In this article, we share real stories from our coaches about the unique challenges their clients faced and the creative solutions that led to their success. Each story is a testament to the power of dedicated coaching and the incredible change it can bring.

Empowering Personal and Team Development through Intentionality

One client came to us facing a significant challenge: they struggled with taking ownership of their personal development and creating a leadership development plan for themselves and their team. This lack of intentionality was creating a gap in the team’s accountability and overall progress.

Our coach stepped in and offered guidance by sharing strategies and options from related worlds. This approach was designed to empower the client to take charge of their growth journey. With these insights, the client was inspired to be more intentional about their development. As a result, they were able to set a clear and actionable plan for both their personal growth and the development of their team.

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome with Strategic Coaching 

A common challenge many clients face, especially when stepping into new roles or positions, is imposter syndrome – feelings of self-doubt, not being in control, feeling inadequate or uncertain. These feelings often arise in different contexts where individuals lack experience or fear looking incompetent. Our approach to coaching involves recognising these feelings as normal and addressing them by flipping the narrative to see ‘imposter-like feelings’ in a positive light.

Our coach worked with a client experiencing this exact challenge, helping them understand that imposter syndrome can actually be a driving force for learning, personal development and getting things done, as long as it doesn’t become inhibiting. Through coaching, the client learned to embrace these feelings and use them as motivation and drive for growth. 

In practice, this meant focusing on preparation and self-awareness. For instance, before entering meetings, the client would prepare thoroughly—considering both their physical and mental state, their key messages, and how they wanted to be perceived. This proactive approach helped the client reduce anxiety, improve clarity in communication, and project more confidence.

The results were transformative. The client became more self-aware, and authentic in their approach and was better equipped to handle challenging situations. By recognising their imposter-like feelings, identifying triggers and creating preventive strategies, they could manage imposter syndrome effectively, leading to greater success and a higher likelihood of achieving their goals.

Elevating Delegation Skills to Build Trust and Accountability 

Delegation is another common challenge, especially when it involves trusting others to perform tasks effectively. One of our clients faced difficulties with delegation, which in turn affected trust within their team. The issue wasn’t just about handing off tasks—it was about ensuring that those tasks were understood and executed correctly, thereby strengthening relationships within the team.

Our coach guided the client through the process of taking their delegation skills to the next level. This involved not only assigning tasks but also actively checking in to understand how their team members perceived the task and their approach to completing it. By fostering open communication and clarity, the client could establish a more collaborative and trusting environment.

The impact of this improved delegation strategy was significant. It shifted the focus from micromanaging to building accountability and autonomy within the team. With clear expectations and open lines of communication, the team members felt more empowered to take ownership of their work. This, in turn, reinforced a sense of trust and enabled continued positive growth for both the client and their team.

Increasing Sales by Enhancing Creativity and Customer Connection

A client wanted to win more contracts in a highly competitive sector. Their challenge was finding ways to be more innovative in their approach to stand out from the competition and create lasting impact whilst staying within strict regulations around the bidding and sales processes.

Our coach worked with key members of the team through one-on-one coaching sessions to embed new ways of thinking and problem-solving. This ran alongside a two-day interactive learning event for the whole team, focusing on how to be more creative and connect more deeply with customers. Grounded in neuroscience, this learning provided the team with practical, brain-based tools they could begin applying immediately.

The results were remarkable. The team’s morale and energy levels increased significantly, as did client engagement and customer satisfaction. By applying their newfound creative and connecting strategies, the team successfully secured a substantial £9 million contract, showcasing the power of innovative thinking in a traditional sector.

Establishing Clarity and Cohesion in a Senior Team

A senior team we worked with faced a significant challenge: they lacked clarity on how to collaborate effectively, hold each other accountable, and resolve conflicts. This lack of structure was impeding their ability to function cohesively and achieve their goals.

To address this, we delivered a series of workshops alongside one-on-one coaching sessions. The first workshop centred around defining the core values that the team wanted to build upon. From these values, we collaboratively established the behaviours and standards they expected from one another.

This process resulted in a clear framework for communication and teamwork, allowing the team to operate at a high level. With these agreed-upon “north stars,” they were equipped to resolve conflicts efficiently and focus on their collective objectives. As a result, the team began hitting their goals more consistently, building real momentum and achieving greater success.

Overcoming the Fear of Speaking Up in Meetings

Another challenge faced by a client was a deep-seated fear of speaking up in meetings. The anxiety was so intense that their heart rate would spike, and the fear of judgment, making mistakes, or being criticised would almost literally choke them, hindering their ability to contribute.

Our coach began by validating these feelings, explaining how the brain reacts when it’s in a “threat” state. This helped normalise their experience, making it clear that such reactions are common. The focus then shifted to analysing lived experiences of meetings. Together, they reflected on instances where someone made a mistake during a meeting and examined what actually happened. This exercise was key in grounding the client’s fears in reality and distinguishing facts from feelings.

To further build confidence, the coach worked with the client on preparing words and sentences they could use during meetings. This preparation acted as a safety net, reducing anxiety and helping them feel more in control. With practice, the client began to speak up more often, gradually overcoming their fear.

As a result, other team members started to recognise and acknowledge their contributions in meetings. This positive reinforcement further boosted the client’s growing confidence, creating a virtuous cycle that empowered them to engage more actively and assertively in discussions.

The Optimist View…

These real-life stories highlight the profound impact that our Eternal Optimists have on individuals, teams, and organisations.

Through our Optimist coaching and leadership sessions, our coaches empower clients to overcome personal and professional challenges, unlocking their full potential.

Get in touch with us today and learn more about our Optimist Executive Coaching.

The post How Our Eternal Optimists Transform Lives through Coaching – By Optimist Performance appeared first on Optimist Performance.

In this article, we delve into this distinctive feature, unravelling the synergies between high-performance sports and business. With insights from the recent Forrester Tech & Innovation Forum 2021, we’ll uncover the valuable lessons applicable to high-performance team development.

Parallels Between Business and Elite Sports Leadership: A Unifying Thread

Leaders in both business and elite sports share commonalities in creating vision, strategy, and assembling successful teams. The defining link is understanding people—an element crucial for inspiring and empowering individuals to achieve outstanding results. Great leaders, in sports and business, act as connective tissue, pulling together diverse talents into a team that produces extraordinary results. Authentic leadership, fostering an environment of trust, loyalty, and empowerment, is paramount.

The Public Eye: A Notable Distinction

Unlike executives who operate behind closed doors, athletes, team captains, and coaches face constant public scrutiny. They navigate media attention and criticism, a unique challenge absent in the corporate realm. This distinction highlights the need for resilience and confidence, qualities crucial in dealing with external pressures.

Leadership Parallels: Navigating Two Worlds

In both business and elite sports leadership, a shared goal emerges: understanding people and inspiring collective success. Join us as we navigate these parallels connecting seemingly distinct worlds.

The Leadership Factor: Drew Povey’s Blueprint

Drew Povey introduces the “leadership factor”—a blend of curiosity, changeability, charisma, connection, confidence, collaboration, and courage. In the upcoming sections, we’ll delve into each characteristic, uncovering its role in fostering exceptional leadership.

Curiosity: The Cornerstone of Effective Leadership

Leaders in sports and business continually seek new ideas, making curiosity a cornerstone of effective leadership.

Changeability: Navigating Organisational Fitness

Effective leaders navigate change, ensuring organisational fitness by fostering resilience and adaptability.

Charisma: Beyond Inherent Quality

Charisma involves practices aligned with one’s personality—focusing on a positive demeanour, caring about others’ opinions, and being influential.

Connection: Paramount Purpose Alignment

Building a connection with the team’s purpose is paramount. Business leaders can draw inspiration from sports, focusing on values, heritage, and the team’s role in a wider context.

Confidence: Instilling Belief in Strengths

Leaders build team confidence by removing internal barriers and instilling belief in strengths with a motivational style that inspires confidence in others.

Collaboration: Building a Culture of Trust

Success in sports and business demands collaboration. Empowering team members to make decisions builds a culture of trust and collaboration.

Courage: Mark of Authentic Leadership

Courageous leaders stand by principles in high-pressure situations, embodying authenticity, resilience, emotional intelligence, and commitment to purpose.

A Conceptual Playbook for Effective Leadership

To achieve high performance, leaders must be intentional, consistent, and continuous in their efforts. Success lies in inspiring, motivating, and encouraging teams.

While this article provides a conceptual playbook, Optimist’s coaching methodology goes further, creating highly individualized playbooks tailored to each team’s unique needs, challenges, and goals.

Ready to Elevate Your Performance? Explore Your Leadership Playbook with Us.

Are you ready to transition from great to world-class performance? Reach out to us, and let’s embark on a journey to explore your leadership playbook and kickstart your high-performance ascent together.

The post Unlocking High-Performance Leadership: Insights from Elite Sports – By Optimist Performance appeared first on Optimist Performance.

As a people-based business, we’ve looked at different approaches and the science behind setting goals. In previous articles, we’ve looked at how to change your habits to achieve your goals – establishing new habits and breaking the unhelpful ones.  We’ve also covered setting SMARTER goals and some of the questions you might ask yourself to reflect on where you are now and, looking to the future, where we can improve.

This month, we turn our attention East to the Japanese concept of ikigai and consider how we can use our own individual sense of purpose to influence and set our goals. Ikigai is a word with no direct translation to English; it roughly equates to “that which makes life worth living”, “reason for being”, or perhaps what gets you out of bed in the morning. 

Purpose is profoundly personal

Ikigai is concerned with a focus on a particular sphere of life, activity or social role which offers a real source of identity or meaning. It can be defined as something that truly makes life worth living for a particular individual. This could be aspects of social identity such as work or family or found within a sport or hobby.

Your Ikigai does not necessarily refer to your working life, nor does it need to be something grand or monumental. While one person’s Ikigai might be building a multi-million-pound business, another’s could be volunteering on a particular project or looking after their pet.

Your individual definition of success will be just as unique as you are.

Your goals will be interconnected

In previous articles, we’ve talked about siloed working within companies where departments fail to communicate with each other. Similarly, to ensure your goals are achievable, don’t fall into the trap of not considering your life as a whole when you start to define them. Writing in Forbes, the CEO of BodeTree Chris Myers, talks about Ikigai’s intersection of the spiritual with the physical, which connects all aspects of life. 

He explains: “There’s a difference between the things that are important in your life and your life’s work. Ikigai is about finding joy, fulfilment and balance in the daily routine of life.”

Myers warns against compartmentalising important aspects of our lives, such as our jobs, families, passions and desires.

Striking a balance between goals across different life areas is key.

Write your narrative to success

Writing your goals down and articulating what success in achieving them will look like is advocated in a paper on how Ikigai can optimise human performance and happiness by Prof Dr Michaela Schippers of the Erasmus Research Institute of Management.

Schippers cites the book ‘Redirect: The surprising new science of psychological change’ by Timothy Wilson. He recommends describing the goals you set in “concrete rather than abstract terms” and describes how you can create a new life story by rewriting it, which can help you break free from self-defeating patterns of thinking. 

According to Wilson, writing a ”more optimistic story …will energise you to take action”.

Make your goals positive – and public

In her paper on Ikigai, Schippers describes a study where students were asked to reflect on their goals, which could be academic or non-academic, within their first term of university. They were then asked to commit to one overall goal, which was published, along with their photo, on the university’s website. 

The students were asked to frame these intentions as “I will” commitments. These included statements such as, “I will work as hard as possible to achieve my goals” and “I will sustain the world for future generations,” which were published alongside their name and photo.

Schippers’ study showed an increase of 22 per cent in academic performance compared to previous cohorts who had not taken part in the “I will” intervention and decreased drop-out rates.

Focus on random acts of kindness, along with your goals

Within Optimist Performance, we always talk about the importance of cultivating an ‘attitude to gratitude,’ not just during the season of goodwill, but all year round. According to Schippers’ paper on Ikigai, having an altruistic purpose in life may be particularly helpful for optimising happiness. 

Random acts of kindness were found to be particularly helpful to their benefactor. The study also found helping others, especially in socially engaged ways, was more beneficial to a person’s well-being than providing treats for themselves.

The Optimist View…

At Optimist Performance, we believe that we all can find our Ikigai and achieve that balance and success. However, you don’t need to do it alone, our Optimist Coaches can help you with it, they can support you in fulfilling your potential, clarify your goals and plan your route to success in 2023. 

Learn more about our Optimist coaching here or get in touch with us for a free touchpoint first call with one of our coaches.

The post Look East to set your goals for 2023 – By Optimist Performance appeared first on Optimist Performance.

As a business owner or manager, much of your working day will be spent on the day-to-day tasks which keep the business going. We’ve already discussed how it can be lonely at the top for business leaders. But investing time to step back and look at the bigger picture and most crucially, the strategies and steps needed to get you there can pay dividends.

Executive coaching is a form of personal development, it can offer you different perspectives on reaching your goals and uncover any blind spots or limiting beliefs that may be stopping you from getting there. Talking through your progress with an external advisor can also act as a form of accountability.

It can boost your business too. According to an article in Forbes, The Institute of Coaching has cited that more than 70 per cent of individuals who receive coaching “benefited from improved work performance, relationships and more effective communication skills.”

The article reports an impressive return on investment: “… a huge 86 per cent of companies feel that they recouped the investment they made into coaching plus more on top. Studies show that coaching is effective at reducing procrastination and facilitating goal attainment and there is a growing body of empirical research that supports the findings that business coaching really does facilitate goal achievement.” 

How does executive coaching works?

You could use the analogy of hiring a personal trainer (PT). Most people go to a PT because they are prepared to invest time in a structured action plan and need added motivation towards the end goal of getting fitter. To reach that outcome, your PT will devise a structured plan and offer support and guidance towards your goal. The PT offers encouragement, and a realistic, individually designed plan is in place to get you there. The rest is entirely up to you…

In the same way, your executive coach can help you work through priorities and timeframes to create structures and processes to create attainable goals. Just like hiring a personal trainer, an executive coach will be there for the duration, providing accountability to ensure you are on track to achieve your goals. 

Executive coaching does require a different approach for every person. With measures for success individually defined depending on your personality, what works for one person may not necessarily be appropriate for another. There is no one-size-fits-all approach.

The first role of an executive coach, like the PT, is to listen to your goals and the outcomes that you’d like to achieve. The process of reaching these will also depend on your preferred style of working. While one person may want very clear, tangible, achievable goals every month or week, somebody else might want a little less structure, but use regular conversations with their coach as a form of accountability.

The Optimist View…

Coaching time gives business leaders the time and space to focus on their goals. They may not necessarily have anyone within their working environment that they can share these with. For those seeking coaching who work for a company, they might also choose to share goals that are personal to their definition of success with someone outside of their organisation.

Having a coach as a trusted sounding board can provide you with clarity and help you move forward with timeframes and priorities which are attainable. For a deeper dive into what makes a great coach, read our blog here. Above all, these relationships are built on trust.

As rugby coach Russell Earnshaw explained: “Coaching is about understanding where people are at and supporting them to move forward and grow.” 

Click here to learn more about our Executive Coaching, or get in touch with us to book a free touchpoint first call with one of our coaches. 

Sign up for our newsletter below to get access to our new video content. The first video is “How to grow your business successfully”. 

The post What are the benefits of executive coaching? – By Optimist Performance appeared first on Optimist Performance.

Contrary to the airbrushed and edited curations of Instagram influencers, life and work can be messy. Best laid plans can be brought down in seconds when life throws a curveball your way.

Comparing your insides to other people’s outsides can lead to some profoundly unpleasant psychological discomforts. As well as FOMO (fear of missing out), these can also include dissatisfaction, frustration and perceptions of inability – all categorised as deficiencies of the self. They are all types of suffering that stem from a non-physical origin. The bad news is that they are also widely believed to be an inescapable aspect of being human.

While physical pain is often localised and frequently explainable through injury or disease, psychological discomfort is harder to define and describe. It includes a range of subjective experiences, which are all characterised by an awareness of negative changes in the self and functions accompanied by negative feelings.

Psychological discomfort appears ingrained within the human condition but changing our mindset to stress is one way of turning a negative experience into useful lessons. This can help us to build a sense of resilience and even wisdom for when life throws you the next lemon. 

I’ve previously written that we make memories from the good days, but we can also flip the experience of a bad day on its head and reflect on the learning that we’ve gained from it. You can read more about eustress, a positive perception which can help us to use stress as something that can be beneficial to us, in the Optimist Performance’s blog.

The Optimist View…

Finding the meaning or reason behind a stressful situation and gaining a motivation or lesson from it isn’t easy, but it does provide a pathway that can help you move forward and push past those feelings of discomfort.

An “attitude of gratitude” remains the mantra I live by and is still something I am cultivating. It will always be a work in progress… and I’m comfortable knowing that it’ll never be perfect.

If you feel like you sometimes need that critical friend to help you gain perspective and find your way, get in touch with us today and learn more about our Optimist Coaching.

The post How to be comfortable with feeling uncomfortable – By Ollie Phillips appeared first on Optimist Performance.

According to studies, half of CEOs report feeling lonely, and of these, 61% report that feeling lonely has an impact on their performance. It also impacts their well-being and mental health. This year’s theme for Mental Health Awareness Week is loneliness, so we’d like to devote our post to discussing how lonely it can be at the top.

Who has invited the boss?

Many leaders are making mental health and well-being a priority for their employees, which is obviously a great thing. Creating a culture of caring for employees is essential, and many companies are investing resources to promote team-building activities, building great offices to incentivise collaboration and teamwork, and other perks and benefits in order to create a sense of belonging for people in their teams. 

However, while leaders devote time to creating a healthy and positive environment for their people, they do not always reap the benefits. Many leaders are now reporting a sense of loneliness, especially on occasions such as team lunches and not being invited. 

Furthermore, even if you are the lucky one invited to lunch, how authentic and comfortable really is the situation?

An executive stated: “They’re stressed about being with the boss, and that generates a certain distance. I think for them, it’s important to have a space to be relaxed, and when the boss is present, they’re not relaxed.”

Even if you build a great relationship with everyone on your team based on trust and authenticity, the reality is that there will always be a difference since you are the one who has to make the tough decisions. This is another reason why leaders report feeling lonely. They admit that being close to subordinates can result in making these decisions even harder. 

Don’t go it alone

Admitting to stress, mental health issues or even feeling lonely is not easy for anyone, but it becomes even more challenging when you are the person that everyone looks up to. 

Read our post “What I have learned about stress and mental health since quitting rugby – By Ollie Phillips” here.

Cultivating a culture of trust and authenticity requires being honest and vulnerable with others. However, there are still many challenges and circumstances that a leader cannot communicate to others, whether because of confidentiality issues or because they do not want to alarm and bring others down.

It’s also crucial to remember that leaders are looked up to not only by their teams but also by their boards of directors or investors, who seek answers.

“The Board usually thinks that I should know everything and anything about the organisation and that’s impossible. Sometimes I get frustrated with what they say. With whom can I share this with? I cannot say this to anyone, because this is about my relationship with my superiors, and also, I cannot share organisational issues. I have to deal with it on my own.” – mentioned another executive in the study. 

In addition, leaders in large and medium organisations are not the only ones who feel lonely; entrepreneurs and founders must also be considered.

Starting your own business is exciting, but it also presents many challenges. We know that building a successful business can be daunting at times. It takes time and effort, and most of the time (at least at the beginning), you don’t have the support of a team around you. It also makes it even more difficult to disconnect, as you’re living and breathing the business 24/7.  

Fortunately, most entrepreneurs have a greater sense of purpose, an invaluable strength to help fight loneliness. 

Having a purpose can help you feel less lonely 

Having a purpose has been shown to reduce stress and improve mental health. Additionally, studies show that helping others can help reduce loneliness and isolation and enhance our sense of purpose. So why not take advantage of the very thing that makes you feel lonely and use it to build connections and purpose?

“In the face of adversity, people with a stronger sense of purpose in life tend to be more resilient because they have a clear sense of goals that motivate actions that are aligned with personal values,” says Yoona Kang, PhD, lead author and a Research Director of the Communication Neuroscience Lab.

Whether you are an entrepreneur or a senior leader in a big organisation, you could potentially use your experience and knowledge to help others by becoming a lecturer, a teacher or a mentor. This allows you not only to benefit from helping others but also to create more meaningful and deeper connections that will in turn help alleviate your feeling of loneliness too. 

“As a teacher or mentor, I can share the lessons that I have learned with no negative consequences.”

Many aspiring leaders seek mentors who can answer their questions and whom they may look up to. Furthermore, it doesn’t necessarily mean investing a great deal of time; the important thing is to find a structure that benefits both of you. 

Why do leaders feel lonely even while surrounded by people?

We can feel lonely while surrounded by people and be absolutely content by ourselves. The difference is in the connections, so even though leaders spend a lot of time surrounded by people at dinners, social gatherings, and so on, that doesn’t guarantee the interactions are significant enough to produce a sense of connection, hence exacerbating loneliness. This is where developing stronger bonds with your mentees can be advantageous, but time management is also necessary.

Leaders spend most of their working week in meetings, and we must also factor in the amount of work-related social duties they have to fulfil. All of this takes up the majority of their free time, which isn’t spent with individuals who could help them feel less lonely and disconnected.

Leaders of large corporations, entrepreneurs, and founders also work longer hours, which means they are devoting time away from their personal lives to work. As a result, their work-life balance, mental health, and stress are all affected.

So while the top job may seem great from the outside and it’s a goal for many people, it’s important to consider that it comes with many sacrifices too. That said, we’re not trying to discourage people from aiming high; the reminder here is to take time to reflect on the price of success and how best to protect your mental health and well-being at the top. 

The Optimist view…

While it may appear that feeling lonely is an inevitable component of the top job, it doesn’t have to be. Fortunately, there are a variety of resources available to help leaders access the support and connections they need to flourish.

Whether you’re a big company executive, an entrepreneur or a start-up founder, there are plenty of networking groups and events where you can meet individuals in similar situations.

You can also get help from others who have been in your shoes. We’ve already discussed how being a mentor can be beneficial, but you can also find a mentor for yourself — someone who has “been there, done that” and who can provide a sympathetic and supportive ear. 

Last but not least, you can hire a coach to act as a sounding board and confidant. Having a coach is beneficial not only because you have someone with whom you can share your thoughts, issues, and concerns but also because it allows you to devote a specific amount of time to yourself.

Our coaches at Optimist Performance have been there, and they understand how valuable an empathetic ear and a trustworthy relationship can be, not only in terms of professional development but also in terms of mental health and wellbeing. Our goal is to help people reach their greatest potential, and we realise that feeling alone won’t help you get there, so we offer the support and guidance you need to succeed.

Get in touch with us today and find out how our executive coaching can help you. 

The post Who cares if leaders feel lonely? – by Optimist Performance appeared first on Optimist Performance.

As Optimists, we believe we can do anything we set our minds to, but we know that just thinking about it won’t get us very far, and because we like to pray what we preach, we have tried a variety of accountability methods. 

These are what we have found to be the most effective ways to keep accountability.

Tips to improve your accountability:

Plan in advance

“A goal without a plan, it’s just a wish” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

For every single thing we want to achieve, there are a thousand ways to do it, so having a plan or strategy is essential.  Whether you want to drop 20 pounds or grow your business, you need a strategy. 

Goals are (the majority of the time) big and long-term. They are the outcome you wish to achieve, but you’ll need a plan to get there. It’s also valuable because it provides you with clarity and focus. Most people don’t know where to start without a plan, which causes them to delay actions and lose motivation.

At Optimist Performance, we love goals, but we love planning just as much. We set up daily, weekly and monthly plans, and they are as detailed as possible. 

For example, instead of simply preparing to exercise the next day, a team member decides the day or week before, the exercises she’ll do, when and for how long. So, she knows beforehand what she needs to do and when the time comes, she is mentally prepared for it. 

You wouldn’t go into a meeting without an agenda. The agenda is your meeting plan to keep you on track and make sure you make the most out of your time.

Set short-term goals

Short-term goals can help you maintain your motivation, enable you to take small and immediate actions and assure your success. 

Even if you start super motivated, the chances are that it will wear off eventually when we talk about long-term goals. Furthermore, big goals can make us feel overwhelmed. 

Setting short-term goals is a part of the planning process, and it’s a great way to boost confidence. Breaking down your long-term goals into smaller ones gives you the satisfaction of achieving them while also allowing you to see progress and increase motivation. (Check out our interview with Miles Lowry, Strategy Business Partner at Formula 1, where we talk about short-term goals)

In addition, don’t forget to celebrate the small wins. Incentives are one of the most effective ways to ensure goal completion, so pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself on your accomplishments. It feels amazing to complete a marathon, but you can only take one step at a time.

Find an accountability partner 

You are 65% more likely to complete a goal if you commit to someone. That number increases to 95% when you set up an appointment to review your progress, according to a study by The American Society of Training and Development (ASTD).

Having someone with whom you can share your goals and progress will help you become more accountable while also increasing your motivation. 

No one likes to admit defeat or fail, so we’re more likely to follow through when we have to show our progress to someone else.

If you don’t have someone close to you who can be your accountability partner, search for it elsewhere. When we were testing this method, we joined a group on social media.

You can also find a group in your area, search for your tribe or ask for professional help depending on your goals. A personal trainer or a coach can be an excellent resource for planning and accountability.

Learn more about our executive coaching.

Keep track

Once you have your plan and your short-term goals, it’s critical to keep track of them. You can use a variety of methods depending on your preferences; to-do lists, journaling, or a goal-tracking app.

• To-do lists: Did you know that our brains release dopamine when we complete a task? As a result, when we utilise to-do lists, we associate task accomplishment with crossing it off our list, resulting in dopamine release. We know now why one of our team members is obsessed with to-do lists.

• Keep a journal: Not only can you use it to track your progress, but you can also use it to make notes and other observations about your day that will help you review and reflect afterwards. We use it to review our weekly progress and keep track of good habits, for example.

• Goal tracking apps: We tried an app called Strides, and we can assure you that it works. It provides you with the same sense of accomplishment as a to-do list while it holds you accountable with notifications. It’s amazing how these small reminders can impact your accountability. We tried Strides, but there are many other options. (Check out this article for more info)

Keeping track not only improves our accountability but also makes us feel more productive since we can see what we’ve accomplished and how far we’ve come.

Review & reflect 

“Reflective thinking turns experience into insight.”  – John C. Maxwell

Last but not least, we have to review & reflect on our progress and adjust our plans accordingly. 

Even when we plan, we are bound to make mistakes or forget things. Also, things are constantly changing, so we need to be flexible and be able to adapt our plans. Taking the time to review and reflect allows us to identify challenges and improve our future planning. 

Within our team, we review our progress on a daily and weekly basis. Then, every six months, we do an in-depth review to ensure that we are progressing toward our end goals.

The Optimist View…

We can achieve everything we want if we hold ourselves accountable.

Unfortunately, accountability is the most challenging aspect when it comes to goals, which is why outside assistance can be quite beneficial. One of the things that most of our executive coaching customers appreciate is the added help with planning and accountability.

If you’re serious about achieving your goals this year, get in touch with us and discover how our executive coaching programmes may help you.

The post 5 proven tips to improve your accountability – By Optimist Performance appeared first on Optimist Performance.

So, what is active listening? It’s a two-way communication process. Actively listening is not just to hear but to understand, interpret and evaluate what we hear.

The majority of us think that we are good listeners, but the reality may be different. As a norm, we only retain about 17 to 25% of the information we receive. 

And as Stephen R. Covey said, “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”

First, it’s helpful to differentiate between 3 types of listening and understand that whichever one you use will affect the outcome.

Passive listening: It means indifferent listening. It’s just a bit more than hearing. We are not making an asserted effort to understand or even respond to the message in any way. 

Selective listening: We only pay attention to the part of the message that we are interested in or the position we agree with. 

Active listening: Active listening means that the listener is making a conscious effort to understand the message, participate, and show regard for the speaker. Through this type of listening, we can better understand the message, which helps us remember it too. 

Why is active listening important?

We already mentioned some benefits for the listener above, but active listening also has enormous benefits for the speaker. So, this might be the people in your teams and organisation. 

Consider active listening as a form of communication in itself. Focusing all your attention on listening to others is a way of communicating that you care about them and value their opinions and ideas. 

And feeling heard and valued is a significant factor of employee engagement. 

“Employees who feel heard are 4.6x more likely to feel empowered to do their best work.”

Furthermore, it can improve creativity and innovation. In a dynamic world where everything is rapidly changing, innovation and creativity are more crucial than ever. And it may surprise you, but 82% of employees have ideas about how their company can improve according to research. But, unfortunately, many of these ideas will never be heard because people don’t think their employees will listen. 

How can we improve our active listening skills?

There are many tips we can use to improve our active listening. Let’s differentiate three types: behaviours, responses, and self-awareness. 

Behaviours: 

Actions speak louder than words, which is why our behaviours play a big part in active listening. These are some of the things we can do to improve our listening skills. 

Remove distractions. To actively listen, we need to focus all our attention on the speaker, so we can’t multitask. This means removing all distractions (notifications, noises, etc.). For example, you probably know how distracting and frustrating it can be to talk to someone who keeps looking at their phone. 

As Scott Peck said, “You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time.”

Non-verbal signs. These are simple but powerful behaviours when it comes to communication. For example, maintaining eye contact, smiling, or nodding your head to demonstrate you’re paying attention and adjusting your posture to appear open and positive are some things that will help your listening skills. 

All these behaviours are important to demonstrate interest, but they are not a substitute. The interest must be genuine. 

As Michael P. Nichols said, “There’s a big difference between showing interest and really taking interest.”

Non-verbal communication goes both ways.  Active listening is not only about the words but about all forms of communication. The speaker’s body language can give you more information too. For example, if the speaker is acting anxious, this could mean they don’t feel comfortable. 

Responses:

Active listening is a two-way communication process that requires some kind of response on your part too. The crucial point, however, is to adapt those responses to the speaker and the situation. 

Choose the right time to speak. Our focus is on listening, so we should never interrupt to impose our opinion. Choosing the right time is half the battle. 

Ask the right questions. While listening, you should also ask questions that help you understand the message better and enhance the communication process. 

Summarise and offer brief responses during the conversation. For example, a simple “yeah, it makes sense” tells the speaker that you’re paying attention. 

Acknowledge your feelings and others too. Sometimes the message can be misunderstood; for example, some messages can be taken as personal or offensive. Whilst actively listening, it is essential that we acknowledge these types of feelings and emotions. 

Self-awareness:

Even if we intend to listen fully, our minds most of the time have other plans. They are always wandering. Sometimes it’s about what’s being said, or if we agree or disagree, and maybe we are thinking about our response. 

But to actively listen, we need to quiet our minds and put our full attention into receiving the message.

As Bryant H. McGill said, “One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.”

Be aware of your thoughts. Try to be as mindful as possible during your conversations. Of course, there will always be thoughts coming to your mind, but consciously choosing to be aware of them makes it easier for you to realise when they come and to go back to actively listening. 

Prepare for active listening. Like any other learning experience, understanding why we want to improve is essential to commit to the process. If you fully understand the benefits of active listening and why you’re motivated to improve this skill, it will make it easier to overcome the challenges along the way. 

The Optimist View…

Active listening is a big part of good communication, which is the foundation to building a healthy environment. Through authentic and open communication, we build trust, connections and deeper relationships. 

Fortunately, listening is a skill that we all can learn and improve; we only need to be willing to make an effort. 

The good thing is that you don’t need to do it by yourself. At Optimist Performance, we help leaders to develop and maximise their leadership skills, including communication.  

If you would like to know more about how we can help you, get in touch with us for a free consultation. You can also learn more about our executive coaching here. 

The post Do you practise active listening as a leader? – By Optimist Performance appeared first on Optimist Performance.

Sadly, statistics show that 92% of people fail to achieve their goals. We want to help you be part of the winning 8% of people who succeed. 

We all understand the importance of goal setting, but the majority of us still are failing to do it efficiently. 

What does the Theory say about Goal Setting?

The famous SMART Goals formula is a great way to start, but there is an even better one, SMARTER Goals. 

• S – Specific
• M – Measurable
• A – Attainable/Achievable
• R – Realistic
• T – Time-Bound
• E – Evaluative/Ethical: the interventions and execution follow professional and personal ethics. 
• R – Rewarding: The end-results of the goal-setting come with a positive reward and bring a feeling of accomplishment to the user. 

Why do most people fail to achieve their goals?

There are a few well-known reasons why we fail to achieve our goals. Knowing them will help you avoid these common mistakes.

• Lack of understanding or real destination. 
• Lack of motivation or commitment. 
• Fear of success or failure. 
• Analysis paralysis. People fail to start because they want to know all the answers beforehand. 
• Failing to plan. 

Communication is Key: Most of these reasons could be easily prevented with good communication. Knowing your motivation and emotions can help you either to set up better goals or to build your self-confidence to succeed. Also, communicating properly and consistently with your team can avoid distractions, misunderstandings, and misinformation. 

How to improve goal setting and goal achievement

Interesting facts about goal setting 

Clear, specific, challenging, timely, and well-planned goals have a positive effect on performance.

Group goals have a moderate to a large positive effect on group/ team performance.

Self-confidence, personality and cognitive ability have an influence on how people engage in or set challenging goals.

Sometimes, behavioural or learning goals are more effective. When people need to acquire knowledge or skills before performing the goal, specific and challenging goals can have a negative effect on performance.

The overuse of extremely high goals combined with economic incentives may lead to diminished self-regulatory capacity and unethical behaviour.

Goal setting is a more powerful motivator than monetary incentives alone. Latham & Locke (1979) found goal setting to be the major mechanism by which other incentives affect motivation. Within the workplace, money was found most effective as a motivator when the rewards offered were contingent on achieving specific objectives.

Source: CIPD Technical Report

Some easy tips to start

These are quite simple, but their impact is too big not to mention them. 

Write them down. Studies have proven that writing your goals down, increases your probabilities of success. 

Share your goals. Make someone else aware of your goals and give them periodic feedback on your progress. 

You should also apply both of them into your company goals. 

How to improve your goal setting through your leadership

Considering the facts above, here are some tips on how you can improve your goal setting by being a great leader:

Goals should be difficult but not competitive. Make sure that both individuals and team goals are aligned, so they don´t create a rivalry. Also, they should be consistent and well aligned with your company culture. 

Create long-term and short-term goals. The latter will help you in creating a plan, stay on track and keep high motivation, while achieving your long-term goals. 

Feedback, support, and appreciation. Make sure you are present during the process to support your team. Giving feedback and appreciating their small wins are important to keep strong morale. 

Listen, share, and communicate. Listen to what their feelings and emotions are. Create goals that are aligned with your team´s motivations. Communicate with them consistently and share the progress. 

Find a professional. A professional can support you and your team during the process, increase your motivation, and help you stay on track. When you want to buy a house or make an investment, you find someone to help you. Goal setting is the same. So, don’t underestimate the power of professional support. 

We hope this content will help you in your goal setting for this New Year. As Optimists, we believe you can be part of the successful 8%, but don’t leave it all on you to make that the case.

At Optimist Performance, we specialise in helping people maximise their potential and achieve their goals. Learn more about our executive coaching here or get in touch with us for a free touchpoint first call with one of our coaches. 

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