3D Juggling 447: Formula 1 Team

September 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Lynn writes “The other day Jane and I were working on a tender together for some work in a large public sector organisation. We were trying to explain “transformational facilitation” – a way of working that can lead individuals and groups into territory that is so new they may not even have dreamed of it.

In organisations, work can be like driving a formula 1 racing car – fast and furious, exhilarating and most of the time pretty scary. You have to rely on your team at every pit stop to give you sustaining fuel and to change your tyres to those that are most appropriate for the conditions on the track.
What we do at 3D is help managers to experientially learn to drive at break neck speed if necessary and to enjoy the buzz. We work with the whole team to understand their roles at pit stops and to determine the fuel and tyres correctly. The transformational piece is when individuals and teams are able to see that they have fair weather and wet tyres and can be innovative and change or adapt these to be for oil spillage or snow. Or can look at a different formation of the tyres they already use, 2 wet at the front 2 fair at the back or perhaps diagonal placement…..!

If you look at the Brawn team they have challenged the status quo in the racing world by making adaptations to their car which are so effective people want to make them illegal as others can’t compete!

Calculated risk is what makes individuals and organisations grow as Peter Sauber (owner of the Sauber Formula 1 team) said: “It is the head and not the foot that is instrumental in any one driver’s achievement. Few consider that.”

Do you want to work with your team to consider how to “use their heads” in a new and innovative way – from a completely different perspective?”

© 2009 3D Coaching Ltd
May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

Filed Under: teams Tagged With: ,

3D Juggling 446: The Moors in the morning

September 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Claire writes: ‘Travelling over the moors into Sheffield early in the morning last week was beautiful. Crisp and bright with an azure blue sky, it was a very different experience from my last journey on that road which I have written about before. That night had been dark and wet and at the end of a long day, even with Satnav, the journey was stressful. I can now tell you that there are two junctions on the road that can take you by surprise and I am confident that I would be fine now driving in the dark up there.

Finding your way in the pitch dark is far easier when you are familar with the route in the light. That’s what we do every day: Talk with individuals or groups and help them see their context in the light of day… so that when they return to their workplace they see it in a different way. You can learn to take a different perspective yourself. You may need to get away from the day to day stuff at work to do that. Think about the situation as you see it and then consider it as other people see it. If you’re visual, try drawing a diagram of all the players in the story and look at the situation from each of their perspectives. If you’re in a coffee shop, try using the sugar to map out what’s going on! Because our level of confidence to manage difficult situations increases when we have a broader understanding of what the situation looks like.’

© 2009 3D Coaching Ltd May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

Filed Under: 8 Creating Awareness, Managing Tasks Tagged With:

3D Juggling 445: Treating people right

September 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Jane writes: ‘I was working with a client recently, helping them to think about how they could respond to some feedback from staff about their experience of working in a team that she leads. We explored several options and when she had decided how to start, she said “You know, I tried to get support to do this three years ago, but my organisation bought in expensive external consultants who didn’t tell us anything that we didn’t already know. Nothing improved as a result of that”.

Later the same day I was reading an article about lessons that have been learned from previous recessions, and came across the following quote from Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric: ‘The best people move when times get better if you don’t treat them right.’
So what does ‘treating people right’ look like? One way to find out is to ask them, and that’s just what my client decided to do. Instead of relying on her interpretation of feedback from a sample of staff who completed a Staff Survey, she will give all staff opportunities to describe what being treated better would mean for them. The next step will be to engage them in taking responsibility for bringing about changes that they can achieve by adapting their behaviour, therefore influencing change in others.

When we help people to say what they need to say about things that are important to them we are treating them right. When we follow this up by helping them to bring about improvements, rather than relying on others to take action, we treat them even better.

Love this? Do us a favour and send it to five people. Who thinks like you? You could send it to someone who leads a team.

© 2009 3D Coaching Ltd May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

Filed Under: teams Tagged With: , , ,

3D Juggling 444: Sirens

September 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Claire writes: ‘My Dad has always told me: ‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch’. Nevertheless, there seem to be plenty of offers around at the moment about making money in the recession. You’re even supposed to be able to pay money and eliminate your debts.

‘There’s nothing new under the sun’, says the Bible. At work or at home, there’s plenty to learn from Ulysees in the current climate. He had to travel home from his adventures and was warned by Circe to watch out for Sirens. The Sirens were nymphs with the power to charm by their song all who heard them, so that mariners were impelled to throw themselves into the sea and die. Ulysses was told to fill the ears of his seamen with wax, so that they would not hear the music; to have himself tied to the mast, and to tell his people, whatever he might say or do, not to release him until they had passed the Sirens’ island. Ulysses obeyed. As they approached the island, the sea was calm, and they heard music so amazing that Ulysses struggled to get loose and begged to be released. The people tied him harder and the ship held its course.

So if you’re being offered the equivalent of a free lunch, where are the sirens?’

Love this? Do us a favour and send it to five people. Who thinks like you? You could send it to someone who loves greek mythology!

© 2009 3D Coaching Ltd May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

Filed Under: working with people Tagged With:

3D Juggling 443: Take cover

September 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Claire writes: ‘I’m back to work after 5 weeks off when Lynn and Jane have been covering all the goings on at 3D. When other people cover, it’s a great way of noticing whether or not your systems are working – does everyone know what they need to know? It’s also a good test of delegation. If you’ve just come back from holiday, is there anything that you don’t need to take back? And are there different ways you need to share information which will make things easier in the future?

Covering for others is also a great way of exploring whether or not there is appeal in a post like theirs, and a chance to stretch your skills into new areas which can really help your CV and future job applications. So if you’ve been covering for someone else, what can you do now that you couldn’t do before? Make sure you get that down on your CV.

Apart from relief, what do you need to remember from your experience of cover over the holiday period?’

Love this? Do us a favour and send it to five people. Who thinks like you? You could send it to someone who needs to read it!
© 2009 3D Coaching Ltd May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

Filed Under: leadership Tagged With: , ,