Blog move

Hi Everyone,

I guess by now you may have realised that we have moved the blog so that it is integrated within our own website:  http://blog.mountain-associates.co.uk/

Do come back to us there and say "Hi", leave your comments and follow us.  We look forward to dialoguing with you.

You can also find us at Mountain Associates on Facebook and on Twitter @MountainAssoc as well as find Anita on LinkedIn.  Please click Like on our Facebook page.

Thank you to those of you who are following us and who have bought our book Working Together; Organizational Transactional Analysis and Business Performance, published last year by Gower and receiving rave reviews on Amazon. 

Our new bi-monthly one-day training in Developmental/Organisational TA is now published on our site.  Each training day is followed by an optional supervision day. If you're passionate about your cpd, about improving your understanding of self, others and organisations then this could be for you.  You are now able to obtain a certificate, diploma and Masters in Developmental TA.  Whether you wish to take qualifications or not you are welcome to attend our training.  The prerequisite for which is ideally a TA101 or that you have read our book.  As we only work with small groups places are limited. Take a look and register now:  www.mountain-associates.co.uk

We also facilitate Advanced Communication Skills, Level 1 (incorporating the Official Introduction to TA, the TA101), so keep an eye on the website for information about our upcoming courses.

Mountain Associates have worked with a range of organisations from the RAF and MoD to Local Authorities and private companies including Swisslog; Sandler Sales Training etc. Anita Mountain available as a coach, keynote speaker and consultant.  Call us now on +44 (0)1455 824475 or email us at: ta@mountain-associates.co.uk

Dare To Be Different

If you have an idea that you are excited and passionate about then listen to your passion.  People follow people who are passionate and if you want to be a leader then you need to take people with you – and passion can do that.  Passion does mean being prepared to be different though.  How many people do you know that are passionate about the work that they do, or the processes they are involved in?  Few I bet.   

When we meet people who are passionate about life, what they do, other people, we tend to feel drawn toward them.  Therefore if you have an idea, are a leader or manager and want to move forward, then take people with you with your passion – albeit passion with positive processes and strategic thinking.   

It is often too easy to be put off by our own negative thinking, for example:  “This will never happen to someone like me”, or “If that worked then something awful will follow” or “Who am I to think I can……..”  It will be all too easy to find those who act as the discouraging committee, instead, find people who will be the encouraging committee and go for it.   

If you are someone who believes they have too much to lose by going out on a limb then think about how you can minimise those risks and what strategies you can use.  Simple things are often the best.  Anything is possible if we think positively and move forward.  Afterall it took 178 attempts before Eddison developed the light bulb, and he is known for saying that he found 178 ways for the light not to work!  With a positive frame of mind and his passion he continued and was successful.  The same goes today for those who are determined to do things differently, whether at work or in their personal lives.  In the work place others may be doing things they way they have always been done, leading the organization to at best stagnate and at worst to decline.  Do things differently, find people with whom you can check out your ideas and go for it.

Let us know what you have done that was different and how this led to success. Inspire others and comment below.

For coaching, consultancy and training contact Mountain Associates and see how we can support you and your workforce.  Our guest workshop on 19 April is Managing Emotions in the Workplace with Olivier Montadat, go to our website for further details:  www.mountain-associates.co.uk/orgta_topics Download a free chapter and buy our book Working Together: www.mountain-associates.co.uk

Stress - whose responsibility?

Stress can be very invasive and if you are not in tune with early warning signs of stress you can often feel as if it has crept up on you. How you deal with stress is due to historical and habitual responses. Responses differ as a consequence of different cultures, experiences, beliefs and personalities. For example, if in a crisis, a report needs to be produced within a day, you might see this as a challenge or you may become stressed by it. You could be someone who enjoys managing twenty staff or be someone who prefers to work at home alone. Ensuring the right person is in the right job acts as a protection for both the organization and the individual.

When stressed you are likely to react in one or more of the following ways:

·         make more mistakes

·         prefer solitude

·         want to go further and further with the challenges, raising your stress levels ever higher

·         need to be right

·         become over–controlling

·         believe there is something wrong with you

Resilience is a key factor in stress prevention. Resilience is the ability to recover despite periodical setbacks and problems. Highly resilient people know how to bounce back and find a way to have things turn out well.  

Stress can be eased through the ability to make good relationships because then you are likely to believe that you are OK and others are also OK. If you have difficulty in forming relationships you are likely to believe that either, you are not OK and others are better than you, or that you are better than others. Believing that everyone is OK offers a secure base from which to operate. When this happens attachment to your team and to the organization is likely to increase. One outcome of this is that you will be able to appropriately say ‘No’ to things whilst still keeping yourself and others OK.

All organizations need to take account of the organizational culture, leadership styles and the current pressures being faced by leaders and shop floor workers alike.  It is not only the individual who is responsible for their own stress but so too is the organization.  If a manager's leadership style is brusque and aggressive this will inevitably have an effect on the workforce.  Good management entails effective supervision which in turn entails noticing when someone is on overload and doing something about it.  

One of the causes of stress on people is the need to multi–task. Administrators and secretarial staff have to do this a lot – be it writing a report, answering a query when someone comes to their office or answering the phone. Whilst this is an accepted pressure for administrators it does not mean that it is necessarily any easier for them than for others. The western world tends to see multi–tasking as good, hence the comments about women being able to do it well, whereas men are often seen as lacking this ability. Whether or not this is a fallacy it does highlight that fact that multi–tasking is valued. Getting your life in balance probably means doing less multi–tasking and becoming more focused.

For more on managing yourself and others then buy our book: Working Together, Organizational Transactional Analysis and Business Performance, Gower, 2011, also available from Amazon.  You can also attend our Advanced Communication Skills, Level 1, (incorporating the Official Introduction to Transactional Analysis) later this month but you can register for our next one in February, 2012.  Go to our website: http://courses.mountain-associates.co.uk/ta101.html

Be Yourself

Many of the people I coach come because they experience difficulties in relating to others, or to specific kinds of people. Mostly the issue is us - our attitude, our frame of reference about ourselves, others and life. Even if other people are experienced as "difficult" by a range of other people it is still up to us how we respond. If we believe that we are as good as anyone else then, even when under stress, we can find ways to keep ourselves okay. For example, there are often people whose only way of feeling okay is to put someone else down and attempt to sabotage any progress or success others are having. If we lose our grip at these times then we are likely to spiral downwards.

In order to deal with sabotaging behaviour, negativity and put-downs you need to talk to yourself positively. If you don't have sufficient strength in your Structuring Modes of behaviour (see our website on OK Modes to understand this further) then consider what someone else you respect might say. This will help you to stay Mindful (in the present moment) and take the appropriate steps. If you need to relate with this person then how you respond will be different to if you don't. If you should fall into the hole of making yourself not OK then you are giving your power away and agreeing with the other person's manipulative behaviour. Remaining in the here-and-now means that you will have more thinking available and there are ways in which you can deal with people that keep them okay but also set and maintain boundaries. This will also be of assistance to keep yourself feeling okay, despite the difficulties you are experiencing.

For more information on working with others, including issues of bullying, conflict and stress, then buy our book "Working Together: Organizational Transactional Analysis and Business Performance" published by Gower and also available on Amazon. Free downloadable chapter available on our website: www.mountain-associates.co.uk

If you resonate with this blog and are ready to overcome workplace challenges and create a breakthrough in your work environment, I would love to support you. Contact me now for your complimentary Workplace Breakthrough coaching session: +44 (0) 1455 824475; or email us: ta@mountain-associates.co.uk   Talk to you soon.

Key Leadership Functions

A recent article by J. Moore in The Independent was entitled “Why MBAs will have to adapt to survive” (June 23, 2011). In that article Moore quoted Guerra who apparently advised you young people to plan to have multiple careers, expect to be made redundant, and brace themselves for personal and economic crises. This is hardly an inspiring message to those coming into the world of work. We also need to consider what impact this type of world has, and will have, on employers, not just employees? What will they need to do to support their workforce?

One of a leader’s key functions is to enable the development of sense of belonging, without which there will be little trust and more energy will be expended on defensiveness and conflict, which in turn will effect productivity. To develop belonging leaders will need to ensure that they know how to get their message across, communicating clearly and in a way that is accepting of those they work with. Leaders will need to develop strategies that are in line with the organization’s purpose and identity and at the same time take account of the individual.

However, developing a sense of belonging may be difficult when the frame of reference may well be “What’s the point, I may be out of here pretty soon”. Those people who come from this position may well end up lacking connection and therefore trust. Instead we need to find ways to make connection with, and between individuals, and to offer positive recognition for being and doing. We need to start from strengths and be prepared to encourage the workforce to develop and hone their skills so that they are valued within the market place. In addition to all this we will need to develop resiliency and find ways to reinvent ourselves, and we can only do this if we value and like ourselves. If not, when difficulties arise it will be all too easy to get into blaming self and/or others and from here the shift to a positive frame of reference is harder to achieve.

One way to stay positive is to find out what you want, not just at the conscious level, but at the unconscious level. What are you allowed to have, what do you really want, do these two conflict? What do you believe about yourself and others? Is this positive? Does this way of thinking help you? Does it get you what you need, including real and valued relationships? There are many other questions that could go here but this blog is not the place. If you would like to explore your fundamental goals and find ways to develop and maintain your resilience then do get in contact.

Our book Working Together: Organizational Transactional Analysis and Business Performance, is now published by Gower and receiving positive responses. For a sample chapter go to: www.mountain-associates.co.uk. For coaching and in-house training contact ta@mountain-associates.co.uk or call us now on 01455 824475.

What Underpins your Life?

When we first meet someone we can get a sense of their frame of reference on life. This may not be at an overt level but we may sense it. I’m sure you’ve met people who come across as if they have to get in first before you outdo them. They come across as Mr or Ms Angry. Then there are other people whose starting point is that they are not good enough so tend to be backward in coming forward, and believe they are helpless, whilst others believe no-one is any good and that life is hopeless.

These beliefs and frames of reference are not necessarily verbally transmitted (though of course this will also happen). It may just be that we meet each other and there is a way in which we and they hold ourselves, greet the other person, look in a particular way, that may indicate our underpinning view of self, others and life.

Unlike with buildings, this “underpinning” can be the cause of poor communication and therefore poor relationships. Get this sorted and many other things fall into place. As soon as we start to believe we’re as good as anyone else then we will be willing and able to meet people on an equal basis. Believing we are better or worse than others is just that, a belief but we often act as if it is a fact. Thank goodness that beliefs can be changed.

This all links with the concept of OKness in Transactional Analysis, so take a look at our website to see what this is all about: www.mountain-associates.co.uk – or buy our book: Working Together, Organizational Transactional Analysis and Business Performance, published by Gower on 22 June, 2011.

So set to and sort out those outdated beliefs.

If you want support to change then contact us for coaching, training and consultancy: 01455 824475 or ta@mountain-associates.co.uk