resources When using the 80/20 rule, people try to prioritise the 20% of activity that give the greatest results Examples of the 80/20 Rule
By recognising and applying the Pareto Principle, individuals and organizations can focus their efforts and resources on the critical few aspects that generate the majority of the desired results. This approach allows for more efficient allocation of time, energy, and resources, leading to increased productivity and effectiveness. How do I use the Pareto Principle? To effectively use the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, in your personal or professional life, you could follow these steps: Identify the key factors: Start by identifying the areas or factors where the Pareto Principle is likely to apply. This could be in terms of tasks, customers, products, time, or any other relevant aspect that influences your outcomes Analyse the data: Collect data or information related to these factors. This could involve examining sales figures, customer data, project metrics, or any other relevant data source. Analyse the data to identify patterns or trends Apply the 80/20 analysis: Apply the Pareto Principle by identifying the vital few. Determine the factors or inputs that contribute the most to the desired outcomes. Look for the 20% of causes that drive 80% of the effects. For example, if you're analysing customer data, identify the top 20% of customers who generate 80% of your revenue Focus on the vital few: Once you have identified the critical factors, concentrate your efforts, resources, and attention on them. Allocate your time, energy, and resources in a way that maximizes the impact of the vital few. This could mean prioritizing your high-value customers, focusing on your most profitable products, or streamlining processes that contribute the most to your goals Streamline or eliminate the trivial many: The Pareto Principle also highlights that a large portion of the causes or inputs may have a minimal impact on the outcomes. Identify the trivial many, the 80% of causes that contribute only 20% of the effects, and evaluate whether they are worth the investment. Streamline or eliminate nonessential tasks, customers, products, or processes that don't significantly contribute to your desired results Regularly review and adapt: The Pareto Principle is not a one-time analysis but an ongoing process. Continuously monitor and review your data, outcomes, and resource allocation to ensure you are still focusing on the vital few. Market conditions, priorities, and other factors may change over time, so regularly reassess and adapt your strategies accordingly By applying the Pareto Principle, you can optimize your efforts, resources, and decision-making to achieve more significant results with less wasted time and resources. Alec McPhedran Chtd Fellow CIPD, Chtd Mngr CMI, MAC, MCMI is a creative coach, mentor and trainer. He specialises in one to one coaching, facilitated learning, media training and career coaching. For further information, contact Alec at www.mcphedran.co.uk. Copyright © Alec McPhedran 2024 |
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