The summer is here and for many of us, it has been time for a break.

Perhaps even the time for a shift.

The summer break is often a great time to slow down a bit and reflect on life. On where we are, and where we are going.

Am I really the person, I want to be? Am I doing what I want to do? And am I in control of my own life?

I’ve had the privilege of partnering with some great people over the years―so full of potential―coaching them and helping them navigate through some critical life and career transitions and changes happening. I call it a “privilege” because, witnessing someone’s shift to becoming who and what they want, finding their purpose and meaning and reaching for their true potential in life is very personal and yes… a true privilege.

“When shifts and transitions in life shake you to the core, see that as a sign of greatness that’s about to occur.” – Anonymous

In previous blog articles, I have written about the differences between the terms change and transition.

How we during life face many external circumstances, events or situations (changes) like critical illness, being involved in a car crash, a change of a job, being fired, or even saying our last goodbye to a family member who passed away^[1].

Transitions―the human side of change―are the psychological reorientations and shifts that we go through when we internalise and come to terms with what a change brings in terms of a new reality, identity, or values even^[1].

An example could be a leader who faces an external circumstance, a promotion at work, to become a first-time manager, a leader of others. This new manager will undergo a leadership role transition, where they will need to learn new leadership skills or competencies and unlearn old ones, as well as learn different new ways of spending their time and focusing on what brings the most value in the role and to the organisation.

In this blog article, I will discuss some of my insights as a coach, working with several clients on navigating life transitions as inspiration (important: client confidentiality is protected).

Social identities.

Often when I begin a conversation with someone, I don’t know at a dinner party, at a conference, or at a social event, the first thing people ask me is “what do you do?”.

They are referring to what my job is, my role and employment.

I do the same sometimes.

So, instead of asking “who are you?”, we ask “what do you do?”.

Can you notice the difference?

It relates well to transitions, e.g. when you lose your job (what you do), you might lose your social identity, which you attached to the job and context you were in. What you valued. You will be ending your previous self-understanding of having that specific role and responsibility. And you will go through a time to reorient, and needing to discover your potentially new identity to begin something new.

We all have different social identities (how you define or categorise yourself as a member of groups).

And what often happens when our lives are too connected to a single social identity, e.g. our job role, we may loose the direction in our life, if we lose that specific job. We lose our identity.

If we turn back to the questions from before, one of the key questions that can help us during transitions is therefore “who am I?”. It is also a much more interesting question to ask someone we want to get to know at different social events.

When we face transitions in life―major shifts we have to psychologically come to terms with―I often experience how people become worried about what it all means, a sense of loss of identity or perception of oneself.

They loose their sense of “who am I?”

It can be useful to consider this question and life transitions through the lens of self-discrepancy theory, which was developed by Edward Tory Higgins^[2].

In his Psychological Review article, Edward Tory Higgins found that individuals compare their ‘actual’ self to different internal standards called ‘ideal’ self and ‘ought’ self^[2]. So, when you have discrepancies between your actual and ideal self-states (idealised beliefs of your own or others’ hopes, wishes, or aspirations for you based on experiences in life) it leads to emotions like dissapointment, dissatisfaction, and even sadness^[2]. Inconsistencies between your actual and ought to self-states (who you or others’ believe you should be or become when it comes to duties, responsibilities, or obligations) is associated with emotional discomfort like fear, threat, and restlessness^[2].

So, overall, self-discrepancy is if you have gaps between two of these self-states, which leads to negative emotions^[2].

I often come across such discrepancies in conversations with people. And these discrepancies may even be reinforced when we undergo different life transitions.

The self-discrepancy theory can help you reflect on the question “who am I?” and categorize your social identities.

Are there any discrepancies between your self-states and the narratives about yourself. Becoming aware of these and exploring them can help in overcoming often challenging transitions.

When facing changes, we may worry about what it’ll all mean to me. Can I identify with the new situation?

The key word here is worries. I experience that a lot, when going through life transitions, many of us worry about the future and how it will all impact us. We are concerned about the consequences for us.

During the summer, I read the great book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind from 2015 by Yuval Noah Harari^[3]. It lays out the amazing history of human evolution (homo sapiens) through The Cognitive Revolution (~70,000 years ago), The Agricultural Revolution (~12,000 years ago), The Scientific Revolution (~500 years ago), and The Industrial Revolution (~200 years ago).

Harari (2015) describes how we humans went from hunter-gatherer lifestyles and a day-to-day focus on getting something to eat from plants and animals^[3]. Surviving in nature was a big part of the life-style. However, their lifestyle was more worry-free, because they focused on the present moment, ignoring the future, compared to when we humans transitioned to settled agriculture^[3]. Humans began growing wheat and domesticated plants and animals, leading to worrying about the long-term future, annual agricultural cycles of crops, and how to have food enough for next year^[3].

Historically, the agricultural work was very demanding and the mental transition and focus on working hard became the new future^[3]. According to Harari (2015), this layed the foundation for the burnout, stress, and worrysome societies we have today^[3].

And perhaps this relates to why life transitions can become challenging because we concern too much about the future instead of spending the time in the present moment and on what we can control. The hunter-gatherers showed us how to do it as we can only do something in the present moment.

Hence, if we compare our actual self with the ideal or ought to self-states, then focus on small changes you can do day-to-day that will get you there. Or if your social identities are aligned to who you are and want to be.

Now, let’s consider how this can all be related to happiness.

What determines your happiness?

During my training to become a Hintsa Performance Certified Coach, I’ve been introduced to some exciting research articles and background on happiness (well-being).

In their research article Pursuing Happiness: The Architecture of Sustainable Change, Lyubomirsky et al. (2005) found that there are several factors that contribute to sustainable happiness (see Figure 1)^[4]:

• Genetics (or the set point) accounts for ~50% of our happiness
• Circumstances (external life events and environment) accounts for ~10% of our happiness (e.g. childhood trauma, wealth, health, relationships, job change etc.)
• Intentional activities (yourself and own behavioral and mental actions) accounts for ~40% of our happiness

Later research has found that our own intentional activities or our behavioral and mental actions and effort don’t account for as much as ~40% of happiness, but they still seem to highly influence well-being^[5].

In other words, when we face changes (external circumstances happening), we have a big influence through our behaviors and mental models on our well-being.

So, in coaching conversations, we often explore these behavioral patterns, assumptions, and beliefs to build self-awareness. We can then connect it to any self-state discrepancies and social identities.

It may be helpful in such conversations to map your different social identities, e.g. parent, academic researcher, leader etc. and then connect these to skill sets of these identities.

Our social identities and perception of self-states affect our life transitions and well-being.

P.S. Who are you? What are your social identities? Any self-state discrepancies? Share your thoughts below.

References.
^[1]Bridges, W. (1988) Bridges Transition Model. Bay Area: William Bridges Associates. Available at: Bridges Transition Model (wmbridges.com) (Accessed 25 December 2022).
^[2]Higgins, E. T. (1987) Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect, Psychological Review, 94(3), pp. 319–340. Available at: APA PsychNet (psychnet.apa.org). (Accessed 15 July 2025).
^[3]Harari, Y. N. (2015) Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. 3rd edn. Denmark: Lindhardt and Ringhof, pp.109-110.
^[4]Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M. and Schkade, D. (2005) Pursuing Happiness: The Architecture of Sustainable Change, Review of General Psychology, 9(2), pp. 111–131. Available at: Sage Journals (sagepub.com). (Accessed 15 July 2025).
^[5]Sheldon, K. M. and Lyubomirsky, S. (2019) Revisiting the Sustainable Happiness Model and Pie Chart: Can Happiness Be Successfully Pursued? The Journal of Positive Psychology, 16(2), pp. 145–154. Available at: Taylor & Francis Online (tanfonline.com). (Accessed 15 July 2025).

The post How to navigate life transitions: Insights from a coach appeared first on Christian Madsen Academy.

And moreover, the top 100 companies with the highest well-being have also outperformed the S&P 500 and Dow Jones markets by ~20% since 2021^[2,3].

Why is it then that well-being is often still neglected for unsustainable push/speed that leads to constant survival mode..?!

One key reason? Leadership that, while well-intended, overlooks well-being.

For yourself as a leader. For your teams. And organizationally.

Shifting from survival mode to sustainable success, above all, starts with leaders prioritizing well-being—not as an afterthought, but as a core strategy.

Leading well-being is a key differentiator, an enabler of performance and organizational growth.

As part of my continued 9-month coach training with Hintsa Performance to become a Hintsa Performance Certified Coach in 2025, I’m entering an exciting new coaching phase in August.

It’s been a powerful experience so far — for instance learning Hintsa’s holistic methods of human performance, well-being, and personal development.

We are working with the Hintsa’s Circle of Better Life that emphasizes the core (your inner motivation to change), physical activity, general health (your overall health), nutrition, mental energy, biomechanics (optimizing your body’s movement), and sleep & recovery^[4].

These are the same methods that have helped F1 drivers, Fortune 500 executives, and top talent all over the world thrive and perform accordingly at the highest level — and now I’m excited to bring them to life through practice coaching specifically for the programme.

That’s where you come in…

I’m looking for two committed people — ready to put it into action — to join me in a free, 5-session coaching collaboration starting this August.

Therefore this is a great opportunity if you’re:

Ready to take your well-being and performance to the next level
Curious about your inner drivers, habits, and potential
Open to change and grow
Interested in experiencing Hintsa’s approach — firsthand

Here’s what you’ll get:

→ A guided Hintsa Well-being Assessment
→ 5 x 60-minute 1:1 coaching sessions (virtual)
→ All sessions free of charge / pro bono
→ Full confidentiality

Interested?
Send me a message by 4 July 2025 the latest with answers to these two questions:

1. Who are you?
2. What do you want to accomplish in terms of well-being and performance?

I’ll personally review every submission and follow up to select the two clients.

Coaching start dates:

𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 #𝟏 – Begins in the week of 11 August.
𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 #𝟐 – Begins in the week of 18 August.

I am looking forward to partnering with you!

𝐏.𝐒. Know someone who might benefit from this experience? Feel free to share this with them.

Photo credit: Giacomo Berardi, Unsplash.com.

References.
^[1]World Economic Forum (2025) The Future of Jobs Report 2025. Available at: The Future of Jobs Report 2025 (weforum.org). (Accessed 7 June 2025).
^[2]Le Pertel, N. (2023) Sustainable competitive advantage, Hintsa Performance White paper: Wellbeing Strategy, pp. 4-12. Available at: Wellbeing Strategy (hintsa.com). (Accessed 7 June 2025).
^[3]De Neve, J-E., Kaats, M. and Ward, G. (2023) Workplace Wellbeing and Firm Performance, Wellbeing Research Centre, University of Oxford, Working Paper Series (2304): pp. 1-42. Available at: Wellbeing Research Centre, Oxford (ora.ox.ac.uk). (Accessed 7 June 2025).
^[4]Hintsa Performance (2025) Circle of Better Life. Available at: Our method – Circle of Better Life (hintsa.com). (Accessed 7 June 2025).

The post Optimize your well-being and performance? Join FREE 5-session coaching opportunity appeared first on Christian Madsen Academy.

Still today, some leaders believe that better performance should focus on “maximum effort = maximum results”, but that’s an outdated way of thinking about performance that doesn’t work like that in reality^[1].

In fact, well-being and optimal performance are interconnected.

Balancing personal well-being needs with the push for business needs and short-term performance is a challenging leadership paradox, which contains contradicting, yet interrelated objectives^[2].

Leading such challenging paradoxes fails if leaders and organizations don’t begin to really recognize that optimal performance requires a strong foundation of well-being for individuals and teams.

And then make the necessary changes structurally, systemically and through leadership behaviors to make well-being a strategic priority.

If that connection between well-being and performance continues to be neglected it results in sad outcomes such as bad stress and burnout affecting not only the individuals, but also their teams and broader their families.

In a Harvard Business Review article, Greg McKeown highlights that the widespread burnout culture nowadays requires a shift in mindset and culture among leaders and organizations everywhere^[1].

Leading such paradoxes is definitely challenging and in this first blog article of 2025, I will discuss how leading well-being will positively affect sustainable performance in organizations.

Well-being and Performance.

Employees who have a good optimal level of personal well-being are far more likely to perform well at work^[3]. Research has found that meeting employees’ well-being needs results in around 1,25x greater engagement, 2x higher energy, and more than 2x more loyalty to the employer^[4].

Furthermore, engagement has been positively correlated with company profitability^[4]. In a Gallup meta-analysis of 263 research studies across 192 companies, the companies with the most engaged employees were 22% more profitable than those with the least engaged employees^[4].

A recent working paper by Oxford University from 2023 have also found that the top 100 companies with the highest well-being outperformed the S&P 500 and Dow Jones markets by approximately 20% since 2021^[3,5].

That is amazing, really!

But, not surprising.

I have included the latest Work Well-being 100 and Stock Performance overview compared to the markets from 2021-2024 below (Figure 1).

Notes: Simulated simple wellbeing-based investment strategy by Oxford, starting with $1000 in the top Work Wellbeing 100 companies in January 2021, which would have grown to $1,533 by July 2024 compared with $1,479, $1,408, and $1,401 had they invested instead in the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, or Russell 3000, respectively^[5,6].

As you can see from Figure 1, the top 100 companies with the highest well-being impressively continued to perform better into 2024 than the S&P 500, Russel 3000 Index and Nasdaq Composite markets^[6].

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, who is the Professor of Economics at Saïd Business School and Director of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, also recognizes that “research consistently shows that how we feel at work matters. It deeply impacts our general well-being as well as company financial performance”^[6].

Overall, it shows that leading well-being is a critical foundation for optimal performance, also financially.

Let’s have a look at how optimal effort and performance works in the next part.

Optimal Human Performance.

In 1908, the researchers Yerkes and Dodson introduced a model for human performance, known as the Yerkes-Dodson law, showing that too much stress leads to burnout, while too little leads to boreout^[7]. 

The sweet spot for optimal performance lies somewhere in between, around the middle (see Figure 2).

To perform well and be well, we need to oscillate between the stretch zone and the comfort zone, with intentional moments of recovery and renewal^[2].

And research shows that what actually works is the 85% rule, aiming for 85% effort (not 100%) to get better performance individually and as a team^[1].

We know that from sports, when we need a rest after a strenuous training session to come back stronger, also known as supercompensation where you create balanced work-rest ratios^[9].

Yet in many organizations, that cycle of recovery and renewal is often overlooked.

Instead, we push ourselves—and are pushed—to maximum effort, firefighting in survival mode year after year, sacrificing sleep, physical activity and personal well-being. 

This approach inevitably leads to burnout (see bell curve in Figure 2).

“Well-being is both the foundation of and result of achievement^[2]“

Aristotle

But boreout—the state of feeling underchallenged and finding work meaningless—is just as critical.

And, we often in organizations fail to notice boreout, which can also happen.

Boreout, often mistaken for a lack of motivation, is the opposite of burnout: a psychological state of boredom and apathy.

It leads to lower performance, decreased productivity, and job dissatisfaction.

Surprisingly, boreout is not a lack of motivation altogether. Boreout is actually a sign of untapped potential. 

People who are bored at work are motivated to do more, not less.

Preventing boreout and burnout is in my opinion about plain old good leadership: aligning tasks with strengths, providing challenges that stretch people, and creating meaningful work.

In the next section, let us explore some key elements of leading well-being.

Leading Well-Being is Leading Optimal Performance.

Earlier, we saw how higher levels of well-being and engagement positively affect individual, team and company performance.

Gallup research shows that leaders account for as much as 70% of the variance in employee engagement, and engagement is one of several performance variables^[10]. And if personal well-being needs are met it also positively affect engagement, which again positively impacts performance^[4].

Now, what does this all mean to leaders and organizations?

Well, given that leaders have such a significant impact on engagement and performance, it’s clear that their role in leading well-being is essential.

And individual team members also have a responsibility to react and change the situation, when something is out of tune. If the work you are doing is not meaningful to you, if you are not learning, if you feel overworked or not stretched.

Today’s leaders are facing unprecedented challenges and responsibilities.

As business environments continue to evolve, leaders must adopt a more versatile approach to leading teams. The pace of change continues to increase. So, lot’s of pressures, demands, different contexts and paradoxes need to be handled and led.

In their 2021 white paper The Future of Work & Wellbeing, Hintsa Performance (a world-leading performance coaching company) projected that the evolving role of leaders will be to lead optimal performance^[2].

Let’s pause for a moment and say those words to ourselves as we read them.

Leaders have a continuously evolving role of leading optimal performance.

In my opinion this is an increasingly critical aspect of leadership, which connects well with the emerging trend since the COVID-19 pandemic of more humanistic leadership.

So, let’s now explore how leaders can actively influence the well-being of their teams.

Firstly, well-being is something very personal, subjective and holistic^[2]. To some it may be about 100% relaxation, to another person it can be to engage in intellectually stimulating activities^[2].

Yet it is important to discuss what well-being means to your organization, your team, for your individual team members.

Research shows people feel better and perform better, more sustainably if four well-being needs are met^[4,11]:

• Physical → renewal (rest, recovery, fewer inflammations, exercise, feeling energized)
• Mental → focus (learning, creativity, complex problem solving)
• Emotional & Social → value (feeling appreciated and valued, emotional balance, resilience)
• Spiritual → purpose (meaningful work, aligned with personal and company values and objectives)

Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz already wrote about these well-being needs as an ideal performance state in their excellent Harvard Business Review article The Making of a Corporate Athlete from 2001.

Below, I’ve created an adapted version of their High-Performance Pyramid (see Figure 3).

Physical well-being is the foundation of the pyramid and above that rests emotional and mental well-being, and at the top spiritual well-being, a sense of purpose^[9].

The ideal performance state can be achieved if all of the levels of the pyramid are working together according to Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz^[9]. So, to reach better long-term performance, you’ll need to tap into the positive energy at all levels of the pyramid^[9].

What I like about their holistic perspective on ideal performance, is that to perform well, you need to build a rhythmic movement (oscillation) between energy expenditure (stress) as shown in Figure 2 and energy renewal (recovery)^[9].

And to build that ideal cycle, you have to build rituals, routines and habits that promote this oscillation—the rhythmic expenditure and recovery of energy—linking the levels of the pyramid (see Figure 3)^[9].

So, leaders have to lead in ways that meet these four needs to increase personal well-being and thereby elevating performance.

This is what leading well-being is about, and that is a critical role for leaders.

Hintsa Performance gives their view on what that important role entails^[2,12]:

• Setting direction by creating and communicating clarity: Clearly communicating expectations on WHAT to achieve (goal-setting) and WHY we are to achieve that and connecting it to the organizational objectives and purpose. Clearly outlining when and why we are in temporary survival mode and when we are resting, optimizing our energy levels etc.
  
  This relates to creating meaningfulness.
  
• Acting as a role-model: Role modeling your own working style and well-being, so others feel safe to create their own. You have a great influence as a leader, so your approach to when you are sending e-mails, if you are ever off work etc. affect what your team does.
  
  This relates to meaningfulness and to some extent creating a space where people feel valued.
  
• Leading the fundamentals of intrinsic motivation: Leading the long-term drivers of well-being, which are the fundamentals of intrinsic motivation:
  
  – Meaningfulness (connecting everyday work to personal meaning and the subscribed mission)
  – Autonomy (giving team members freedom to do their work in the best possible way)
  – Competence (the feeling of skill, accomplishment and mastery related to a feeling of doing well)
  – Relatedness (the relationships, atmosphere and support of working with trustworthy colleagues)
  
  These all connects well to the before-mentioned four well-being needs.

I couldn’t agree more with these aspects of leading well-being.

If you as a leader communicate clarity of the direction, connecting it to what that means to your team members’ day-to-day work tasks and how they each contribute to the objectives, then you create more meaningfulness.

Delegating work to the best of your team members’ strengths, ensuring they move between comfort and stretch, so they can flourish, learn, grow and master skills, while having the freedom to do their best work, will positively affect their motivation and well-being.

Creating an atmosphere, relationships and a space where the team members feel valued, appreciated, safe, supported and trusted will also make them trust you.

Leading well-being is the foundation to leading optimal performance!

P.S. How are you using well-being as a catalyst for high performance in your team? Share your thoughts below.

References.
^[1]McKeown, G. (2023) To Build a Top Perming Team, Ask for 85% Effort, Harvard Business Review. Available at: Organizational Decision Making (hbr.org). (Accessed 15 June 2023).
^[2]Pohjakallio, P. (2021) The Future of Wellbeing, Hintsa Performance White paper: The Future of Work & Wellbeing: Trends to get right for sustainable and healthy high-performance work, pp. 20-28. Available at: The Future of Work & Wellbeing (hintsa.com). (Accessed 27 December 2024).
^[3]Le Pertel, N. (2023) Sustainable competitive advantage, Hintsa Performance White paper: Wellbeing Strategy, pp. 4-12. Available at: Wellbeing Strategy (hintsa.com). (Accessed 27 December 2024).
^[4]Schwartz, T. and Porath, C. (2014) The Power of Meeting Your Employees’ Needs. Available at Harvard Business Review (hbr.org). (Accessed 29 December 2024).
^[5]De Neve, J-E., Kaats, M. and Ward, G. (2023) Workplace Wellbeing and Firm Performance, Wellbeing Research Centre, University of Oxford, Working Paper Series (2304): pp. 1-42. Available at: Wellbeing Research Centre, Oxford (ora.ox.ac.uk). (Accessed 27 December 2024).
^[6]Wellbeing Research Center (2024) Top employers revealed by new Work Wellbeing 100. Available at: Wellbeing Research Centre, Oxford (wellbeing.hmc.ox.ac.uk). (Accessed 29 December 2024).
^[7]Yerkes, R. M. and Dodson, J. D. (1908) The Relation of Strenght of Stimulus to Rapidity of Habit Formation, Journal of Comparative Neurology & Psychology 18(5): pp. 459-482. Available at: Wiley Online Library (onlinelibrary.wiley.com). (Accessed 30 December 2024).
^[8]McKeown, G. (2021) Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most, Penguin Random House, Dublin, pp. 95-98.
^[9]Loehr, J. and Schwartz, T. (2001) The Making of a Corporate Athlete, Harvard Business Review. Available at: Psychology (hbr.org). (Accessed 1 January 2025).
^[10]Harter, J. and Adkins, A. (2015) What Great Managers Do to Engage Employees, Harvard Business Review. Available at: Emotional Intelligence (hbr.org). (Accessed 30 December 2024).
^[11]Rosendahl, N. (2022) Quantifying Wellbeing, Hintsa Performance White paper: Quantifying Wellbeing: 5 Perspectives for Leaders, pp. 3-10. Available at: Quantifying Wellbeing (hintsa.com). (Accessed 27 December 2024).
^[12]Ryan, R. M. and Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. Available at: American Psychological Association (psycnet.apa.org). (Accessed 30 December 2024).

The post Leading well-being: How to achieve better, sustainable performance appeared first on Christian Madsen Academy.

And on the verge of the New Year, I’m looking ahead for new ways to continue honing my coaching and development skillset to be able to help transitioning leaders, groups, teams and high-potential professionals reach their full potential, healthy high performance, and well-being.

For years, I’ve admired the world-leading coaching company Hintsa Performance and their CEO Annastiina Hintsa, known for helping athletes and corporate leaders achieve sustainable high performance.

Therefore, I am thrilled to share the wonderful news, that I’ve been accepted to the Hintsa Coach Certification programme starting in January 2025.

After the thorough application process—including a 10-minute video motivation and an engaging online conversation—I’m excited to begin this new journey.

This comprehensive 9-month programme focuses on mastering Hintsa’s unique holistic methods of human performance, well-being, and development—proven to help Formula 1 drivers, Fortune 500 executives, and top talent perform at the top of their game.

I’m grateful for this opportunity (as it is an application-only programme), which aligns perfectly with my passion for unlocking human potential, enabling healthy high performance, and our work to coach and develop high-impact leaders and teams.

Here’s to a new year of learning.

I look forward to sharing insights and learnings as the programme unfolds!

If you need my help on your transformational journey in 2025, drop me a message and I’m here to partner with you in unfolding your true potential.

Happy New Year!

P.S. What exciting projects or goals are you setting for 2025? 

I’d love to hear what’s on your horizon!

The post Becoming a Hintsa Performance Certified Coach in 2025 appeared first on Christian Madsen Academy.

This blog article, therefore, will shortly reflect on how to be a more coaching leader.

In his great book Coaching for Performance from 1992, Sir John Whitmore, introduced the world to performance coaching and the GROW model of coaching: Goal, Reality, Options and Will or Way Forward^[1].

He introduces coaching as a key enabler of high performance, and highlights that building a coaching culture lays the foundation for success^[1].

Adopting a coaching leadership style, therefore, drives better performance and results.

In fact, he mentions how the greatest influencers of an organization’s culture are its leaders, referencing research from the Hay Group and others that show how leadership behavior affects bottom-line performance by up to 30%^[1].

So, leaders are the gatekeepers to performance^[1] and shifting the mindset towards coaching style leadership is critical to continued development, growth and high performance.

However, coachability, an individual’s willingness and ability to proactively seek, be receptive to, and act on constructive feedback to drive individual development and elevate performance, is a key part of the equation to building a coaching culture^[2,3].

Research shows that highly coachable individuals perform at a 9% higher level, are 28% more adaptable, and are 30% more promotable when they receive the same feedback and coaching as individuals, with lower coachability^[2].

So, not only the coaching, also how coachable you are, matters when it comes to elevating performance.

I couldn’t agree more.

You see this not only in organizations but also in sports—where coaching and being coachable help unfold potential, growth and achievement.

However, in organizations, leaders often fall into a more directive style, usually driven by the pressures of leadership transitions; transitioning into new roles, a desire for control, or the fear of looking bad, because they want to do well (ego).

When leaders revert to this directive style, it can lead to frustration and finger-pointing.

This often causes teams to fall into what Peter Hawkins calls BMWing^[4]:

→ Blame
→ Moan
→ Whine

We’ve all seen it, right? When things go wrong, it’s easy to fall into the trap of finding someone or something to blame.

It often happens in teams and organizations where pressures, challenges and complex problems mount up, then we may begin feeling like victims, looking for someone to blame^[4].

And it shapes the energy of teamwork.

That can lead to a “culture of blame”, which organizations need to get rid off^[1].

Because this mindset can derail learning, harm relationships, and lower performance.

Curiosity is the antidote according to Sir John Whitmore^[1]. As he notes, the coaching skill of curiosity shifts the focus from blame and judgment to opportunities for improvement^[1].

I personally see so much hidden potential being unlocked from being curious; intently listening with curiosity and empathy, asking open and curious questions, and fostering peer learning (social learning).

“Just as great athletes seek out great coaches, the best people want to work for leaders who coach them to reach their full potential and who will help them become better coaches themselves”
Bill George and Zach Clayton

In their brilliant Harvard Business Review article from 2022: Successful Leaders Are Great Coaches, Bill George and Zach Clayton argues that as new emerging leaders from Gen X, Millenials, and Gen Z generations take charge, it creates changing leadership styles, from leaders as capable managers to leaders as great coaches of people^[5].

We have over the last decade, and even in the few years since this HBR article, witnessed a change towards more humanistic leadership; empowering, empathetic, compassionate, coaching-like, and more authentic leadership.

This article touches on many of these key aspects of coaching style leadership, involving better listening, being present and genuinely interested while being authentic.

Bill George and Zach Clayton developed the acronym COACH for how leaders should work with people^[5]:

• C → Care for team members: Building understanding and trust by being open with more depth
• O → Organize work in their sweet spot: Know their strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and aspirations
• A → Align around purpose, values and direction: Uniting the team on WHAT to achieve and WHY
• C → Challenge your team to reach their full potential: Stretching people outside their comfort zone
• H → Help your team reach individual/team objectives (goals): engage with team and celebrate success

You may have noticed it already, but this acronym requires for leaders to be curious about their team members; who they are as human beings (their wants and needs, where they thrive and can bring their strengths to the team) and how they can best support and contribute (in their role and beyond).

It entails curiosity about where the team can be stretched (individually and as a team) by utilizing their strengths, empowering them for such opportunities and moving out of their way to excel, find their own solutions and way together with others (and offering your support if needed).

Furthermore, being curious about what can help make them become even better.

In his book The inner Game of Tennis from 1974, Timothy Gallwey, who was a Tennis coach, described exactly this approach about removing interference to unlock athletes’ potential and performance through reducing their inner obstacles^[1]:

Performance = Potential - Interference
(P = p - i)

Coaching to improve performance (P) by growing potential (p) and by decreasing interference (i)^[1].

So, coaching is about helping others to think and learn. Coaching style leadership is to help your team learn and grow, and from that become better and better.

How have you used curiosity to shift your own or your team’s mindset?

…to be a more coaching leader and fostering a coaching culture…

Drop a comment or send me a message—I’d love to hear your stories

P.S. In leadership, like in sports, adapting your mindset is key to success—something I’ve experienced in both organizations and extreme endurance challenges in the desert.

By staying curious about my own mindset and emotional states, as well as those of others, I’ve been able to adapt more effectively.

References.
^[1]Whitmore, S. J. (2017) Coaching for Performance, 5th ed., London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing: pp. 11-36.
^[2]Weiss, J. (2022) What is Coachability? Available at: Coachability Consultants, Inc (coachabilityconsultants.com). (Accessed 26 October 2024).
^[3]Hewes, J. (2024) The Missing 1/2 to Building a Feedback + Coaching Culture: (Coachability). Available at: Linkedin (linkedin.com). (Accessed 26 October 2024).
^[4]Hawkins, P. (2023) From Grumble to Gratitude – four steps to align with life’s agenda. Available at: Renewal Associates (renewalassociates.co.uk). (Accessed 26 October 2024).
^[5]George, B. and Clayton Z. (2022) Successful Leaders Are Great Coaches. Available at: Harvard Business Review (hbr.org). Accessed 26 October 2024).

The post Reflections on high performance and leadership: How to be a coaching leader appeared first on Christian Madsen Academy.

Whether in sports, the military, or corporate contexts, the dynamics of high-performing teams captivate us all.

Research shows that only 1 in 5 teams are high-performing^[1], making such teams rare and exceptional^[2]. In his article Do All Teams Need to be High Performing?, PhD and I/O Psychologist Gordon Curphy from Curphy Leadership Solutions argues that achieving and maintaining high performance is incredibly challenging^[2]. Therefore, for most groups and teams, improving efficiency and effectiveness are more realistic and attainable goals^[2].

Curphy points out that becoming a high-performing team may be an illusory goal for most because they often don’t invest the same care in team member selection or afford the same practice-to-perform ratio as many high-performing teams do^[2].

He raises an excellent point.

The context, the selection of team members, and the effort put into practice all affect the feasibility of building a high-performing team.

So, for most groups, it’s more valuable to aim for better efficiency and effectiveness to achieve their objectives and organizational results.

High performance should be seen as a journey rather than a destination. It’s about continuous improvement.

Team Coaching is one of many interventions that can help in building high-performance teams.

In this blog article, we’ll explore high-performing teams. Although they are rare, their journey can still inspire you on your own team development journey and leadership growth.

Let’s dive in.

Groups and Teams.

The terms “Group” and “Team” are often used interchangeably in organizations, but they refer to different constellations.

Clarifying these terms will help when discussing different stages of team development.

Here’s one way to distinguish between a group and a team^[3]:

• Group: Members focus on individual goals and accountabilities. Group members don’t take responsibility for results other than their own, as individual accountability is most important.
  
• Team: A small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.

In essence, a Team shares a common purpose and works together to achieve both individual and collective goals, holding each other accountable for the results.

A Group, on the other hand, focuses solely on individual goals and accountabilities.

Teams are critical for organizations to achieve results. But what is the ideal team size?

The answer depends on several factors, such as the task complexity, context, team composition and manager quality.

Research on optimal team sizes is not conclusive, generally suggesting 5 to 12 members, though some studies show that 5-9 team members is best^[4].

Wharton management professor Jennifer S. Mueller found that teams larger than 5 team members often experience diminishing motivation^[4]. Her research shows that individuals in larger teams perform worse than individuals in smaller teams^[5].

Further research suggests that teams of 4-6 people often excel at most tasks^[6]. The oft-cited research on the Effects of size and task type on group performance and member reactions by J.R. Hackman and N. Vidmar narrows this number to 4.6 people^[6].

Larger teams can face challenges due to increased coordination, communication and interactions needed.

So, smaller teams of 4-6 people seem to be a good rule of thumb for high performance, depending on the factors mentioned.

Next, let’s look at the different stages of team development.

Tuckman’s Team Development Stages.

Have you ever found it challenging to develop and maintain high team performance?

You’re not alone — it can indeed be challenging. All teams go through various stages of team dynamics, making it crucial for you as a leader to understand and manage these shifts to guide your team towards better performance.

Bruce Tuckman’s 5-stage team development theory offers a valuable framework to break this process down.

As shown in Figure 1, teams transition through five different stages: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning.

1. FORMING — Team is established:
   → Team meets for the first time
   → Team members get acquainted
   → Team is in an orientation phase
   ↳ Team establisment is in progress (forms)
   
2. STORMING — Embracing differences:
   → Team experiences different behaviors and ways of working
   → Tension, competition and conflicts
   → Positioning happens in the team
   → Performance temporarily dips
   ↳ Team is in a state of friction
   ↳ This is key to build high performance long-term
   
3. NORMING — Building unity:
   → Conflict resolution and mutual norms
   → Unity, trust and psychological safety emerge
   → Clarity on roles & responsibilities created
   → Strengthened collaboration
   ↳ Team performance improves
   
4. PERFORMING — high performing team:
   → Well-established team cooperation
   → Strong team cohesiveness created
   → Team is now having its highest performance (high-performing team)
   ↳ Team members commit to decisions
   ↳ Team keeps each other accountable for performance standards
   
5. ADJOURNING — Tasks completed:
   → Team has achieved its results (tasks)
   → Team may be dissolved or re-organized (team members may leave or join)
   ↳ Temporary nature of team and transition
   ↳ Team undergoes phase of mourning

Using data, such as surveys, to guide your approach to building teams is valuable.

It helps you understand how well your team is performing across different factors and stages. These inputs can inform your development interventions, like workshops and other activities.

In the next part, let’s draw inspiration from a brand new book I read over the summer: From Forming to Performing: Your Team Performance Playbook by Cary Bailey-Findley^[9].

He is the brain behind Healthy Performance Culture Consulting and his book builds directly on Tuckman’s team development stages.

From Forming to Performing.

From Forming to Performing: Your Team Performance Playbook (Figure 2) is a book tailored for leaders, HR professionals and team coaches at all levels to help master Tuckman’s team development stages^[9].

The book serves as a playbook, featuring 25 proven workshops and activities to inspire and facilitate team development.

Whether you read it from beginning to end or use it as a reference based on your team’s needs, it offers valuable insights^[9].

Each chapter corresponds to one of Tuckman’s stages, providing an overall description and around five workshops or activities for each stage that you can facilitate with your team.

Here’s a table listing each stage and the associated activities and workshops from the book^[9]:

The activities range from building understanding and trust to implementing accountability measures and feedback mechanisms to keep improving.

Below in Figure 3, you’ll find an overview capturing the focus areas for the activities and workshops for each stage from the book, that I created.

I enjoyed reading the book and found it to be a practical source of inspiration with easily implementable activities.

The book’s activities help build an understanding of each team member’s preferred ways of working, personal values, communication preferences, strengths and areas where they need support and development.

This understanding fosters diversity and contributes to building shared team purpose, vision, values and goals.

I recommend giving the book a read for yourself, hopefully you will also find inspiration for team building.

P.S. What are your best and worst examples of team building experiences?

References.
^[1]Nilsen, D. and Curphy, G. (2022) It’a Better to be Psychologically Safe Than Sorry. Available at: Talent Quarterly (talent-quarterly.com). (Accessed 23 July 2024).
^[2]Curphy, G. (2024) Do All Teams Need to be High Performing? Available at: Linkedin (linkedin.com). (Accessed 23 July 2024).
^[3)Katzenberg, J. R. and Smith D. K. (1993) The Discipline of Teams (March-April). Harvard Business Review. Available at: Harvard Business Review (hbr.org). (Accessed 23 July 2024).
^[4]Klein, K. (2006) Is Your Team Too Big? Too Small? What’s the Right Number? Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Available at: Knowledge at Wharton (knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu). (Accessed 23 July 2024).
^[5]Mueller, J.S. (2012) Why individuals in larger teams perform worse. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 117(1), pp. 111-124. Available at: ScienceDirect (sciencedirect.com). (Accessed 23 July 2024)
^[6]Hackman, J.R. and Vidmar, N. (1970) Effects of Size and Task Type on Group Performance and Member Reactions. Sociometry, 33(1), pp. 37-54. Available at: American Psychological Association (psychnet.apa.org). (Accessed 23 July 2024)
^[7]Tuckman, B.W. (1965) Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63(6), pp. 384–399. Available at: American Psychological Association (psychnet.apa.org). (Accessed 23 July 2024).
^[8]Tuckman, B.W. and Jensen, M.A. (1977) Stages of small-group development revisited. Group and Organization Studies, 2(4), pp. 419-427. Available at: American Psychological Association (psychnet.apa.org). (Accessed 23 July 2024).
^[9]Bailey-Findley, C. (2024) From Forming to Performing: Your Team Performance Playbook, Healthy Performance Culture, Denmark: pp. 1-241.

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In my opinion, feedback is an amazing two-way street for development, leading to^[1]:

• Increased engagement
• Improved employee relationships
• Reduced employee turnover rates

In fact a Gallup (2011) study of 65,672 employees found that those receiving strengths-based feedback had 14.9% lower turnover rates than the employees who didn’t receive any feedback^[1].

Furthermore, a study of 530 work units have also found that teams with leaders, who received strenths-based feedback performed 12.5% better (higher productivity) after receiving feedback than teams with leaders who didn’t receive any feedback^[1].

And this short Harvard Business Review article and research suggests that 70% of feedback recipients will perform above average^[2]. So, feedback has a great impact on organizational performance.

However, 30% of feedback interventions actually hurt performance because the feedback is poorly delivered^[2].

Try to read that for yourself once more…

30% of feedback hurt performance because it is poorly delivered!

So, leaders and organizations still struggle to build real feedback and coaching cultures.

What an amazing opportunity that is to impact performance, well-being and results in organizations.

Let us now dive into some of the mechanisms of feedback.

Effective feedback and feedforward.

Essentially feedback and feedforward should answer three different questions^[3]:

• FEED UP → Where are you going? (the goals and outcomes, e.g. WHAT to achieve and WHY).
• FEEDBACK → How are you going? (how you are doing related to what to achieve).
• FEEDFORWARD → Where to next? (influence the future; suggestions on next steps to improve).

Feedback is really a dialogue exploring situations and what is observed, intentions behind actions etc.

And feedforward is a two-way street to establish what success looks like and next steps to become better.

Feedback is supposed to be a gift and something you welcome from others also as a leader.

It sounds really simple and it is, but often it becomes challenging because of team dynamics, group dynamics and then comes power dynamics of manager-employee relationships etc.

With maturity it becomes easier to distinguish between mean-spirited negative attacks and constructive feedback and leaders have an important role in building a feedback culture of constructive feedback.

Thinking about feedback and feedforward through the lens of the above three questions, you need to answer, can make it easier to structure and grasp.

Next, let us zoom in on feedback.

What you can do to improve your “feedback muscle”.

When we talk about feedback, both receiving and giving feedback is often related with our primal brain reactions of fear; fight, flight, freeze reactions.

You may already at the outset of someone giving you feedback feel the threat (even if it is well-meaning).

You may feel attacked or threatened.

Even the word “feedback” itself can trigger those emotions for some.

That’s very normal human reactions.

And there is a way out of these emotions. Practice.

Practicing feedback in smaller scale, as often as possible, in small interactions and as part of every 1:1s, meetings and work collaboration is helpful in building and expanding your “feedback muscle”.

Begin with the less threatening feedback and making that a natural part of your interactions with others.

Then move to more challenging feedback.

I like to distinguish between two kinds of feedback (see Table 1 below).

Acknowledging feedback and developmental feedback.

Acknowledging feedback is where you recognize and acknowledge someone else’s positive behaviors.

This helps reinforce the behaviors we would like to see. At the same time it makes the feedback recipient feel valued and seen and it builds self-confidence in others.

This kind of feedback is a great place to begin exercising your “feedback muscle” as it often feels easier, safer and with less interpersonal risks.

Developmental feedback is constructive and course corrective to learn, improve and develop through self-awareness.

This is focused on what the feedback recipient needs to continue doing and it is about identifying improvement areas to do better. This is actually a gift, because it can help others become aware of their blind spots where they may negatively affect others and how they can improve skills and approaches.

Often, though, when we ask for feedback, we receive poor-quality feedback that is too generic and broad.

This great Harvard Business Review article, How to Ask for the Feedback You Really Need, points out that it is because we often request feedback that is too generic, too open and too late^[4].

If you want to move from generic to more targeted feedback, consider this three-step process^[4]:

• Choose a quarterly development area
• Select a specific skill or behavior to improve within your development area
• Ask someone to observe you working on that skill or behavior and share their feedback instantly

Targeted feedback requires more focused effort on the specific areas you want to develop to be truly effective.

With this overview, let us work with an effective feedback model called the SBI model.

How to give feedback using the SBI Model.

The SBI Model or Situation-Behavior-Impact model for feedback is a three-part model developed by the Center for Creative Leadership (see Figure 1).

This great research-based feedback model helps in closing the gap between intentions of actions and behaviors and the impact by clarifying the situation, describing the behavior and explaining the impact and — then, exploring intentions^[5].

Here’s an example of using the SBI model for your overview^[5]:

1. Situation:
   Describe the specific situation you are referring to and specify when and where it happened.
   
   Example: “Is this a good time to talk?”… “Great. At the 10.00 am team meeting this Friday (…)”
   
2. Behavior:
   Describe the actual observable behavior and what you saw and heard, not judging.
   
   Example: “You interrupted me, when I was sharing my opinion and views on our team’s collaboration (…)”
   
3. Impact:
   Describe what was the result of the behaviors, so how the behavior impacted you or others.
   
   Example: “That made me feel frustrated when you interrupted me because it made me feel like my opinions weren’t valued (…)”
   
4. EXTRA – Intent:
   Explore and ask about the person’s original intentions behind the behaviors and actions.
   
   Example: “What were your intentions of interrupting me?” … “What was going on for you there? (…)”

The SBI(I) model is quite direct and useful in reducing anxiety of delivering feedback as well as exploring and understanding the intentions we have behind our actions and behaviors, which can evoke self-awareness^[5].

To move from feedback to feedforward, you can consider to explore the question Where to next? with the person and talk about the next steps to improve this interaction and better any future situations as well as suggested ways of changing the behavior.

Now remember.

Feedback is supposed to be a gift shared with good intentions.

How you ask for and deliver feedback has a great impact on engagement, performance and continuous growth.

Feedback, feedforward and coaching skills are critical capabilities for organizations.

Make sure to hone them.

P.S. What are your best and worst examples of feedback? Share your thoughts in the comments.

References.
^[1]Asplund, J. and Blacksmith, N. (2011) The Secret of Higher Performance. Available at: Gallup (gallup.com). (Accessed 25 May 2024).
^[2]Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2015) Is How You Deliver Feedback Doing More Harm than Good? Available at: Harvard Business Review (hbr.org). (Accessed 25 May 2024).
^[3)Molloy, E. K. and Boud, D. (2013) Feedback Models for Learning, Teaching and Performance. Available at: Springer (springer.com). (Accessed 25 May 2024).
^[4]Davey, L. (2024) How to Ask for the Feedback You Really Need. Available at Harvard Business Review (hbr.org). (Accessed 25 May 2024).
^[5]Center for Creative Leadership (2022) Use Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI) to Understand Intent. Available at Center for Creative Leadership (ccl.org). (Accessed 25 May 2024).

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Deeper Signals are next-generation, innovative and scientific talent assessments.

Becoming an integrated part of most of my coaching programs to enable personal insights and self-awareness.

This means that professionals, leaders and teams can gain accurate insights into their unique talents, values and motivators. And they can embark on a personalized development journey for lasting change and impact^[1].

In Denmark, the great people from Talent Assessment Partners are the distributors of Deeper Signals.

And, I am looking very much forward to the partnership and evidence-based approach.

I am already impressed with their commitment to quality and ethics through certification training and support.

Founded in 2018 by visionaries such as Dave Winsborough, Reece Akhtar, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, and Uri Ort, Deeper Signals aims to democratize self-awareness. By integrating cutting-edge technology, extensive research and the modern science of personality, this assessment and platform strive to elevate self-awareness and drive behavior change^[1].

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, one of the founders, was formerly CEO of Hogan Assessments. He is also a well-renowned organizational psychologist and author.

In a previous blog article, I wrote about talent and realizing potential. I referenced Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic’s great book ‘The Talent Delusion: Why Data, Not Intuition, Is the Key to Unlocking Human Potential’.

If you haven’t read it already, give it a read as I can warmly recommend it. Small side note

Now, more than ever, we understand that the key to personal and team development lies in self-awareness. Without it, growth and collaboration may become a challenge. So, here’s your opportunity to begin a transformative experience beyond intuition that taps into the data-driven reality of human potential.

So, why was Deeper Talent started in a world overflooded with personality assessments?

Here are four compelling reasons, I found during my research for this blog article^[2]:

1. Creating a mobile-first, quick and intuitive experience without compromising scientific integrity
2. Making assessment reports interactive and easily accessible, accompanied with developmental tips
3. No added charges for more reports and uses on the platform; AI supported technological platform
4. A compassionate solution, recognizing that a personality assessment is not something you can fail!

I am particularly drawn to this modern approach of combining technology with a compassionate touch. And to offer effective solutions that are user-friendly, easy to use and based on science.

A personality assessment is not something you can fail. Period! And that’s where Deeper Signals becomes one scientific channel to gain more self-awareness. That can be highly valuable in coaching.

Now, let’s delve into what the Deeper Signals assessment entails. We will explore it’s key components: Core Drivers & Risks, Core Values and Team Analysis.

Core Drivers and Risks

The Core Drivers provide insights into a person’s uniqueness, designed to amplify strengths, minimize risks, drive performance and effectiveness^[1].

The Core Drivers are built on the scientifically supported Five Factor Model of personality^[3]. And, the Core Drivers span across a continuum of 12 drivers (Figure 1). So, this assessment offers self-awareness on six behavioral dispositions predictive of well-being and performance.

Each Core Driver describes behavioral strengths, risks, preferences and personality aspects^[1].

As illustrated in Figure 2, the Core Drivers assessment has six continuums. This means scales, e.g. from Pragmatic to Curious (scales with all of the 12 Core Drivers in Figure 1). This assessment unveils your unique talents but also highlights potential risks, blind spots or derailers when strengths are overutilized.

Moreover, within each dimension of the Core Drivers Model, there are five sub-drivers, totaling 30 sub-drivers^[3].

The assessment takes less than 10 minutes, measuring six scales (continuums). That provides insights into your unique talents and potential risks.^[1].

Core Values

The Core Values assessment measures your values, motivators and preferred organizational culture^[1].

Designed to drive engagement, improve team cohesion, and build culture, it is completed in less than 5 minutes.

Built upon Self-Determination Theory, the Core Values measure six dimensions predicting key outcomes such as engagement and job satisfaction.^[1] It provides accurate insights into the careers you choose, the goals you seek and what motivates your behavior^[1].

The six Core Values scales are illustrated below in Figure 3.

In practical terms, this implies that each of your Core Values offers accurate insights on a continuum. An example could be from Independence to Relationships. So, you can explore your Core Values and their potential Challengers to build self-awareness (see Figure 4 for visual representation).

Simply put, taking the Deeper Signals tests only takes 10-15 minutes of your time. In that quick timeframe, you’ll learn about 30 aspects of yourself, like your strengths, possible pitfalls and values.

Team Dynamic

Deeper Signals goes beyond individual assessments to offer insights into team dynamics based on Core Drivers & Risks and Core Values. An example overview is provided in Figure 5.

More detailed interactive reports are available for leaders and teams. To understand the team dynamics, combined strengths and diversity in their team, which can be useful in Team Coaching.

The Deeper Signals Platform enables personalized, bite-sized learning journeys based on assessments, offering added support in your development and growth.

I am genuinely excited about the upcoming coaching programs utilizing Deeper Signals to enable more self-awareness for you.

Interested in realizing your potential? Let’s embark on this transformative journey together

References.
^[1]Talent Assessment Partners (2024) Deeper Signals: Next-generation Talent Assessments. Available at: Talent Assessment Partners (talentassessment.dk). (Accessed 9 March 2024).
^[2]Winsborough, D. (2023) Why we started Deeper Signals. Available at: Dave Winsborough (linkedin.com). (Accessed 9 March 2024)
^[3]Deeper Signals (2024) The Science of The Core Drivers Diagnostic. Available at: Deeper Signals (deepersignals.com). (Accessed 9 March 2024).

The post Introducing Deeper Signals: Become aware of your unique talents and motivators appeared first on Christian Madsen Academy.

In the ever-evolving landscape of business, where decisions can either catapult an organisation to success or lead it down the path of failure, mastering the art of sound judgment is paramount. The business world, rife with complexities and uncertainties, demands a decision-making approach that goes beyond conventional consensus-driven models. Enter the timeless management practice known as “disagree and commit,” a principle that stalwarts like Scott McNealy and Jeff Bezos have etched into the DNA of their organisations..

Disagree and Commit

This management principle, synonymous with alignment and goal achievement, is decades old, probably all the way back to Alfred Sloan’s time in General Motors. The dual objective of “Disagree and Commit” encapsulates encouraging teams to dissent during crucial decisions and uniting them in steadfast commitment once a decision crystallises.

Encouraging disagreement

Why encourage disagreement in decision-making? The simple answer: to make decisions more effective. Peter Drucker, often regarded as the godfather of management, narrates a compelling story about Alfred Sloan, the visionary behind General Motors’ ascent in the 1930s:

In a pivotal advisory board meeting where unanimity seemingly prevailed, Sloan allegedly said:, “I propose we postpone further discussion of this matter until our next meeting to give ourselves time to develop disagreement and perhaps gain some understanding of what the decision is all about.“

The Consensus Trap

This tactic aimed to sidestep the Consensus Trap, where silent disagreement lurks beneath the illusion of agreement:

• The majority may disagree but opt for silence.
• The decision’s gravity might deter individuals from assuming full responsibility.
• The desire to conclude the meeting swiftly prevails.

Overcoming this trap involves interpreting silence as dissent and prompting every participant to explicitly express their agreement or disagreement. This technique combats the tendency to superficially agree to expedite proceedings.

Executing the Decision

Committing signifies wholeheartedly embracing and executing the final decision. The principle operates on the premise that every individual involved in the decision-making process is accountable for its successful implementation.

But why commit to a decision one disagrees with? Firstly, it stems from the opportunity for everyone to voice their opinions during the decision’s formulation. Even if one’s viewpoint diverges from the final decision, having a voice in the discussion fosters acceptance. Additionally, the principle acknowledges that actively opposing an idea necessitates robust efforts to ensure its implementation, ultimately distinguishing between a flawed idea and flawed execution.

Andy Grove succinctly captures this sentiment: “If you disagree with an idea, you should work especially hard to implement it well because that way when it fails you’ll know it was a bad idea. Not bad execution.” The brilliance of “Disagree and Commit” lies in its ability to yield the best possible results: Even if proven wrong, contributors played a role in arriving at the best decision. If proven right, weaker ideas are swiftly discarded.

Speeding Up Decision-Making

An intriguing byproduct of this principle is its role in expediting decision-making. Jeff Bezos introduced the phrase “disagree and commit” in one of Amazon’s annual letters to investors, highlighting its time-saving efficiency:

“Third, use the phrase ‘disagree and commit.’ This phrase will save a lot of time. If you have conviction on a particular direction even though there’s no consensus, it’s helpful to say, ‘Look, I know we disagree on this but will you gamble with me on it? Disagree and commit?’”

Jeff Bezos

This principle has woven itself into Amazon’s leadership principles as “Have backbone, disagree and commit,” emphasising the obligation of leaders to challenge decisions respectfully and commit wholeheartedly once determined.

…But revisit to ensure quality

• Setting a Commitment Timeline Before committing despite lingering disagreements, establish a specific date to revisit the decision. Define criteria for evaluation, enabling a transparent process for potential adjustments.Set a calendar reminder, commit to the decision, and temporarily set aside the disagreement.
• Revisiting the Disagreement Regardless of who was right or wrong, the agreed-upon date becomes a checkpoint to reevaluate the decision. Rather than indulging in “I told you so” sentiments, focus on collaborative efforts to enhance future approaches.
  
  

VOICING dissent – and understanding why you do it

At its essence, “disagree and commit” empowers individuals to voice their dissent during the decision-making process. However, once a decision is reached, the principle mandates unwavering commitment from everyone involved, irrespective of their initial opinions. While seemingly straightforward, this practice is far from easy to implement seamlessly. In our experience, this is a cultural shift that has the most impact if it becomes a truly integrated behaviour of the top leadership team.

Understanding the Decision

Decision-making seldom occurs in a vacuum; it’s entangled in a web of personal relationships and intricate business politics. To cut through this complexity and zero in on the core of a decision, a profound level of listening and understanding is imperative.

• What research and analysis underpin this decision?
• Why is this decision being made now, and what recent changes necessitate it?

Understanding yourself

Our lives, much like the intricate tapestry of the world around us, are woven with influences that may not always be consciously comprehended. Therefore, it’s crucial to introspect and truly fathom the roots of our feelings toward a decision.

• Why do I disagree? Is it rooted in my ego, or do I genuinely possess a superior approach?
• What would be the tangible impact on my interests if I were to align with the decision?

Expressing Your Perspective

How a fundamental disagreement is articulated can transform it into either a constructive course correction or an unproductive argument. The power lies in the manner of expression.

• Reframe disagreements as questions. Instead of a direct contradiction, pose inquiries like, “How will this serve our users’ needs?”
• If a decision feels rushed and articulating your perspective becomes challenging, communicate the need for additional time to deliberate.
  
  

Challenges in Implementation

While the “Disagree and Commit” principle offers immense value, incorporating it into organisational culture may encounter obstacles:

• Fear of Conflict: Prioritising harmony over constructive conflict may stifle dissenting opinions, hindering innovation.
• Lack of Psychological Safety: An environment lacking in psychological safety may deter employees from expressing disagreements openly, leading to groupthink.
• Unwillingness to Let Go: Individuals may struggle to move past disagreements, hindering team unity and progress.
• Ineffective Communication: Clear channels for expressing disagreements respectfully are essential to prevent unproductive conflicts.

Addressing these challenges requires a concerted effort to foster a culture that values diverse perspectives, encourages open communication, and rewards constructive dissent. Especially the leadership team has a profound role to play in this cultural shift.

Having someone outside the team, for example a professional team coach, facilitate meetings and helping the team establish the culture, can prove very effectful.

‘Disagree and Commit’ stands as a potent tool in the arsenal of organisations aspiring to make informed decisions, cultivate a culture of collaboration, and realise their goals. By championing open debate, respecting dissenting opinions, and committing to decisions, organisations harness the collective intelligence of their teams, propelling them toward innovation and success in the dynamic landscape of business.

Written by: Janus Kleeman and Nanna Seidelin from HEXES.

The post Navigating Leadership Challenges: The Art of ‘Disagree and Commit’ — Guest blog appeared first on Christian Madsen Academy.

Simply because better talents are up to eight times more productive than average employees at very high complexity work^[1]. That means that the quality of talents directly impact the organizational performance^[1].

Therefore, it is critical for organizations anno 2024 to be able to identify, attract, develop and retain high-performing talents as a means of achieving their organizational and strategic targets.

You can even argue that instilling a shared organization talent mindset — a shared belief that diverse, better talent elevates organizational performance and is a great source of competitive advantage^[2] — has become even more crucial in times of change, uncertainty and ambiguity for leaders in all leadership roles.

Talent is all leaders’ responsibility.

So, it’s key for all leaders in organizations to become passionate about and accountable for strengthening their own and peers’ talent pools. If you are a leader it is critical for long-term organizational success to be able to spot (and have engaged development conversations to understand) where each human being can bring the most value to the organization while having meaningful and fulfilling careers.

Too often, the silo-thinking mentality occurs, not out of bad intentions, but because you as a leader want to do well.

You want to excel in your role and deliver great results together with your team as an effective leader.
Hence, you may become reluctant to let your high-performing talents go, so you are able to continue delivering great results.
Even if your talented employees might bring more value to the organization in another role and contribution.

They may even have passions, talents and potential that are better realized elsewhere. Maybe even outside your organization.

In this blog article, I will discuss talent and potential and how leaders and organizations can consider it.

Over the holiday season, I had the pleasure of finishing Adam Grant’s brand new book “Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things”.

Adam Grant is a well-known organizational psychologists at The Wharton School and a best-selling author. I also recommend his other books “Give and Take” and “Originals”.

I enjoyed reading his new book about hidden potential because it rethinks ways to elevate ourselves as well as others. Adam Grant tells inspiring stories about discovering and nurturing potential in amazing chess teams, mountaineering, school systems to astronauts.

In the book Adam Grant provides insights into how to build the character skills and motivational structures needed to realize your own hidden potential. Furthermore, how to design foundational systems that create opportunities for people who have been underrated and overlooked.

In my opinion, the book offers a fresh perspective on potential and talent that can inspire organizations and yourself. Let’s dive more in!

Human Talent and Potential.

Most organizations have an annual process for reviewing, challenging and future-proofing their needed capabilities (supply and quality of talent; often focused at leadership talent) long-term to achieve the strategy.

Often, it is referred to as an Organizational Review, Talent Review or People Review.

It is a subjective evaluation by every leader of their team’s capabilities as well as succession. It is then often calibrated and challenged between members of the management team.

Potential and Performance are typically reviewed using the so-called 9-box grid. The grid scales from low-high performance and low-high potential to advance as shown below in figure 1.

In an organizational context, in essence, Talent is characterized as the intersection between Performance and Potential, meaning high performance over time and high potential to advance in the organization.

When organizations establish their standard for talent and potential, it’s ideal to consider:

• What does great talent and potential look like?
• What is talent and potential for leaders?
• What is talent and potential for specialists?
• Potential for what? (meaning in what context, e.g. to advance organizationally as a leader etc.)

In his book “Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things”, Adam Grant uses a great metaphor to destinguish Talent and Potential.

Talent is the “floor”, the starting point, whereas Potential is the “ceiling”, people’s upper development range as illustrated in Figure 2 below.

I like this metaphor for three reasons (see Figure 2):

1. It highlights the importance of considering the “distance travelled”, i.e. performance over time and adversity faced
2. Character skills are key: Proactivity, drive, determination, conscientiousness help push through adversity
3. The “ceiling” captures context well (what is the potential to advance in the role, the organization etc.?)

It is great to see how Adam Grant highlights adversity as an element to consider when it comes to potential^[3]. He writes that people also need structures, so-called temporary support structures (termed scaffolding) to sustain motivation and resistance amid struggles and challenges to overcome obstacles that threaten to overwhelm us and limit our growth^[3].

Noun: Adversity
a difficult or unpleasant situation.
Ex. “Resilience in the face of adversity”.

The Oxford English Dictionary

These “scaffolding” mechanisms can help in productively overcoming adversity faced but the mechanisms put in place by individual employees for themselves also tells a lot about their character and potential^[3].

Adam Grant suggests using deliberate play (making practice more fun, varied and playful) as one scaffolding option to sustain motivation (temporary support)^[3]. Another kind of scaffolding is teaching others in a subject matter to thereby increase own learning^[3].

Organizations can focus on the same points.

What temporary support interventions can we offer to employees to help them build the resistance needed to overcome adversity.

Consider how people react to adversity; Do they give up? Do they change direction? Or do they push through it, learn from it and improve their performance over time (distance travelled)?

It is refreshing to see that focusing on strenghts and people that are already performing at a high level can cloud our vision, so we overlook the great potential of the people that are facing challenges, are struggling, overcoming and pushing through adversity over time.

However, how people react when facing adversity can be difficult to measure.

So, looking into people’s journey of overcoming difficult challenges, handling discomfort and learning is definitely worthwhile when we talk about potential.

In the next part, I’ll connect it with some data-driven measures as inspiration.

Data-driven identification of Talent.

In their excellent Harvard Business Review article called What Science Says About Identifying High-Potential Employees, the authors argue that scientific studies have for long suggested that investing in the right people will maximize organization’s returns^[4].

Therefore, it’s key to be able to identify high potentials and talents well to be able to predict who is likely to become the key drivers of organizational performance^[4].

In his great book “The Talent Delusion: Why Data, Not Intuition, Is the Key to Unlocking Human Potential”, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic offers an excellent simplified and science-based model to identifying Talent and Potential, rightly called the RAW Ingredients of Talent outlined in Figure 3 below.

It’s a valuable model, so let me break it down for you.

The RAW model focuses on what you can measure and it consists of the following parts (Figure 3):

Rewarding — a person’s likeability and how rewarding someone is to deal with. It’s a function of personality and concerns intrapersonal skills (managing yourself) and interpersonal skills, the ability to manage others (relationships), which are both the core elements of emotional intelligence (EQ)^[4,5].

This can be captured as social skills or prosocial skills as Adam Grant terms it in his book Hidden Potential^[3]. So, emotional intelligence can be seen as an early indicator of potential, which can be assessed in psychometric tests^[4].

Able — A person’s ability to do the job^[5]. It’s about demonstrating the knowledge and skills required to perform the key tasks of a job^[4]. The sub-components of ability are expertise; domain or job-related knowledge, experience and skills and intelligence, which includes learning ability and reasoning potential^[5].

The leading predictor of job performance is a job sample test and the best predictor of the ability to learn and master the skills is IQ or cognitive ability^[4]. Here, it is worthwhile to consider how people’s performance has developed over time across several challenging scenarios or roles (distance travelled as Adam Grant describes it in his book Hidden Potential). It is also key to consider specialist transition and leadership transition frameworks to clearly point out the performance standards of each role.

Willing — A person’s willingness and motivation to work hard to do the job^[4,5]. It relates to someone’s ambition, drive or conscientiousness and a person’s work ethics^[5]. It’s about having the willingness to push through some discomfort to build the skills or experience needed to do a job^[4].

If you are both rewarding to deal with and able, these two factors are a talent accelerator^[5]. The more you have of it, the more your talent will grow^[5]. A great way to measure willingness or drive is using standardized tests measuring conscientiousness, ambition and achievement motivation^[4].

In this connection Talent can be perceived as being able and rewarding to deal with (prosocial skills)^[4]. It can also be characterized as effortless performance^[5], while Potential can be perceived as talent plus effort or talent multiplied by will and drive as it determines how much your ability and prosocial skills get put to use^[4].

If we relate that to Adam Grant’s points in his book Hidden Potential, the determination, proactivity and character skills needed to push through, respond productively and overcome adversity^[3] fit well with willingness from the RAW model.

Drive can also be related to the drive for learning, so being hungry for learning something, making mistakes and improving. Adam Grant uses a great metaphor in his book of being like a human “sponge”, which is relevant to consider.

Try using these components and look at what adversity people have faced and how they’ve handled it as well as their performance over time (distance travelled).

So, how do you as a leader encourage your team to discover their true potential?

One place to start is to get to know your team members really well and uncover their interests, where they struggle and their passions.

In my experience these conversations can become a bit superficial, so try to dig deeper. Discover and explore together.

Consider using these 5 guiding questions as a starting point:

1. What excites you most at work?
2. What do you really want to learn?
3. Which tasks have been challenging for you previously and now?
4. What superpowers have you noticed about yourself?
5. What do you truly enjoy doing outside work?

Remember.

Strengths are one thing → Try to explore what is challenging.

Your potentials may be elsewhere than where you are highly skilled right now.

Potentials may lie in how and where you face and overcome adversity.

P.S. What is talent and potential for you? Share your thoughts in the comments.

References.
^[1]Keller, S. (2017) Attracting and retaining the right talent. Available at McKinsey (mckinsey.com). (Accessed 14 December 2023).
^[2]Michaels, E., Handfield-Jones, H. and Axelrod, B. (2001) War for Talent. Available at: Harvard Business School (hbswk.hbs.edu). (Accessed 14 December 2023).
^[3]Grant, A. (2023) Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things, WH Allen, London: pp. 1-246.
^[4]Chamorro-Premuzic, T., Adler, S. and Kaiser, R. B. (2017) What Science Says About Identifying High-Potential Employees. Available at: Harvard Business Review (hbr.org). (Accessed 14 December 2023).
^[5]Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2017) The Talent Delusion: Why Data, Not Intuition, Is the Key to Unlocking Human Potential, Piatkus, London: pp. 1-233.

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