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”. 

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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.

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However, you will need to develop or change some habits and behaviours to reach your objectives. Unfortunately, this is not an easy task; but, it is not impossible either, and we want to help you succeed. 

The main barriers to creating new habits and breaking old ones

Before we get into the tactics for changing habits and behaviours, it’s important to understand the main roadblocks you’re likely to encounter.

As the saying goes, “knowledge is power”, so the more you know about the potential stumbling blocks you’ll face along the path, the easier it will be to conquer them.

When it comes to changing habits and behaviours, the following are the main roadblocks:

• Lack of motivation. Motivation is a fantastic method to start something new, but it will eventually wear off, so your strategy can’t rely solely on it.

• Lack of willpower. We rely on our willpower when we want to make a change, but, as motivation, willpower is a finite resource that isn’t strong enough to help you achieve long-term success.

The science behind habits and how to use them in our favour

There are various ideas, recommendations, and tactics for forming or breaking habits. Still, before we get into them, it’s critical to understand the foundation of it all: how new habits form and how the brain works regarding habits.

Habits are a set of behaviours that are repeated regularly and usually occur unconsciously.

However, habits are neural pathways connections between neurons that get stronger by repetition in our brains. In addition, neuroplasticity is our brains’ ability to create new neural connections, which means we can break old habits and create new ones. 

Habits have 4 key ingredients, cue, behaviour, craving and reward. These four elements constitute the habit loop. 

• The cue is the stimulus that triggers the behaviour. 

• The routine is the behaviour or response we execute in response to the cue. 

• The reward is the positive outcome we receive when performing the behaviour. 

• The craving is the Reward Anticipation Signal generated by our brain in response to the cue and in anticipation of the expected reward.

How to use science to change our habits

To help you establish or modify the habits you need to achieve your goals, we’ve gathered several theories and advice related to the different aspects of the habit loop and habit formation in the brain.

1. The nudge theory

Because habits are essentially a response to a cue, changing the cue or making it more difficult is one strategy to change our habits.

“A nudge is any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people’s behaviour in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives.”

Nudge Theory is founded on the premise that by influencing the environment, also known as choice architecture, one can impact the likelihood that individuals will choose one option over another.

Companies that promote exercise by making stair access simpler while hiding elevators are an example of this. This is also why numerous marketing efforts are created and how supermarkets organise their shelves.

We can make the cue appear more evident or more difficult to notice.

2. Use positive reinforcement 

We’ve discussed rewards, which are the primary motivation for our brains to form certain neural connections. When planning your rewards, bear in mind a few things.

• They must be given during or immediately after the behaviour is performed. So, while being healthy in a year is a fantastic long-term reward, it isn’t enough to form habits.

• They can be connected to our emotions. Positive emotions are a reward for our brains. This is what the celebration method is based upon. Every time we complete the desired behaviour, we celebrate it, which in turn generates a positive emotion.

3. Use the habit stacking method

We all have habits or neural connections that are highly engraved in our brains, so why don’t we use them to create new ones? This is why many tips out there talk about pairing your new desired habit to an old one. It’s easier for our brains to bring a small change to an already existing connection than to create a whole new one altogether. 

When using habit stacking is better to keep the add-on small. It may take you longer to achieve the desired results, but it increases your chances of success. 

4. Use Functional Imagery Training (FIT) 

We’ve mentioned before that motivation is important when starting a new habit, but it’s challenging to maintain. There is a better way to keep motivation, Functional Imagery Training (FIT). 

FIT is a new brief motivational intervention based on the Elaborated Intrusion theory of desire. FIT trains the habitual use of personalised, affective, goal-directed mental imagery to plan behaviours, anticipate obstacles, and mentally try out solutions from previous successes.

You can watch one FIT session here. 

The Optimist View…

Developing new habits or behaviours, modifying old ones, or even breaking them all together is difficult. However, at Optimist Performance, we believe that we can accomplish everything we set out minds to if we have the correct information and tools. 

Nonetheless, we recognise that any change needs effort on our part. Therefore we must be willing to put forth the effort. Furthermore, even if we are willing to perform the task, we may not know where to begin or how to proceed, but this is where we can help.

Are you ready? If you have set yourself up to achieve your goals this new year but want some reassurance or help to get there, get in touch with us and find out how our executive coaching can help you succeed in 2022. 

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Reflection is not only important to us, but it is also essential at every step of the way. As previously stated, we live in a society where we can be easily distracted. So taking the time to centre and point ourselves in the correct direction is one of the most effective methods to make the most of our time and ensure that we are on the right path to success.

We discussed self-reflection in a recent piece, but with the year drawing to a close and many of us already planning our goals for the following year, we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to take a look back. As a result, we’ll have a better idea of what we need to do moving forward.

15 questions to review and reflect

We’ve put together a list of questions to help you on your journey of self-reflection, but all of them can be used not only by yourself but also with members of your team, friends, family or community.

Answering these questions will not only help you better understand yourself, but it will also help you better understand others, and the better we understand others, the easier it will be to do the right thing for them.

In addition, with many of us working remotely and considering how quickly things are changing in the workplace, spending time to reflect with your team may be an excellent opportunity to bring the team closer together and provide clarity on people’s needs for the coming year.

Let’s start our journey of self-reflection with some questions about the past:

1. What did go well in the past year?
2. What’s your more significant achievement this year? What are you most proud of?
3. How did you grow in the past year?
4. What could have gone better? What would you do differently or don’t do at all?
5. What are you holding on to that is not serving you anymore?
6. What was the most challenging part of this year for you? Why?
7. What have you overcome this year?
8. What challenges do you still need to conquer?
9. How did you take care of yourself this year?
10. Emotionally, mentally, physically?
11. What character trait did you develop most over the past year?
12. What character traits do you need to develop further?
13. What excited you this past year?
14. What disappointed you this past year?
15. What have you not done this year that you wish you had?

Plus 5 more to help you prepare for goal setting

Once we have reflected on the past and are clear about what went well and what we need to improve, we can start reflecting on the future. Here are some questions to help you:

1. Are your goals still valid?
2. Are you closer to achieving your goals? If not, why? What would you need in order to achieve them?
3. What would you like to change in the new year?
4. What would you like to keep moving forward? What would you like to drop? (This can be a habit, behaviour, or anything else)
5. How would you like to better yourself next year? Which areas of development would you like to focus on next year?

The Optimist view…

Taking time to reflect on the past can seem a bit like dwelling, but in fact, it’s the opposite of it. Reflection is a tool to achieve our goals. Reflect is not about punishing ourselves or others for what went wrong, but rather about learning from our mistakes or shortcomings to ensure we do better in the future. 

At Optimist Performance, we make reflections part of our everyday processes. We, like everyone else, sometimes get sidetracked, which is why taking a minute to reflect is so important for us.

Reflections are also part of all our programmes; we cannot change if we don’t know what we need to change. Learn more about our leadership programmes and executive coaching, or get in touch with us today and find out how we can help you and your team. 

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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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In the post last week, we talked about the feelings and emotions of our teams. This week we want you to focus on yourself. Take some time to do a bit of introspection and think about what you are grateful for this year. 

Being grateful is a habit you should develop and exercise every day. It is simple, it doesn’t take long, and it has enormous benefits.  

By focusing on all the good things in your life, you will create an overwhelming sense of positivity that directly influences your feelings, emotions, and behaviours. You will see immediate results and benefits from these actions, not only in your life but also in the lives of those around you. 

This is the power of a positive mindset!

Positive Mindset: What does it mean?

A Positive Mindset or Positive Thinking doesn’t mean you need to feel happy all the time. It means that you adopt a positive attitude about yourself and the world around you. You decide to focus on the good and try to find the positive in every situation. 

‘Reality’ and being ‘realistic’ is all about perspective, and we are in full control of that perspective and the horizons that we set ourselves.

It is our choice, how we approach and react to this, and what we deem as our own ‘reality’ is critical in determining the levels that we are prepared to reach.

A negative outlook on this often sees people adopt a victim mindset and struggle to move forward. Whilst a more positive approach will see us focusing on the bright side of life and us pushing our boundaries beyond any levels that we originally anticipated. 

Ultimately, It is up to you how you want to go through life. 

Some tips on how to change into a positive mindset

Changing your mindset is not a one day job, it is something you need to work on every day.

Here are some tips on how to start:

Cultivate good habits. Creating good habits will make you feel better about yourself. Examples of this could be exercising every day or trying to eat a healthier and more balanced diet. 

Take time for yourself. It is essential to arrange some time a day to focus on yourself, use this time for an activity you enjoy. We understand how difficult this is. Our advice is to schedule these free times on your agenda, to make sure you stick to them. 

Be present. Don’t spend too much time focusing on the past or the future, the only moment you can change is the present. 

Surround yourself with the right people. Feelings and emotions are contagious, so try to be around positive and happy people. You can also find a mentor, motivational speaker, or coach to guide you through this journey.  

Focus on the positive. You don’t have to avoid negative thoughts or situations, but try to maintain a positive attitude towards them the majority of the time. 

Be grateful every day. Before you go to sleep, take two minutes to think about all the things you are grateful for. 

Focus on the good things, even if they are small. Even the smallest things can have a big impact on your emotions. 

Practice selfless acts. It doesn’t have to be a big deed but doing good for others will make you feel better, and you can create a snowball effect from there. 

At Optimist Performance we feel gratitude for…

This year has been unusual and we have been living with uncertainty, but as optimists, we like to look at the positive of every situation. 

These are some positive outcomes from this year:

Spending time with our partners and children. We either have been working from home or not working at all. By staying at home, we got to spend a lot more time with our partners and children, and we became closer together. 

Create new habits. The extra free time allowed us to create some good habits during lockdowns. We started exercising every day, eating healthier, and reading more. 

Personal Development. We had time to focus on our personal goals. We learned new skills and challenged ourselves to do new things and start new projects. 

What about you? What do you feel gratitude for this year? We would love to hear about it in our comment section below. 

From Optimist Performance, we want to wish you a Merry Christmas. 

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