Up-and-coming leaders often hear the advice that to land those high-ranking roles, especially in the C-suite, they’ve got to show some “executive presence” (EP). Traditionally, this boiled down to three things: having gravitas, nailing communication skills, and looking the part. But how have our ideals about EP changed over the past decade, and what are they today?

Gravitas: Inclusiveness and Respect for Others. Traditionally dominated by confidence and decisiveness, gravitas now places a premium on inclusiveness and respect for others. For leaders creating high-performance teams, this signals a crucial shift towards fostering diverse and inclusive environments. Encourage team members to appreciate and support each other, ensuring everyone feels valued. MGM Resorts International’s “culture of yes” serves as an exemplary tactic, empowering employees and enhancing their work experience.

Communication: Zoom Mastery and “Listen to Learn” Orientation. The accelerated adoption of virtual communication has elevated the importance of Zoom mastery in the EP playbook. Developing leaders of high-performance teams should involve honing virtual communication skills. Additionally, the emphasis on a “listen to learn” orientation reflects the contemporary preference for leaders who prioritize understanding before deciding. Develop these traits within your team, fostering an environment where diverse perspectives are actively sought and valued.

Appearance: Authenticity in the “New Normal”. Authenticity emerges as a newfound treasure in the appearance category. Leaders are now expected to showcase who they fundamentally are, shunning outdated ideals. Getting the most out of your high-performance teams requires cultivating authenticity within team members. Encourage them to embrace their backgrounds, values, and unique strengths. Sundar Pichai’s adaptable yet professional style exemplifies dressing for the “new normal,” demonstrating the importance of aligning appearance with the evolving hybrid workplace.

Strategies for EP Development in Team Creation

1. Deliver Informed Empathy: Drawing inspiration from MGM Resorts International, encourage leaders to understand and respond to the unique challenges faced by their team members. Informed empathy can enhance morale and foster a positive work environment.
2. Hire and Utilise Diverse Talent: Following Dyson’s example, emphasise the value of a diverse workforce in driving disruptive innovation. Leaders building high-performance teams should actively seek out and leverage diverse talents to fuel creativity and success.
3. Proactively Manage Virtual Meetings: Borrowing from Reginn’s CFO Rosa Gudmundsdottir, instil best practices for high-impact virtual meetings. Ensure that technical aspects are addressed, relevant materials are shared in advance, and everyone has an opportunity to contribute.
4. Engage Eye-to-Eye: Encourage leaders to adopt a “listen to learn” orientation, drawing inspiration from Jørgen Vig Knudstorp’s approach at Lego. Actively seek insights from various stakeholders, both internal and external, to inform decision-making.
5. Showcase Roots and Values: Taking a cue from Thasunda Brown Duckett, leaders should be encouraged to embrace and showcase their backgrounds and values. This authenticity fosters connection and understanding within the team.

Conclusion 

The evolving rules of executive presence demand adaptability and a keen understanding of the current leadership landscape. For those coaching high-performance teams, it’s crucial to integrate these new elements into leadership development strategies. By aligning with the contemporary expectations outlined in Hewlett’s article, leaders can inspire their teams to greater achievements and contribute to the flourishing of their organisations in this dynamic era of leadership.

The post Navigating the Evolving Landscape of Executive Presence for High-Performance Team Leadership – By Optimist Performance appeared first on Optimist Performance.

If the last few years have taught us anything, it is that no matter how much we try to avoid uncertainty in our life, we can never escape it. The reality is that so many things are out of our control but will impact our lives. 

You have probably heard this a million times before. Still, by way of example, when I played rugby for England, we used the phrase “getting comfortable with feeling uncomfortable”, and this is exactly what being antifragile means. Back then, it meant getting our heart rates up before training to get comfortable with that level of stress.

While I am not expecting people in the office to get their heart rates up intentionally, we can still train ourselves to be comfortable with uncomfortable situations. 

A great example of this is Netflix and their monkey chaos strategy. “The team created a custom tool that was explicitly designed to cause chaos in their system at unexpected times, popping out of no-where and wreaking havoc in their network.”

What does antifragility mean?

Nassim Nicholas Taleb came up with the term antifragile in 2012, describing it as “things that gain from disorder.” 

Being antifragile is different from being resilient because you don’t only recover from adversity; you actually get better by it. Considering the times we live in, it seems we could all benefit from being more antifragile both in our professional and personal lives.

In the book Ikigai, the authors describe 3 things we can do as individuals to become more antifragile: 

• Create more options, don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
• Bet conservatively in certain areas and take many risks in others. 
  • Taking small risks that might lead to great rewards.
• Get rid of the things that made you fragile. Setting good riddance goals. 

These tips are incredibly useful for any individual, but if we want to become antifragile in every aspect of our lives, we’ll need to shift our mindset. 

You can read more about ikigai here.

How can we shift our mindsets to become more antifragile?

This can seem challenging, but the reality is we already are more antifragile than we think. How our bodies react when doing weights is a great example of physical antifragility. We create a stressor in our bodies, and our bodies get better by it. (You can read more about stress, our bodies and antifragility here)

The same can be said about our minds; the majority of us learn and grow from challenges. Google did a thought experiment called “The eraser test”, where they asked people if they would erase the traumatic events in their lives, consequently erasing all that came from those events too. A surprising 99.99% of people said they wouldn’t erase it. The reality is that those challenges make us learn and grow. 

So, how can we shift our mindsets? We can use stoicism as an example. The stoic put themselves in difficult situations even when they aren’t real, just to get comfortable with it in case the worst scenario happens. For example, they imagine (some even live it for a while) how it would be to be poor even if they have a very comfortable and wealthy lifestyle. 

We can use this tool for ourselves and our teams too. We can imagine challenging situations and explore how they would make us feel and how we would act. We can also put ourselves in difficult but controlled situations to get used to that uncomfortable feeling. This is what getting our heart rates up did to my rugby team: it prepared us for real games. 

So, how can we build an antifragile team?

Create trust. Trust is, for me, the most important ingredient to building an antifragile team. By creating trust, people will feel more comfortable dealing with the unexpected, making mistakes or raising concerns. 

Mistakes are a good thing. While no one wants to make mistakes, we can’t always avoid them, and the reality is that we shouldn’t either. By making mistakes (as long as they are not exponential), we can learn and grow. 

Allow space for innovation. The more restricted we are in our teams, the bigger the chance that a small change will disrupt them. However, if we continually strive for innovation, we will be more accustomed to uncertainty as part of the process. 

Read more about how to look at uncertainty the Optimist way. 

Reduce the resistance to change. According to the change management theory, our resistance to change has to be lower than the effort that change will demand. If we work on making change normal, we will decrease our resistance to change. 

Take small risks. Become used to risks. In business and life, there will always be a certain amount of risk; this, however, increases exponentially in uncertain times. If we continually take small and controlled risks, we will get comfortable with them. 

The optimist view…

The question “what would happen if I get hit by a bus tomorrow” aims to help prepare the team for any unpredictable challenge. I still look both ways when crossing the road, but my goal is that everyone in the team becomes comfortable with taking risks, making decisions and taking ownership of their roles. 

At Optimist Performance, we work with businesses to explore, engage with and evolve their team values, behaviours and culture. It’s an iterative and co-creative process so that teams are committed and involved at every stage of the process, resulting in them being better prepared for uncertainty or the unexpected.  This means that no matter what happens, having built into the process and stress tested along the way, a team’s ability to get comfortable feeling uncomfortable, those involved can be confident and prepared for what happens next.  

Get in touch with us to learn more about how we can help you and your team get ready for uncertainty and change.

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The post Building an antifragile team – By Ollie Phillips appeared first on Optimist Performance.

When we don’t belong, we feel guilty, rejected, anxious, depressed, angry, alone, jealous and isolated. We are more inclined to show behaviour problems, commit crimes and have suicidal ideation.

This means that a sense of belonging is essential for your mental health, and work can be a great source to find it. However, considering that many people are still getting used to working remotely and that travel restriction might make us feel more alienated from family and friends, now is an excellent time to begin focusing on our sense of belonging.

The good thing is that according to a study, we don’t need to be together in the same room to reap the benefits of feeling part of a team. 

But why is belonging to a group so important?

Why do humans need a sense of belonging?

According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, belonging is part of one of the fundamental needs that motivate human behaviour.

Belonging is not only a want but a necessity, according to research by psychologists Baumeister and Leary. A need that is almost as intense as the need for food in humans.

In addition, a recent MIT study discovered that we crave relationships in the same brain region that we crave food and that we experience social exclusion in the same brain area that we experience physical pain.

A lack of sense of belonging at work can also lead to job dissatisfaction and health problem, and it’s a strong predictor of depression.

We define a sense of belonging as that feeling of connectedness to a group or community. It’s the sense that you’re part of something. You feel attached, close and thoroughly accepted by your people.

While there is no consensus yet on how to define a sense of belonging, some factors have been proven to be critical in achieving it. These are:

• Acceptance
• Attention
• Support

While been together in the same room can help, none of these are impossible to accomplish from a distance. Surely we all can remember a person we saw daily but with whom we didn’t feel any connection. 

Create a sense of belonging for yourself

Relationships require time and effort, and in order to build them, the work needs to start with you. 

Using the three aspects above, we’ve compiled a list of tips that can help you, as an individual, to feel like you belong:

Work on acceptance. Validation is one of the most effective ways to convey acceptance. Validation is the recognition that someone’s internal experience is understandable, and it helps you stay on the same page, feeling like you belong, even if you disagree.

Look for similarities instead of differences. Try to find things you have in common with your peers. 

Be open to new possibilities and avoid judgment. Participate in activities with others, even if it’s not something you’d typically do. Be willing to try new things and form new relationships.

Be aware of nonverbal communication. Keep a close eye on your nonverbal communication. When we don’t feel comfortable, our nonverbal signals can appear unfriendly. 

Ask for support. Don’t be hesitant to seek help when you require it, even if it is minor. Asking someone’s opinion or input can be a terrific way to start a relationship and can help you discover mutual interests.

Speak up and be seen. On the other hand, don’t be scared to speak up if you have anything to say or add. Everyone has something to contribute, and you will have skills and expertise that others will undoubtedly value. This might also assist you in achieving acceptance.

Make an effort and be patient. It takes time and effort to form connections with other individuals. Be patient and give it your all.

Help your team to create a sense of belonging

Creating a feeling of belonging is not something we can do for others, but we definitely can help. 

Want to help the people in your team to achieve a sense of belonging? We have gathered some tips here:

Create opportunities for people to connect. It can be challenging to find things in common when working remotely or with someone you have never met in person. However, as a company leader, you can help. Create events outside of work to foster connections based on shared interests, even if they are remote. You can also build forums where people can discuss various topics. (Read more about team building activities here)

Set up a mentoring programme. According to research, encouragement of mentorship can help with the development of a sense of belonging. This is excellent for new employees or people who have a hard time making connections.

Foster alliances. The same study shows that even having one ally inside a group can improve our sense of belonging. A way to do this is to connect two people you know can help each other or have shared values and goals. 

Ask about people’s views on what they would do. Even soliciting suggestions on how to foster a sense of belonging can be beneficial, which is helpful to newcomers and those who feel excluded. (Read more about how to use questions to empower your team)

Create psychological safety. It’s critical to create an environment where people feel safe and can be themselves. As we said before, a sense of belonging is based on acceptance and support, and it would be challenging to feel accepted if the environment doesn’t allow you to be yourself. 

Allow freedom and autonomy. While sharing common goals and values contribute to a sense of belonging, autonomy is also essential. It’s nice to be a part of a group, but we must maintain our individuality and freedom.

Practise recognition and appreciation. Being able to express one’s thoughts and feeling respected, as well as being appreciated, are crucial parts of experiencing a sense of belonging. As a company leader, you must help ensure that your employees are at ease with one another and with the organisation as a whole.

Reimagine the recruitment process. You can start helping your team to create a sense of belonging from the start by choosing people who you know would fit with the rest of your team. Wes MD uses the “speed dating” style as part of their interview process. When they have a candidate they like, they arrange for them to meet different people from the team. This ensures that they are a good fit and that you are selecting the best applicant for the job. (Read more about their experience here)

The Optimist View…

We all belong somewhere, we just need to find our tribe. Likewise, finding our tribe will require some effort on our part too. 

At Optimist Performance, we have our tribe too. A tribe of Optimists! 

The post Do you or anyone in your team lack a sense of belonging? Check out these tips appeared first on Optimist Performance.

Did you know that 65% of employees would like to receive more feedback than they currently do? Also, 98% of employees feel disengaged when managers give little or no feedback?

Feedback can help you increase engagement and performance. Unfortunately, giving feedback is not as easy as it may seem. The reason behind it is the way our brains work. 

How our brains work

Our brains primarily exist in two states: “approach/reward” versus “avoid/threat”. In order to survive, our brains are wired to avoid threats or danger and seek rewards.  

Our limbic system, where the amygdala is, is the part of the brain that receives information from our senses and translates them into emotions. This means that our limbic system is in charge of labelling a situation as a reward or a threat. 

When the limbic system senses a threat, it automatically activates the famous “fight or flight” response. Furthermore, in this process, it impairs our ability to make decisions, solve problems, etc.

Unfortunately, feedback is perceived as a threat by our brains, which means that we move into survival mode when it happens. This makes us incapable of rationalising and considering the feedback as constructive. 

In addition to being unprepared to receive feedback; the majority of us don’t like giving it either. It makes us feel stressed, pressured and generally uncomfortable. 

According to research, 44% of managers believed that giving developmental feedback was stressful or difficult. 

Why do we feel threatened by feedback?

To understand this, we will use the David Rock SCARF model. This model explains five major concerns that drive human behaviours:

Status: Status is about relative importance, ‘pecking order’ and seniority. Humans hold a representation of status in relation to others when in conversations. 

Uncertain: Our desire to predict the near future, or at least have some level of certainty about it.

Autonomy: Our sense of control over our environment and the events around us. 

Relatedness: Our sense of belonging and desire to feel part of something. 

Fairness: Our perception of fair exchanges. 

When we are given feedback, we can feel threatened and all or some of our behavioural responses listed above can begin to be feel compromised and challenged. 

For example, we can think that we have been treated unfairly if more people were responsible for whatever caused the feedback, but we are the only ones getting the input. 

It can threaten our status if we think that the feedback may lead to being excluded from the project or even let go from the company. 

It also threatens our certainty because we are unaware of what may happen. 

All these can seem a bit dramatic. Unfortunately, our minds are constantly worrying about the future, and any of these situations will lead them to think about all the bad things that may happen because of the feedback. 

Optimists Tips towards giving great feedback

Fortunately for all of us, knowing the reasons behind it can help us choose the right way to give feedback. Here are some tips:

The right environment 

The environment in which we offer feedback is crucial. For example, toxic environments that don’t tolerate mistakes or where there is no trust will make it really difficult to provide feedback. 

On the other hand, if people feel safe with you, as a leader, and the rest of the team, they will be more open to receiving feedback constructively. 

• Focus on creating a healthy environment.
• Nurture the relationship within your team to build trust.  

Normalise feedback 

Another essential part of feedback is making sure that it’s constant, constructive and efficient. 

• Make it part of your culture. Offer feedback constantly. 
• Ensure that it is reciprocal. Encourage your team to offer feedback too. 
• Positive and constructive feedback. Ensure that you provide both positive and constructive feedback.

This doesn’t mean that when you want to give constructive feedback, you start with a positive one (our brains can see through this tactic pretty quickly). It means that you’re genuinely making feedback part of your daily activities. 

Choose the right time and place to give feedback

It’s important to consider when and where we should offer feedback. Also, because you know the people in your team, you will be able to decide if people are in the right state of mind that day to receive the feedback. Remember that we are all entitled to have bad days. 

This impacts your time and place too. Avoid giving feedback when you’re upset or agitated. All of which will involuntarily show through your non-verbal signs. 

Be aware of non-verbal cues

• Choose the right tone of voice.
• Carefully consider how you talk (paralanguage). Pauses, speed, loudness, …
• Pay attention to your posture and facial expressions. 

Choose the proper focus 

As much as any of us wish to, we can’t change the past. So make sure your feedback has the proper focus. 

• Instead of putting the attention on the past, choose to offer feedback that focuses on how a past situation can help us do better in the future.
• In the same way, focus on how your feedback can help the individual’s learning and growth. 

Use questions 

Using questions to offer feedback makes the other person more receptive and responsive to the feedback. (Check our previous post where we talked about how questions activate our brain). 

You can use questions such as:

• What would you change?
• How would you do it differently next time?
• How can I help you more in the future? 

Make sure to take action

Whether you’re giving or receiving the feedback, make sure you act upon it. There is no point in offering feedback or asking for it if it won’t impact how we do things in the future. 

The Optimist view…

We’ve talked mostly about offering feedback, but just as important is being open to receiving it. 

As individuals, whatever position we’re currently in, there are always ways in which we can improve and better ourselves. If you seek improvement, you need to welcome feedback.

At Optimist Performance, we help leaders and individuals maximise their strengths to achieve their full potential. 

Learn more about our motivational speaking, executive coaching, and experiential events. Or get in touch with us for a free consultation about any of our services. 

The post Why doesn’t feedback work? 7 Tips to maximise feedback – By Optimist Performance appeared first on Optimist Performance.

Studies show that “More than half of workers admitted to being nervous about returning to work.”

So, you need to focus on reengaging and reconnecting with your team. And providing some team-building activities can help you do it. 

First and foremost, it will allow you to spend time with your team and understand how they feel and how you can help support them through the transition. Second, it’s a way to ensure that people feel supported and valued during the process, whether it be remote or onsite teams. 

OUR PERSONAL STORY

At Optimist Performance, we had our first in-person meeting a couple of weeks ago. Naturally, we wanted to see each other personally, but we also wanted to evaluate how everyone felt. 

We started our morning by focusing on people’s strengths and how we could help each other to reduce workload and stress. Based on this, we created a strategy to optimise people’s strengths and time. 

After a productive morning, we move onto the fun part of the day. We spent the afternoon out in the river and enjoyed our first lunch together……..finally! 

It wasn’t a crazy team-building activity, but it still brought us closer together and allowed us to catch up, break bread, re-engage and get to know each other better. 

The reason to share this story is that we have seen first-hand how getting the team together for some ‘out of the ordinary’ activity can help productivity, performance, teamwork, and even mental health. 

THE BENEFITS OF TEAM BUILDING ACTIVITIES

Team building activities can have many benefits, but it’s essential to have a clear purpose. Knowing what you are trying to accomplish will help you plan a suitable activity for your team. 

Once you know the purpose of the session, it’s important to communicate what you intend or hope to take away from the experience, whatever that may be.   

These are some of the benefits and purpose of team building activities:

Reconnect with your team 

According to a Microsoft study, our networks have shrunk during the pandemic. Team building activities or events are an excellent way to build new connections and strengthen the ones you already have. 

Why not explore organising an event for every team in your organisation? An opportunity to help people build connections outside their immediate teams and reconnect with each other and the company after such a long time away.

Improve productivity and innovation

Changing our scenery can be hugely beneficial to innovation. It gives people a different perspective and can help to bring new ideas to the table. 

Any activity that gets us out of our comfort zone can spark our innovation and creativity. Even games that make our inner child flourish are great to inspire innovation. 

Enhance teamwork and collaboration 

Collaborating outside the office environment can help people to recognise and value each other’s strengths. In addition, it will make it easier to apply these strengths to the workplace and make people more confident about asking for help. 

Organising an activity where people need to work together towards achieving something, be it big or small, can help boost teamwork and collaboration. 

Improve communication

Sometimes, it can be challenging to find the time to have a conversation with a colleague during work hours. If you’re new to the company or a more introverted type, it can be complicated to start conversations at work, even more so if working remotely.

Team building activities allow everyone to talk to each other in a more relaxed environment that feels less time-constrained or work specific. 

Take advantage of our newfound freedom and try to get everyone together for an in-person activity. It’s a lot easier to talk to different people when we are next to each other. 

Develop a better work-life balance 

Investing in these kinds of activities is a great way to show people that you care about their work-life balance. Of course, we all want our teams to be productive, but it’s important to let people know that not everything is about numbers. 

By providing a fun activity and environment for your team, you demonstrate the value you give to work-life balance. 

Create a sense of belonging

Everyone likes to feel included, but for some people, it can be challenging to interact with others while working remotely. Being part of group activities allows more accessible interactions and can help people feel part of the team. 

The more varied, challenging and, in some cases, extreme the situation, the deeper and stronger the bonds can be. It’s common sense but often isn’t common practice.

When you spend an extended period of time with someone or overcome a challenge together, it creates a memory. That memory prompts you to feel more connected to that person, which in turn builds trust, and trust helps to foster long term, sustainable and more productive partnerships.

Thankfully for you, life-changing experiences and creating great memories is one of our areas of expertise! :). 

Team building activities have many benefits, and they can help reinforce your company values; unfortunately, they can’t produce miracles. 

If your company values aren’t aligned with and underpin the event’s purpose, then the whole thing just becomes an excuse to have some free time and a jolly. Either way, it loses its value and undermines the entire intention of it and can end up being a waste of time and money. 

THE OPTIMIST VIEW

As a leader, it’s your job to lead by example and ensure that your actions and intentions are aligned with your company values. A well-planned team-building activity can help you deliver and emphasise those values to the rest of the team. 

We are aware of how much we can gain from these activities, which is why we organise life-changing experiences that help you re-engage with both your team and your clients. 

Life is about creating memories, and we want to create an unforgettable one for you and your team. We can organise activities both online and offline, and we tailor all our activities to your purpose, values and needs. 

Get in touch with us to know how we can help you create a life-changing experience for you today.

The post Engage with your team through team building activities – By Optimist Performance appeared first on Optimist Performance.

The holidays could be a very challenging time for your company. Even more so in these unusual circumstances.

At Optimist Performance we want to help you get through this time of the year. 

How can the spirit of Christmas affect your company?

The holidays affects people in different ways. Some people may be stressed to meet deadlines while others are already in the holiday mood. 

Statistics show that 27% of employees are less motivated during Christmas than any other time of year. 

This year, on top of the usual stress, most of us are working from home, we have been isolated for a long time and the future looks uncertain. 

Now more than ever it is important to keep your team engaged and motivated. 

Are you succeeding to engage with your team and colleagues?

Our reality is changing constantly, we are working from home again and living our third lockdown. 

It is important to know how all this uncertainty is affecting your team. You need to pay attention to their feelings. 

Are they feeling happy or sad about the holidays? Are they feeling stressed about meeting deadlines? What are their plans, or expectations?

Making an effort and taking the time to really understand their personal circumstances can give you a good idea as to what they need. 

Also, everyone likes to feel heard, and appreciated, even more around this time of the year. 

Why is this so important?

Well, it is not a secret that if we are feeling happy, appreciated, and we have a sense of belonging, we will perform better. 

Feelings create Emotions → Emotions control Behaviours → Behaviours determine your Decision-Making

“Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.” –John C. Maxwell

Ideas to help your team around Christmas:

Now, we know how Christmas can affect our companies performance and why it is important to engage with our teams.

Here are some ideas that can help and how:

• Take the time to reorganise tasks.

Make your time management skills shine. Maybe get someone who has already finished their job to help someone who still has a way to go or create groups so they can help each other.

Create a united team. They either fail or succeed, but they do it together. Having common goals and tasks will help them act as a team. 

An example of this could be your own family, imagine that your family is organising the Christmas dinner, and you are in charge of assigning tasks. In this case, you would take into consideration how much time each of them has, what are they better at (cooking, decorating, …), etc… 

If we translate this example to your company, you can do the exact same thing. 

• Make them feel valued: Christmas is the perfect time to practice the art of giving.

An important part of being a great leader is to make people feel valued. A Christmas gift is a perfect way to make them feel appreciated.

It is not about the money or gift itself, but about the gesture. The important thing is to show them how you feel about them and about the work they have been doing. 

• Create a community: A place where they belong. 

Spending time together after office hours can create a stronger sense of community and belonging.

We all love Christmas Parties, celebrating with our colleagues and just having some fun. If in other years, we were eager to celebrate, surely this year the feeling is even stronger. 

We can´t go out and meet in a pub, but we still can virtually spend time together.

The important thing is not what we do, it is how it makes us feel. 

We are Optimists, and we believe that every day gives us a new opportunity to do and be better.

We hope this content will help you to achieve your goals and become a better leader for your team. 

Also, we would love to hear from you. What are your thoughts? How are you coping with Christmas time at work? 

The post The importance of the Christmas Spirit at your company appeared first on Optimist Performance.

All of these people have invested a great deal of time, energy and also money into being on this trip. They’ve also pledged to each raise at least £10,000 for children’s charity Wooden Spoon so it’s an incredible commitment.

How will everyone respond to the challenge of Everest? The nerves, the pain, the altitude, the emotional expenditure. How will I react? In going through things in my own mind, here are the top five things I’ll be reminding myself and those around me.

1. Accentuate the positives

In everyday life but also up Mount Everest, let’s remind ourselves that it’s never as bad as it seems. It’s a cliche but focus on the positives. Negativity only breeds negativity. We are creatures of habit and contagious behaviour needs to reinforce a positive attitude all the time.

2. You’re never on your own

Never try and solve everything on your own. Every team or group is greater than the sum of its parts. There will always be a piece of wisdom there from someone else, so be alive to that.

3. Listen

People will have different opinions and perspectives, but we need to listen to each other. It’s a very tough skill for lots of people, particularly when the chips are down. Hit pause, listen to people around you and be a sounding board for reason.

4. Focus on the fix

If things go wrong, take the time to recognise what went wrong. Don’t rush. Then be relentless in fixing the issue with a solution.

5. Trust

I remember this from the Clipper Round the World Race. When the chips are down, it’s your ability to trust in the people around you that matters. Trusting systems, trusting training, trusting people. That helps you to adapt, stay positive and believe that, even if things go wrong, together you can still achieve your goal.

The post A mental map up Everest appeared first on Optimist Performance.

Since I retired from rugby I’ve been involved in some life-changing challenges which have continued to teach me about leadership, team-building and managing change in adversity. As a Director at PWC, I’ve also learnt how powerful these things can be in the world of business so I set up Optimist Performance to impart that same knowledge in the areas of Teamwork, Leadership, Resilience and Change to help businesses & teams exceed their potential.

This website is also the best place to find out about my latest adventure tours – for example I’m climbing Mount Everest this April – and my broadcasting work.

Whether it’s been captaining England in New Zealand, sailing through 80-foot waves, cycling across America or grappling with a new corporate lifestyle, I’ve always been one of life’s eternal optimists, so the name just seemed to work.

Creating Optimist Performance

I want to thank digital and creative agency Redwing for devising the new brand mark, which I love. Redwing were great in coming up with ideas, taking feedback on board and allowing a step-by-step process before we nailed it together, across the website and also social platforms. The compass and mountain imagery gives a strong nod to my various adventures!

Having a compass is important to me. In a literal sense it’s come in very handy hundreds of times now, but I think it’s crucial that we have a strong and conscious sense of where we’re trying to get to.

In the past couple of months I’ve done some work with an exciting sports sponsorship agency called Dark Horses. As a business they’re growing rapidly in a short space of time, which is great but also brings with it headaches. Like any company up-sizing, they’ll face inevitable challenges when it comes to retaining and nurturing the same core values and cultures they have at the heart of their team and their business, and that means navigating through some testing waters.

Hopefully by sharing some of my own experiences, applying them to my new corporate life at PWC, and also by asking them some challenging questions about how they think and behave, I’ve helped set them up to do that and I look forward to working with them some more on their journey. They certainly seem to be in a great place and hugely well equipped to move forwards.

I myself am still fully embracing my current role as Director for Real Estate & Construction at PWC. I head up a team of incredible people, all of whom know far more about it than I do. In fact, I’m often asked “Ollie, what do you know about construction?!” My answer is that I’m not here to put on a hard hat. I’m here to help them wear theirs as well as possible.

Are you facing challenges in teamwork, culture, behaviour or leadership?

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