Transforming Performance – The Six Steps That Can Help

I have been reading David Rock’s book on “Quiet Leadership, Six Steps to Transforming Performance at Work”.  This book is all about improving someone’s ability to think better and thus perform better.  For anyone that manages people this book is for you!  Here are the six steps:

1. Think about Thinking
2. Listen for Potential
3. Speak with Intent
4. Dance Toward Insight
5. Create New Thinking
6. Follow Up

As I read more about the brain and use the findings in my own coaching practice I am amazed at how logical and acceptable the steps above really are.

For the next five postings I will share my insights with you on how these six steps are presented and how you can use them to become a better manager, thinker, problem solver, mentor and person.

A few things to share going into this topic is knowing that our minds are orderly and we attempt to find order in everything we do.  We have a wealth of information stored in our brains.  Some is in short term or active  memory and some in long term memory.  Our past has influence on the way we think and no two people think the same way.

The first step – Think about Thinking

Utilizing this first step will help you to shift focus from problem thinking  to solution focus.  The goal with this step is to improve the way people are thinking.  Sounds like a big jump but when you break down the steps like Rock does in his book it is really quite simple.  Rather than telling a person what to do you want to help them think for themselves.  If you can’t master this technique then the other steps are really useless.  However, I believe anyone can do it!

This step is all about challenging the person to come up with their own ideas and solutions.  We hire people because of the knowledge they have and the contributions that they can make to the company.  With this being the case, we need to help them to use their brains to arrive at answers.  Each of us is unique and we all think about things differently.  This can be linked to childhood, genetics and other factors, but the important factor is knowing that everyone thinks in different ways.

Asking the right questions will unleash potential in anyone.  We don’t have to have the answer and shouldn’t. We want the other person to come up with answers for themselves.  When an idea or solution comes from the person themselves they have more buy in for making it happen.   As an example, I could tell you want to do and you would do it.  But, if I help you to come up with options  on your own, you are more excited and willing to follow through to make your idea blossom! There is actually a chemical reaction in the body which assists the person moving forward, they have ownership for their thoughts and actions.  You want to support people to come up with their own answers or to find their own sources for arriving at an answer.

When asking questions, you want to stay away from asking “why”.  This only puts the person on the defensive and allows for the stories to come about.  If you change your questioning techniques to using more “What and How” type questions you are allowing the person to think for themselves and come up with possible solutions.  The term used for this approach is “self directed learning”.     There is energy behind the insight and that energy is powerful!

I love what David said ” …a maker that points to situations when a self-directed approach is going to be useful: any time you feel yourself about to give advice or about to tell a person what you would do, or wanting to share your experience or opinion.”  This is the proper time to use the self-directed learning approach.

To sum up this step, let the other person do the thinking.  Your job is to set the stage in a manner that allows them to feel secure and supported.  Ask the right type of questions and focus on the solution not the problem.

Interested in the book?  Click on the picture above.

Looking for the Perfect Solution?

Procrastination is a powerful thing.  If you find yourself faced with a problem and you do nothing, you know that the problem with not go away.  In fact it may continue to grow.

Problems can take on a life of their own.  Have you ever had a problem start to multiple?  What was one problem is now two, three or more.  Everywhere you turn this seemingly little problem is present in some form or another.

As an example, take an employee  that is missing work or in some other way not following the rules of engagement.  You let the actions of the person go because you feel the problem will right itself.  It doesn’t – instead you begin to see other people missing work, deadlines or doing faulty work.  The original employee may still be just missing work but now you have other problems with more employees.

You could ask yourself the question “why” and that may be an option.  But as you are asking yourself that question the problem continues to grow. What is a better way to handle the problem? Have a plan and stick to the plan.

When we do nothing we are also causing undue stress to ourselves. (add that to the growing problems list).  When we make up a plan and then stick to it we reduce the stress and allow not only ourselves but others to see that we are in motion to find a solution.  Your plan does not have to be perfect and many times you will need to make adjustments based on circumstances.   However, you are taking the steps to find the solution and that is powerful.