Phoenix Training & Coaching

Coaching – Team or One to One

Successful Partnership Working – Top Tips video series

We often work with teams and partnerships.... and we've noticed some common pitfalls in how they operate, meaning that the road to success can be a lot bumpier than you'd hoped. So we produced a series of videos with some Top Tips on how to make your partnership and team working more effective.   Intro video Watch the rest of the series of 7 Top Tips below, plus the wrap up video.   Tip #1 for Successful Partnership Working - on the subject of the project/team/partnership mandate   Tip #2 for Successful Partnership Working - on the subject of the shared vision for success   Tip #3 for Successful Partnership Working - on HOW you work as a partnership/team   Tip #4 for Successful Partnership Working - on making sure your team really does add up to more than the sum of its parts   Tip #5 for Successful Partnership Working - on understanding your stakeholders   Tip #6 for Successful Partnership Working - on team vs. individual results   Tip #7 for Successful Partnership Working - on effectively reviewing or checking in with progress - without micro-managing!   Wrap up - and how we could help YOUR partnership/team   That's it - do message us on [email protected], or comment below, if you'd like a FREE no strings 30 minute call to explore your needs and ask us some questions.        

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Difference, differentiation and diversity.

Diversity of uniqueness As Garry Turner’s (The Listening Organisation) recent newsletter to subscribers pointed out, there is a lot of pressure in modern society to be ‘different’ or to stand out to be ‘the best’. ‘Differentiation’ has emerged alongside this, with companies and technology now seeking to tailor make their products or services to particular groups, subsets, demographics or even at the extreme to individual needs. We’re being told from so many angles that ‘being different is good.’ And yet as Garry points out, being different can also be polarising and separating. He goes onto explore connection as the antidote to difference or differentiation. I had a different thought when I read his views. Whilst I wholeheartedly embrace the importance of connection as an antidote to difference or differentiation, it also made me question whether there was another way to achieve it. What I get excited by is ‘diversity of uniqueness.’ This is where we have the possibility of celebrating everyone’s unique gifts and talents, accepting and welcoming our diversity of physical and mental ability, sexuality or gender, ethnicity, thought, cultures and backgrounds etc. And more than that – the possibility of acknowledging all of these as varied and valid expressions of humanity, whilst rejoicing in our connection as humans and our common humanity. Commonly, current diversity programmes and initiatives seem to focus primarily on ensuring there is equal (or at least more diverse) representation in the workplace of genders in particular, with increasing focus on ethnicity. This is hugely important and needs tireless work on this and extensions of the principle (LGBTQ+ inclusion as one example.)What seems to be less in the spotlight is the simpler act of celebrating the diversity of thought, experience, [...]

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A Systems approach to team success: Lessons from the Thai cave rescue

Recently I worked with a team who are working to deliver a joint project together.  They had a project plan, actions and Leads for each area.  Good progress was being made.  Then an unexpected absence by one Lead meant that certain actions weren’t completed, and the project fell behind. I was curious about this from a Systems point of view. In Systems work, Roles belong to the system (team in this case) and not to individuals.  So, the role of performing this Lead task belonged to the system rather than the person who took it on. What’s interesting is that when the system was disrupted in some way, the role was not taken up by anyone else in the system, with consequences for the project.  Systems are regularly disrupted for a variety of reasons:  People joining or leaving a team, sickness or accidents, new information or priorities, etc. So, I wondered about what had happened in my client team when their system was disrupted and came up with some options which I later explored with the team. Lack of clarity on team purpose – what they were here to do Lack of buy in to the team purpose (not unifying or compelling enough?) Lack of awareness of what each Lead was doing and where they were up to (was there a process in place to keep each other updated?) Focus on individual vs. the team objectives/results (so that perhaps a heavy workload for other members of the team/system may have meant they didn’t stop and check, or have time to pick up additional tasks as they prioritised their own projects.) And then I wondered what would have happened, or perhaps DID happen, in the recent [...]

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How hard do you push your team members?

"Trust is knowing that when a team member does push you, they're doing it because they care about the team."    Patrick Lencioni We've been working a lot recently with teams who through building trust and relationships are arriving at a place of healthy, constructive conflict in service of maximising team achievement and results. If trust is absent, many will either avoid putting their head above the parapet and openly disagreeing with others or pushing you harder, or will push in a way that is destructive and counter-productive. By building strong relationships based on deep trust, it becomes okay to disagree or to push others - and yourself - harder, because there is a shared goal or purpose towards which you are working.  And disagreement or a push is more likely to be viewed as 'just another perspective' rather than potentially destabilising when you know it's because they just want the best for the team result. How deep are the relationships and trust in your team?  How do you know they are deep enough to allow healthy conflict?   How do you encourage creative conflict so that people can have their say? What are your experiences of the impact of trust - or its absence - in teams?

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Creating positive change

I believe every one of us can create positive change in the world, on some scale. Find something you can do, then do it, and just keep moving forward. If you need help with that, find the right resource - a friend, a mentor, a coach, Phoenix. #humanity_to_wk

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“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”

"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it." -Charles Swindoll It's easy to play the victim in today's world - "They did this to me" or "Why does this always happen to me?" or "It's not   my fault". This mindset is self-limiting and disempowers you, and frankly leaves you feeling weak and helpless. What would happen if you took full responsibility for everything that happens to and around you? If instead you asked questions like "What can I learn from this?" or "What can I do with this now it's happened?" or "What's my next step, now?" or even "How can I turn this around into something useful?" Notice how liberating and empowering this new mindset can be. Sure, it's okay to take a moment to express a frustration. Then get over it, move on and choose your new path forward. That's how you create the life you want and feel more positive. When I took responsibility, it changed my life.  Or more accurately, I changed my life, career and whole outlook.  I still have moments of weakness and indulgent self-pity - and mostly, after a very brief wallow, I get up, face forward and decide 'What's next?' Try it out for yourself and let us know how you find it.

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Race for Life – Cancer Research UK

It's not everyday I say I'll run a race. I really don't enjoy running and am not yet very good at it (I can only run for around 3 minutes at a time as I write).  But Race for Life raises money for Cancer Research UK - and I'd say that brings some Humanity to Work.  And that's what I'm here to do..... So on 21st June I'll be donning my trainers, pushing through some mental and physical barriers and running (mostly) the Race for Life.  I'm already learning a lot about myself as I do some training.... and I know there will be some lessons on the day.  Human beings are amazing, powerful beings. I know that the sea of humanity and encouragement will carry me a long way on the day.  And the thought that the money raised might help prevent one premature death from cancer.... well that makes the effort more than worth it. If you'd like to sponsor me, you can find my page on http://www.justgiving.com/JoWright-HumanityToWork Bringing Humanity to Work. Thank you.  Jo.

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Effective Goal Setting

It’s a New Year! Time to make those resolutions—or is it?  Effective Goal Setting New Year’s resolutions...they are a waste of time and I don’t make them! Why? “Resolutions” made at   a time when social pressure and an arbitrary date in the diary dictate that we “should” decide things, are doomed from the start. A controversial viewpoint, you may think? Well, let’s start with the facts: -          Around 43% of people make New Year’s resolutions. -          Of those, close to 4 in 10 have broken them by the end of January, while a further third only keep them up for six months.[1]   I have a theory as to why. First, New Year’s resolutions are made using our conscious mind—the logical front brain part—which, like a captain of a ship, sets the direction for the crew. I’ll come back to the crew in a moment. Secondly, most of the time New Year’s resolutions are not actually goals. How many of us set New Year’s resolutions like, “I’ll go to the gym three times a week,” or “I’ll give up smoking” or “I’ll create a better work-life balance”? These are not goals. Why not? A goal is an outcome, not the thing or action you do to get the outcome.  Sometimes the actions themselves may not excite us, but a great goal should! So ask yourself why do you want to go to the gym three times a week? What will stopping smoking really do for you? Getting the right higher level goal can be a powerful motivator and push you through the actions you’ll need to take in order to succeed. In the example—“I’ll create a better work-life balance”—what does a “better work-life balance” [...]

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