I believe humans can learn a lot if they only invested some time observing the interactions of other species of the animal kingdom.

If there’s a dog at home, then you have an in-house Guru who can show you some tricks that will benefit your career and even your relationships.

I’m not talking about chasing your tail (or even an imaginary one), barking at everyone or digging holes and hoarding prized possessions, which guarantee being stuck in a rut but more concrete activities.

I’ve seen these furry-faced companions interact both as pack animals when we had 5 miniature brown dachshunds as well as my current canine pal, Miss Coco in action.

That’s when I discovered how authentic leaders are chosen not on the basis of seniority or authority but because the dog is able to ascertain who is the strongest, wisest and worthy of being the leader.

They literally look at the options in front of them and evaluate them based on different qualities and dare I say actually apply the concept of 5 Power Bases of Leadership.

Dogs are pack animals and choose their own Leader

I discovered that when I was stuck in bed with a broken leg and had all the time in the world to observe what the family lovingly called The Dachshund Five.

I saw how Goldie became the leader. By chance she was also the eldest. If she barked and ran in a direction, the other 4 followed in a line.

If there was a squabble between any of them, Goldie would actually go and intervene.

She was a genuine leader who led by example and even a role model for the other 4 members of her family.

When the cast came off my leg and I was learning to balance myself without a crutch, I had 5 little ones follow me ready to break my fall even if I broke their backs by falling on them.

Fortunately dogs consider humans to be superior so we don’t become members of the pack but can become leaders – provided we demonstrate our worth. In fact, dogs are known to assess the humans in the house and select one.

It seems I was the Chosen One and my parents would tell me about how Goldie ruled the home during the day and then retire once I got back from work.

I can only hope I lived up to the expectations of my beloved pets, especially Goldie.

Dogs really have high Emotional Intelligence

Even if you indulged me while I reminisced over The Dachshund Five, my assertion of canines having high EI or EQ is not baseless.

There’s an entire page in Wikipedia on Dog Intelligence. Studies have proven that just as humans experience a reduction in stress and anxiety levels by patting a dog for 15 minutes, when humans pet shelter dogs for 15 minutes or more, the dog becomes less anxious.

Our furry friends experience feelings of jealousy and studies have shown that a pet will try to solve the problem and get their pet parent’s attention back on them!

These wise animals are socially aware and can tell the difference in our emotional expressions of sad and happy human faces.

I know this for a fact as I shared my story with Bruno in my post Even Today, the Spirit of Yudhishthira’s Dog Lives On, where I recount how a small puppy kept me going as I faced my first redundancy in the post-Gulf War period.

If ever I saw the quality of empathy on display, this was it!

Miss Coco, the current Pup in Command in my home demonstrates empathy to outsiders too when we are on our walks and can teach my coaching clients a trick or two about networking!

That cute face with a wag-filled tail has made us the first friends any new resident makes when they come to live in our complex and more people remember her birthday and inquire about her if I am ever downstairs alone!

When I introduce fellow residents in the complex to each other, I actually add ‘X is also a friend of Miss Coco’s’ and suddenly both people seem to be more open to knowing each other!

Apparently they’ve passed the Know, Like and Trust criterion set by my dog!

Apply Dog Wisdom to positively impact your Career Prospect Now

Before you think only my canine companions have all the intelligence in the world, let me point out that every dog parent I’ve ever known has similar stories about their beloved furry family member.

That’s why I’m dedicating this post to the Canine Community and their Human Honorary Members with 7 pieces of Career Advice that dogs have to offer.

I’m not suggesting that you don’t consider hiring a Career or Executive Coach, but these tips are a good place to start.

Parting Words on career advice from dogs

I hope you’ve enjoyed the short but relevant presentation the dogs (and guest cats) made.

As the human writing this blog post, I have 3 more tips that I picked up as the Leader of the Pack:

1. Follow the rules. How does a dog know which objects are okay to chew? The logic behind some rules may elude you, but unless it’s visibly unfair or breaking a law, it’s best to go along with them to preserve order in the workplace. If you can’t, find another job.
2. Persistence is a big part of success. Stay focused and keep on the trail no matter what obstacles arise. (Hint: If you get blocked from digging under the fence, maybe you can persuade someone to open the gate for you.)
3. Contribute to the pack. Above all, think beyond your own interests to participate as a team player. Take satisfaction in working together to achieve common goals and improve everyone’s well-being. You can accomplish much more working with others than you ever could on your own. Be a team player!

If you feel you need more guidance, then download Karmic Ally Coaching’s 5 Ways to stay Confident in a Competitive Workplace here or by clicking below.

When you’ve applied out of the box thinking and presented a solution that would also improve productivity at work, how many times has it been accepted or applied?

How many times has it been chewed up and critiqued before the team has been ready to give the idea a shot?

I’m thinking about a friend who had a major pan department project that had to be completed but nobody knew how scope it leave alone how to do it.

She came up with a brilliant strategy after doing some out of the box thinking and then her superiors finally ‘woke up’ and applied their minds to it.

The final plan differed slightly to her original one but was a good one because an entire team was finally able to visualize the end goal and the process to get there.

Using the outside the box approach helped her to inspire others to share their wisdom and experience and when it came up at Board Level for approval, the CEO growled down anyone who raised objections!

Her efforts earned her accolades as she also applied the helicopter view.

Tip: If you want to strengthen your Executive Presence – master thinking outside of the square!

My friend was lucky that her superiors were open to new ideas and provide space for their staff to come up with new approaches but it isn’t always so.

Sometimes the answers that we seek won’t come from using our logical decision making on the perceived problem or trying to ‘fit’ the problem into our previous experience.

It will come from abandoning our assumptions and previous experience and looking at the problem from a new perspective.

In my post on developing the skill of having a helicopter view, I talk about being able to stand back from a task or activity and engage in both abstract and specific thinking.

Sometimes I feel the phrase Think outside the box is bandied about by managers and team leaders because it’s the ‘in’ phrase to use without actually considering the actual meaning of the phrase.

Truth of the matter is, some managers and bosses do not even want out-of-the-box thinkers, no matter what they say to the contrary.

During my corporate career, I worked for bosses who wanted their people to be creative in problem solving while others wanted to follow the rules and frameworks even some of them made no sense in the situation.

I agree that certain positions require rules to be followed like those of auditors whose work involves checking for compliance and risk management of their clients as well as checking the accuracy of the finances of their clients.

The times when creativity has been allowed in has also been the time when corporations like Enron have fallen, top accounting firms have collapsed and regulations like Sarbanne Oxley have been enacted.

Closer to home in India, the Satyam case led to 2 partners in a Big 4 firm – one on the verge of retirement and one partner who was signing his first balance sheet- being put in jail and the Securities and Exchange Bureau of India revamping rules!

This post is looking at the need to be adaptable and think on one’s feet to find solutions where none seem possible. We’re addressing creative thinking.

What’s thinking outside the box?

According to Wikipedia, Thinking outside the box (also thinking out of the box or thinking beyond the box and, especially in Australia, thinking outside the square) is a metaphor that means to think differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective.

This phrase often refers to novel or creative thinking. The term is thought to derive from management consultants in the 1970s and 1980s challenging their clients to solve the “nine dots” puzzle, whose solution requires some lateral thinking.

Going against conventional wisdom or trying a unique approach to a situation can yield the desired results provided you are open to applying the brainstorming ideas that emerge from thinking outside the box.

In my blog post Problem Solving by Coco the Cock a Tzu 

the first problem solving tip that my furry friend shared was creative thinking, or what we call thinking out of the box.

Here’s an anecdote that I had read a few years back about how a bit of imagination and creative thinking can solve problems.

I’ve seen different variations of this story and even discovered some history about its origins (including it being an urban legend and dating back to the 1880s) but I love this version the best.

How creative thinking got a potato garden digging done

An old man lived alone in Minnesota. He wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was very hard work.

His only son, who would have helped him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and explained his situation:

Dear Son,

I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won’t be able to plant my potato garden this year. I hate to miss doing the garden, because your mother always loved planting time. I’m just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me, if you weren’t in prison.
Love,
Dad

Shortly, the old man received this telegram: “For Heaven’s sake, Dad, don’t dig up the garden!! That’s where I buried the money!!”

At 4 a.m. the next morning, a dozen FBI agents and local police officers showed up and dug up the entire garden without finding any money.

Confused, the old man wrote another note to his son telling him what happened, and asked him what to do next.

His son’s reply was: “Go ahead and plant your potatoes, Dad. It’s the best I could do for you from here.”

Moral: Just be a little imaginative and see what happens!

This is a good example of what thinking outside of a box is and if you can master that skill, then you gain brownie points for demonstrating executive presence – grace under fire and projecting vision – both important elements of the elusive gravitas.

So far I’ve focused on what it means to think outside the box. This is a skill that anyone can learn and apply, whether at work, at home or even for our own professional development.

Now we’ll focus on simple ways to effectively start thinking outside the box. Some are personal actions and others will require your ability to get active participation from others.

How to jump start thinking out of the box and improve your productivity

Step away from the situation or task and take a break

This is my favourite method and one of the hardest to apply when one is engrossed in problem-solving and yet it works wonders.

Creative thinking doesn’t flourish inside a silo and it’s important to get away from routine tasks in order to give the mind a chance to come up with ideas.

In my student days I found taking a shower whenever my brain got bogged down helped a lot during exam preparation time. The accountancy exams were tough and I had to strategize as well as learn information to pass those exams.

When I passed my exams, the other girls in my dormitory also adopted my ritual although essentially, all that I had needed was a break!

I doubt your firm will install an office shower area to encourage out of box thinking so another way is to take a break or walk around.

It could be to the coffee machine or even outside the premises to get away from the problem – anything to create a psychological distance between the task and time for creative thinking to set in.

My team and I used to do a lot of walking in the compound while discussing issues and I was pleasantly surprised to learn later that even Steve Jobs used to hold walking meetings to brainstorm ideas!

Change your routine

Sometimes a minute change to a regular routine can get your brain thinking differently. When we do the same chore in the same way, we get set in patterns that don’t allow us to think differently.

A little variation that changes the routine helps you get out of a rut and encourages out of the box thinking which can have bigger results later on.

Essentially, when you get outside of your comfort zone, you develop coping skills that help you to deal with new situations because you have already opened your mind to new possibilities, ideas and options.

Wondering how to change the routine? Here are 2 that instantly come to my mind.

If there are different routes to your workplace, try 1 route driving in to work and another while coming back. Think of using the metro on particular days if there is public transport access between your home and office.

Keep 1 day aside for pizza or some special meal with your family or friends instead of cooking at home.

View the problem from a different perspective

In other words, reframe the problem or question to see if you can discover a new solution, see the issue from a new perspective or re-conceptualize the problem.

One popular way is to decide if you wish to see the glass half full or half empty.

When the perspective changes from seeing something is missing to acknowledging that there is something already, new avenues emerge to take things forward using existing building blocks.

Another way is to work backwards. In the words of Covey, begin with the end in mind Popularized as ‘reverse engineering’, we look at our end goal and then work backwards to see how it can be best achieved.

For example when a leading top of the range beauty product manufacturer wanted to enter the Indian market a decade ago, they knew they wanted to capture a good market share.

But why would any woman want to spend double the price of other leading and equally good products, both local and international on a brand that was only known to women who had travelled abroad?

I saw this one in action. I knew the product range as I had used it before and loved the way they built up their reputation.

Knowing that the end game was to get the ladies hooked on their product range, they teamed up with a magazine that often held promotions.

One of my friends was the deputy editor there at the time so I got an invitation to a presentation at a 5 star hotel with high tea.

Each of the 100 women present were not only introduced to the products, but there were live presentations, mini-facials and a goodie bag with prescribed skincare products as well as an invitation to visit their parlour cum shop.

The entire event would have cost a fortune but the end goal was achieved. They got fans and clientele and I saw women signing up for further treatments without flinching at the price list.

Brainstorm ideas and don’t worry if some of them are weird

This is another great way to get those grey cells working!

In this exercise, we aren’t looking at what’s feasible and what’s not but getting out of our old thought patterns by thinking of different ideas, even the weird ones.

Got a challenging problem requiring a solution?

Take a piece of paper and pen and set your timer for 10 minutes and jot down as many ideas as you can without thinking if it is doable or not.

For example, if you’ve got low metabolism, want to shed the extra weight and need ideas to achieve your goal, you might think of low fat meal plans, exercising, joining a gym or even washing elephants at the zoo.

The last one might appear weird to start with but it is a good idea if your local zoo allows you to do it voluntarily – besides, you’ll burn those calories and learn about elephants!

Once you come up with the ideas then have a look at what can be done and what can’t. I know you’ll find some good ones in your list.

If brainstorming a list isn’t your cup of tea, then here’s another idea that works to get thinking.

We start with the pen, paper and problem and then change our strategy.

We write down a step by step plan on exactly how we intend to complete the challenging task.

Once that’s done, we look at this plan and the steps and think about how we can do each step differently and still achieve results.

Let go of negative thinking

It goes without saying that thinking negative thoughts doesn’t help in problem solving with 1 exception which I will share later.

The skill of thinking outside of the box benefits from positive thinking because when we think positive thoughts we step into the realm of possibility thinking and creativity gets a boost.

If you find yourself responding negatively to your ideas, replace the negative thought with a positive or neutral thought.

The next time you have an idea replace the inner talk of something not being possible with one that accepts the idea will be challenging but that you are still going to give it a shot.

Check out my blog post on negative thinking for more tips on letting go of negative thoughts.

Consider the worst case scenario.

Fear often paralyzes us from doing what we know we have to do and is a damper when it comes to thinking outside the box.

The best way to shove fear out of the way is to either accept it and plod on or better still, take the sting out of it by first imagining the worst case scenario and then allowing your creativity to take control.

In my blog post Take the sting out of Fear of Failure it’s only a Belief, I share the 3 step approach to overcoming fear and finding solutions that work as well as the inspiring Willis Carrier story.

Nourish your brain to be at its best

Exercising our brain helps it to enable us to find those previously un-thought-of solutions.

Like any skill, creativity too needs to be exercised so that it comes up with ideas when you really need them.

Here are 2 ideas for nourishing your brain and keeping it active.

Keep learning something new to broaden your horizons and perspectives and enable your brain to make new connections. The more information your brain has access to, the more it’s able to come up with unusual ideas. It could be a course in your field of specialization that adds to your knowledge, another field of study that is different to your own, learn a new language or even a hobby class!

The other tip is to reinforce your connection with other people who are creative. When we interact with other people, they offer us a different perspective on things and can actually inspire us to achieve more creative out of the box ideas.

It helps to befriend people who are from a field that is different to yours because they can give you perspectives on your work and life that you wouldn’t get from people in your own field when it comes to developing your skill.

No offense meant but unless they too are working on their creative muscles, you’d all be drinking from the same well and coming up with the same ideas. What you are seeking is ideas that would challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and try something unique.

Consider joining a mastermind or group of professionals who are either going through similar experiences or are trying to achieve a similar goal. Sharing experiences and learning often leads to our own aha moments and one of the reasons why group coaching is popular.

Out of the box thinking – Final Thoughts

As with all ideas, we need to test them to make sure they work. Sometimes, the out of the box solution might not be the right one or might sound good on paper but will not be doable in the real world scenario.

That’s why when my friend came up with her out of the box solution; it did undergo changes before the final version to make it workable based on the experience of her senior colleagues who brought their own experience into the picture.

But that would not have happened until she had brought in her ideas which inspired creativity in others and the emergence of a better idea and plan as a team.

And that’s what out of the box thinking is about!

How do you find solutions to sense defying problems?

Need more help? Try this resource to get your imagination working in top order.

What is your favourite childhood story book – the one that made your imagination come alive? Was it Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Aesop’s Fables, Jataka Tales or a specific story? Or were you an Enid Blyton fan?

Sometimes there were lessons to be learned in those stories. Like the ones in the Panchatantra where the heroes are animals behaving like humans. We learn from their experiences.

Now think back a little more and remember who was your favourite storyteller. Was it a parent, grandparent or teacher?

I’m willing to bet that whoever your favourite storyteller was, had a powerful influence on your life. The stories they told you addressed emotions and created a new world with new ideas for you. In many ways they were your leader as they opened up a realm of dreams for you.

We visualized the Hero on his Adventure and how he or she resolves the conflicts on their path to Success. Our subconscious mind registered the strategies and tactics for future use in the real world.

There’s always a moral of the story and this social and moral norm gets embedded in a young growing mind through the medium of a narrative.

In the Hindu tradition, the Ramayana is read and enacted in play form as are other Hero Journey stories for specific Gods to bring home the teachings that these Gods and their stories stood for.

Storytelling is a traditional and powerful tool of communication between people. A story can be defined in many ways. Briefly said, a story is a complex system of symbols. As such, stories give sense to things and events and represent norms, experience and explanations of reality. The basic values of people and groups are projected into them. We use stories to create personal and group identities, change social practices, and share knowledge and values.

 –Ludmila Mladkova, Leadership and Storytelling

In fact, we tell stories even in our day to day lives.

Our stories determine what we accept, how we see the world and influence our responses.

If you read my blog posts, more often than not, there is a story behind the point being communicated in that post from my perspective based on experience.

For example, imagine how bland a post on corporate politics would be if I didn’t share a story and simply dished out tips and points to follow?

You do it too even if you aren’t aware of the special meaning of your stories. With the advent of social media, you are sharing your story with the world through your updates whether they are happy ones, rants or even selfies!

Given the power of storytelling, it is not surprising that leaders often use storytelling to share their knowledge, explain new ideas, create new visions and influence their teams to strive for excellence by creating a group identity.

There is research being conducted to determine the relationship between leaders and storytelling. Modern research indicates that a leader can use stories and storytelling for:

• Explanation of ideas
• Smooth the implementation of change
• Communication improvement
• Tacit knowledge sharing
• Intensification of innovation
• Community and team building
• Planning
• Creation of scenarios and visions
• Coaching and training
• Communication with clients and other stakeholders
• Trust building
• E-learning and many others

How to tell a great story as a Leader

My favourite source for Leadership Storytelling is Steve or Stephen Denning, Author of The Leaders Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art & Discipline of Business Narrative.

According to Mr Denning, in order for a leader to create change using the medium of storytelling, the leader has to first focus on the priority change message and be clear about the problem that is being addressed and how the world would look like when the problem is resolved.

This is only 1 part of the change because the leader also has to understand the story of the follower in order to determine where possible resistance can crop up.

I remember a boss from my corporate world days with the habit of launching into war stories during critical deadlines. The team shuddered to go into his office for any clarification because it would become what we called in Hindi a gyaan session. (Gyaan means knowledge in Hindi, but in the office lingo of that time, it was used in a more sarcastic sense).

He was a boss who could have taught his team a lot more, but we never looked up to him as a Leader.

The stories were meant to encourage us in our firefighting and meeting tough deadlines but only added to delaying the work and adding stress.

In hindsight, I believe it was because he had not bothered to check on the timing of his story or the needs of the story listener.

The stories a leader shares aren’t supposed to be war stories which in a situation of change will be time wasters for the follower.

They are supposed to be stories that will get the attention of the listener and create the desire for change within them. Once the emotional and creative appeal has been established, it becomes easier to reinforce the desired outcome with logic, reason and rationale.

Annette Simmons has identified 6 kinds of stories that can be used depending upon the context of the situation to facilitate effective communication within a group by bringing the group members together, sustain values, promote mutual respect and increase productivity:

“Who I Am” Stories

“Why I’m Here” Stories

“Vision” Stories

“Values in Action” Stories

“Teaching” Stories

“I Know What You’re Thinking” Stories

A story is only as good as the storyteller.

Remember I asked you earlier about your favourite storyteller in your childhood?

I’m willing to bet it wasn’t the stories they told but the way that they narrated the story.

Similar principles apply here too – without too much theatrics, of course.

In other words, maintain eye contact, use appropriate body language, an open stance, pause for effect and sound like you really mean the story. Let your passion shine through for the story.

The right story in the right context can work wonders. It can tap into the emotions of the listener but depending upon how it is narrated, it can do more harm than good.

In my post Helicopter View – You need to see the Big Picture for Success, I narrated how our Managing Partner took the stage to break the news of changes in our firm and how he ended up terrifying us.

He told his Vision Story with passion, walking all over the stage but had not taken his audience’s story into account or presented facts in a concrete or specific manner. If the intention was to have gotten us thinking, it certainly did but not in the direction that he had imagined!

Storytelling is a valuable tool for Leaders and aspiring Leaders. I’ve included additional resources and book recommendations at the bottom of this post.

For now, I want you to reflect on the guidance in this post and tell me, do your stories demonstrate your Leadership skills.

Storytelling and Leadership – Additional Resources

The Leaders Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art & Discipline of Business Narrative: Stephen Denning

The Story Factor: Inspiration, Influence, and Persuasion Through the Art of Storytelling: Annette Simmons

7 Tips for great storytelling as a Leader: Dianna Booher

How to use storytelling as a Leadership Tool : Dan Schwabel

Feedback appears to be a highly misunderstood concept despite the fact that in any communication between 2 people, there will be times when each person is giving and receiving feedback.

Quite often managers think that they are the only ones who are supposed to give feedback to their team members. In fact, effective feedback is a 2 way communication that benefits both sides.

I shared a light moment in my blog post about the Monday Morning Basher Manager who misunderstood the Sandwich Feedback Technique (more on how to use this technique later) and terrorized his team.

The truth is, if we wish to really create change we not only need to know how well we are doing but also where we may be falling short and then create a plan to overcome our blind spot.

Giving feedback is not the exclusive domain of the manager although it may seem so at times.

A motivated team too provides feedback to the leader and other team members helping each one do better than they would have in the absence of feedback.

The ability to give and receive feedback is an indicator of leadership potential and a skill that you must develop if you want to rise up the corporate ladder.

Feedback is found in other areas of our life too.

Think back to your school days and the preparations that were done for the Annual Day function. Whether you were participating in a song, dance or play, different teachers would drop in during rehearsals and give suggestions that were open to discussion before implementation.

There would be a full dress rehearsal where again suggestions would be given and discussed and implemented if found practical.

I admit it would have been irritating at the time but the sound of thunderous applaud from the parents was well worth it.

You might have noticed that you and your peers who got the most compliments afterwards had at least one of these 2 habits.

They were open to receiving feedback and asking for advice, and/or

They gave timely, helpful and critical feedback in a constructive manner.

Transfer these 2 habits into a corporate setting and you demonstrate leadership potential

Executive Presence and Leadership potential aren’t just trending words in the corporate world.

Studies have shown that high performing professionals may fall short of climbing the rung up the corporate ladder because they lack these qualities and companies invest thousands to train employees who have caught their eye as having potential.

The 2 habits I mentioned are actually among those that indicate leadership potential and you can check if you have the habits that will raise your visibility with Karmic Ally Coaching’s Executive Presence Checklist.

During my time in audit, we used to have team meetings at the beginning of the assignment to brainstorm an effective strategy and decide how we would deliver our work to the client in the most efficient and effective manner.

After the audit assignment was completed, we’d have debriefing meetings where the entire team including the partner would go over our performance as a team and note down what we did well, where we might have slipped and how we could do better the next year.

Minutes of these meetings were recorded and distributed to the team members. A copy was filed to be taken forward for the next year’s assignment.

This precious document was created with input from all team members after dialogue and discussion.

That’s how effective feedback in a team situation works.

The Partner would learn about the challenges his team might have faced so he could discuss it with the client and negotiate additional fees for cost overruns. He’d also share insights that the manager and team would apply in future for similar assignments.

At an individual level, the feedback would continue in the form of appraisals with the team member and manager completing the engagement appraisal form, discussing it and sending it to Human Resources for future professional development needs and to record performance for the year.

More importantly, the habits of the team members were recorded in their individual performance reports and those that demonstrated openness to receiving feedback and participating in discussions were noticed for further responsibility with relevant training.

9 qualities of effective feedback

In all these situations and scenarios, there are 9 qualities that differentiate effective feedback from simple advice.

Effective feedback

• Is based on an objective or is referenced to a goal
• Is provided on a timely basis
• Is based on observation
• Focuses on behaviour, not on perceived attitudes
• Focuses on behaviour which can be changed
• Focuses on what the individual did well and what they could do better
• It is useful, concrete, specific and provides information that can be acted upon
• It is consistent in delivery and doesn’t change with the mood of the feedback giver
• If it involves personal performance, it is given in private (like the performance review)

How to give effective feedback

There are different methods of delivering feedback and their effectiveness depends upon the situation and the openness of both the feedback giver and receiver in having a dialogue aimed to achieve a goal.

In this post, I’m sharing 3 techniques.

Feedback Sandwich Technique

This technique is well-known and is used in performance appraisal sessions as well as in Executive Coaching and other coaching practices.

Feedback Sandwich is a 3 stage process. The picture below sums up the technique.

On paper this is a simple process but it has 1 major disadvantage – the receiver may hear the first and last part of the feedback and completely miss the important middle part about what needs to be improved.

You can overcome this disadvantage by asking the receiver about their views on what needs to be improved to make it a dialogue.

Stop, Start Continue Technique

In this technique, you engage the receiver in the discussion by asking them

• What they feel they should stop doing
• What they feel they should start doing
• What they wish to continue doing

The person receiving the feedback might also want to give you some feedback.

Make sure you are open to suggestions, actively listen to them and ask questions to get a better understanding of their comments and then discuss the feedback.

Effective Feedback Cycle

This technique has been found to be effective in executive coaching and one that I also use with my clients. It involves active participation by both the feedback giver and receiver.

There are 5 phases in this technique

Observation: where the feedback giver provides a summary of what he has seen or heard

Statement of Effect: where the receiver is made aware of the action or behaviour and the impact it has had

Shared Insights: discussion between the giver and receiver about the action and impact with both sides sharing their insights

Suggestions for Action: where the feedback giver provides actionable suggestions about alternative courses of action to enable the receiver to determine which ones would work for them

Questioning: The feedback giver asks open questions to move the receiver forward towards deciding on the plan of action.

The receiver is an active participant in the feedback process and has the opportunity to present his perspective during the phases of shared insights, suggestions for actions and may even ask questions to gain clarity about the action plan before agreeing to it.

It is also an opportunity for the feedback giver to learn more about themselves and their style and improve their own performance and objective of helping the other person.

Different techniques work in different situations and as the feedback giver, you need to apply your professional judgement and take into account how the receiver will respond.

Professionals who are able to give and receive feedback without making it personal or judgemental and are willing to be creative display good emotional intelligence and people skills. That’s always a brownie point if you want to be seen as a Leader.

Add to the conversation by telling me about your method of giving feedback and how you prefer to receive feedback in the comments box below!

Effective Feedback is just one of the skills and habits that are indicators of leadership potential and executive presence. You can download the entire checklist to assess how you measure up for free. Scroll down for the sign up form if you prefer staying on this page.

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Karmic Ally Coaching’s Executive Presence Checklist

I’m so glad you are interested in improving your Executive and Leadership Presence!

In this checklist, you’ll

• Discover 15 habits that characterize Leadership Potential
• Assess your gap and
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The Bhagavad Gita is a source of spiritual Life Coaching while providing essential lessons for leaders and those who want to follow the Path of Dharma or Duty, whether in their personal or professional lives.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has described the Bhagavad Gita as the essence of Vedic Literature and a complete guide to practical life.

Most people who have heard of this sacred text know that the Bhagavad Gita or The Celestial Song, was preached on the battlefield by Krishna, the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu to Arjuna, the Leader, motivating him to do his duty as he faltered on seeing his friends and relatives who were now his enemy at the battle of Kurukshetra even as multitudes of his warriors stood behind him, waiting for him to lead them to victory in the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

The views that follow is my own based on my reading of the epic Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita.

Each time I read both, I discover something new or have a realization. There is much depth and knowledge hidden in the pages of the Bhagavad Gita that are being revealed to me as I progress on my own spiritual path.

Divine Coaching from Lord Krishna

It’s my belief that Arjuna received divine coaching from none other than Lord Krishna himself.

Reading the scriptures carefully, one realizes it has all the tools for self-coaching, maintaining one’s mental equilibrium and focus when faced with a goal that may appear insurmountable.

The Gita is a gospel of Karma-Yoga

Lord Krishna explains how performance of prescribed duties, but without attachment to results, is the appropriate course of action for Arjuna. By the time the discourse is completed, the coached Arjuna becomes a Karma Yogi and unstoppable Leader of his army.

Swami Krishnananda explains it beautifully is his discourse The Principles of the Bhagavad Gita. He describes the main gospel of the Bhagavad Gita as Karma-Yoga, because it converts every activity into a meditation on the Absolute.

The Bhagavad Gita teaches that worldly activity is itself a spiritual activity in the end, because any activity is finally inseparable from the movement of the Absolute. Therefore, it is, in truth, spiritual activity.

Reading and understanding the Bhagavad Gita is truly a powerful and intense catalyst for personal transformation.

Spirituality as a hallmark of a true Leader

Core values bind a team, not a collection of core competencies.

While many may believe the Gita to be a purely spiritual text, there are in fact tips and guidance for Leadership, whether over oneself or over a team and the need for integrity and focus on our goal.

Interestingly, at the beginning of the Holy Scripture, we learn that Duryodhana, the Crown Prince of Hastinapur undertakes an analysis of his strengths and weaknesses as well as those of the Pandavas, his enemy before the battle begins.

Arjuna does the same but shares his trepidation and fears with Lord Krishna. He is open to receiving guidance from the Higher Source which leads to ultimate victory in the greatest battle of its time on earth.

The might of Duryodhana’s army comprises the greatest warriors, kings whose very names can strike terror in the heart of any enemy.

It is headed by the venerated Bhishma, who is in every way a Leader projecting Gravitas. Yet he feels insecure and not confident of defeating the Pandava army. He asks his warriors to protect Bhishma.

Perhaps Duryodhana realizes that his huge army lacks the motivation and inner fire that is present in the army of the Pandavas who are fighting for justice.

The allegiance of his army is more out of a mistaken sense of loyalty to him rather than for the good of Hastinapur. The core values that bind a team together are either not strong enough for the warriors to identify with or are missing.

Each great warrior knows that the enemy is right but still they are willing to side with Duryodhana because of past benefits which blind them from being their true selves.

This happens a lot in today’s world where battles of corporate politics are fought at different levels.

Duryodhana knows this all too well which is why he asks his men to rally around and protect their Commander in Chief Bhishma, who is a symbol of virtue and respected by both sides.

He is the one good value that can bind Duryodhana’s de-motivated men together and aid in achieving his goal of retaining Hastinapur for him.

During the battle, when Bhishma is wounded and lying on a bed of arrows he continues to hold onto life until his vow that Hastinapur will be secure is completed. This happens with the victory of the Pandavas and justice.

In all humility, the only analysis that I can offer is that when there is courage of conviction and a strong belief that one is on the right path, then no matter what the impediments and obstacles come in our way, our Inner Fire will keep us going towards the highway of Success.

Turning inwards to our Higher Source strengthens our resolve and provides the spiritual support required to move forward.

At the same time, often even with the bad, there is some good and if the fight is for a just cause, then flame of virtue continues to flicker waiting for truth and justice to emerge, even if it is surrounded by other factors. In this case Virtue in the form of Bhishma waited for Righteousness to secure Hastinapur, the ultimate Goal.

How do you ensure alignment of your activities with your core values as a Leader to your team?

Author Note: This post is referenced to the Hindu epic Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita. Explore the epic and lessons for modern day Leadership as well as the spiritual way of life with 2 recommended books.

Timeless Leadership: 18 Leadership Sutras from The Bhagavad Gita by Debashis Chaterjee

Bhagavad-Gita English (2013) by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Image of Lotus Flower courtesy Mark Yang

If you’re a professional looking towards climbing the next rung of the corporate ladder, then you must be able to demonstrate the trait of emotional resilience.

Teams look up to their leader for directions and inspiration in challenging times. Of course, you are human and don’t have all the answers. None of us do.

But demonstrating grace under fire and keeping the team working as a cohesive unit to achieve the daunting task at hand is sure sign of Gravitas and Executive Presence.

Sylvia Ann Hewlett, founder and CEO of the Center for Talent Innovation, surveyed 4,000 college-educated professionals (including 268 senior executives) to find out what coworkers and bosses look for when evaluating executive presence.

Three criteria proved critical:

1. How you act (gravitas): 67%
2. How you speak (communication): 28% (check out my post on vocabulary and executive presence)
3. How you look (appearance): 5%

Gravitas signals intellectual expertise, but also confidence and credibility. Senior executives picked projecting confidence and grace under fire as presence’s most important qualities.

Simply put, your actions or reactions are important. Let’s go deeper into the subject.

What is your reflex action when you get bad news?

Do you react to negative experiences from a state of rage or grace?

Many times, our reaction to our environment and the events in our life create even more stress for us. There are many ways that we can control our reaction and hence our stress levels. I recommend building your positive reflex action.

In other words, help yourself by controlling the effects of your negative experiences by building a positive psychic and spiritual foundation to attract good things in your life.

I learnt a long time back that it is not the actual experience whether positive or negative, big or small that determines how my life is turning out but my response.

When I was younger, reading about the Yulin Dog Meat Festival or finding out about the massacre of innocents would upset me. My knee jerk reaction would have been to express my outrage about the state of things on social media along with others in their rants and complaints.

Fast forward today, by building my positive reflex muscle, I am able to step back from the situation and assess it for what it really is. After that, I take actions both at a personal and community level that can actually make a difference in the long run.

How do you react to Life’s curve balls?

Our reactions to our life’s experiences are based on the state of our mind or awareness of life which in turn is from mental acceptances. The pattern of thinking, which is formed from these mental acceptances, governs our reaction to life.

The habit pattern of reacting in a specific way to an experience is a conditioned reflex.  Since a negative reaction to a negative experience produces further negativity, I needed to re-train the reflex of my mind and condition its reaction to negative experience with a positive rather than negative reaction.

Just as in the Pavlov’s Reflex that we all learnt in school, one needs to first set up the environment for the success of this retraining. Accept that the reflex would be applied to every negative experience that occurs in one’s daily life.

We also need to accept that every experience that happens in life has a hidden spiritual good which one may not be able to see at the time of the experience.

Facilitating a Positive Reaction

To facilitate the positive reaction, use daily positive suggestive affirmations to create the foundation for using the negative experience as a conditioned reflex signal to react positively.

Become aware of the impact that negativity has on one’s physical self and the resulting cynicism that robs us of the simple joys of life.

Understand that when faced with a negative situation, one has the choice of how one wishes to react.

Changing one’s mindset to react positively to a negative experience or trying to find something beneficial in that experience can be challenging initially.

It takes time and practice to re-condition one’s mind to replace the existing conditioned reflex of reacting physically to a negative experience with a more positive reaction.

It also requires developing the skill of mental toughness.

Karmic Ally Coaching’s Solution to Facilitate a Positive Reaction 

To facilitate the positive reaction, use daily positive suggestive affirmations. This creates the foundation for using the negative experience as a conditioned reflex signal to react positively.

This is also the first exercise that I share in my Self-Improvement Strategies Workbook.

Become aware of the impact negativity has on one’s physical self and the resulting cynicism that robs us of the simple joys of life.

Understand that when faced with a negative situation, one has the choice of how one wishes to react.

From my experience I know that changing one’s mindset to react positively to a negative experience or trying to find something beneficial in that experience can be challenging initially.

It takes time and practice to re-condition one’s mind. To replace the existing conditioned reflex of reacting physically to a negative experience with a more positive reaction.

2 Simple Techniques for a positive mindset

When we are trying to change the way we view the world and our own mindset, becoming aware of our actions is just part of the solution. We need to gently retrain our mind at the subconscious level too.

I’m going to share 2 techniques that work well. Even if you think they are too metaphysical, believe me, they work.  The techniques are:

The Art of Invocation and

Using Negative Thoughts to our Advantage

There are times when the original negative reflex surfaces but that too can be viewed positively by studying it and determining the weaknesses in the conditioning, much like repairing cracks in a wall with reinforced material. The benefits exceed the efforts to recondition.

By gaining further positive control over ourselves, we enhance the strength of the Law of Attraction in our lives. At the same time, we open the pathways for better health, happiness, success and prosperity making the challenges that life presents us easier to overcome and move forward.

Your turn, how do you reframe your reactions to create a positive change for yourself?

Do you demonstrate ‘grace under fire’ or is there some inner work to be done? 

When I joined the workforce 3 decades ago, we didn’t know about coaching or mentoring. Looking back in time, I realize that 2 of my bosses who influenced my own managerial and leadership style were in fact mentor-coaches rolled into 1 package.

They served in this capacity to many of us not because we were under-performers but because they genuinely cared about their people.

When one of them passed away a few year ago, the jungle drums beat on LinkedIn to let all of us know that Michael was no more. Even though we had all gone our separate ways years ago, we reunited in genuine grief for the man who had brought out the best in us, our Boss, our Hero.

Long Live the King who brought out the best in his team

My second Mentor Gerard was very much like Michael. He had no issues rolling up his sleeves and digging in the trenches when his team needed his wisdom and experience working in an economy that was newly opening up to the West.

Our bosses and supervisors sitting in Paris and New York didn’t know the first thing about working in Central and Eastern Europe or the culture of the people.

In fact, he’s mentioned in my Kindle book Get Noticed for one of the best pieces of advice I have ever received.

It wasn’t any wonder that when he quit a company that he had worked for over 20 years after having a difference with the Powers back at HQ (some things have to be confidential) there was a slew of resignations in his country office.

This was despite his motivating us to continue with a phrase that I still remember “The King is Dead, Long Live the King”.  For us, there was only 1 King, 1 leader.

Organizations that want to improve the efficiency and productivity of their employees often hire coaches. Or have a system of appointing mentors for employees who are under-performing or need that extra hand holding.

One of the companies I worked for even had a Buddy System. Frankly speaking it wasn’t very effective. Nobody was properly inducted into the program and there was no system of follow up or monitoring.

There was no compatibility check and I suspect that HR was not involved in the selection of buddies. We were dumped into relationships with people and expected to make it work. Like mothers who push kids together in playgrounds to play with each other thinking they will make friends if thrown in together in the sandbox.

While I know these systems work, I believe that anyone of us can bring out the best in our colleagues if we know what to do.

Even though every situation and every person is different, there are some common reasons.

The key to helping your colleague is to first find out the right reason.

During the course of my corporate career these are the ones that I saw the most.

Lacking the required capabilities

The job isn’t challenging enough or not right for them

Feeling they aren’t appreciated, or they’ve been overlooked in some way

They don’t get along with their colleagues

They have personal problems

Being branded as having an attitude

How do you help your colleague?

As Michael used to tell me, speak less to and listen more to your colleague. In other words, get to know your colleague properly.

It doesn’t mean learning everything about them or things that aren’t important. Like. their having had chicken pox at the age of 21 or they know how to wriggle their ears. It means becoming aware of them as individuals and as professionals.

This helps us to hone into things being amiss and helping our colleagues give their best. We also demonstrate our empathetic leadership skills.

This 1 tip helped me intervene in the case of a stellar younger team member who suddenly began performing below par. He was making a mess of areas of an audit that was his forte.

It was a Thursday afternoon and as the Manager, I sent him home despite the fact that we were working towards a deadline for an audit. Naturally the boss was angry but to his credit, he was willing to listen to me.

The background story was that this team member’s mother was due for a major operation. She lived in another but nearby city and he was preoccupied with this event.  He wanted to see his mother before the operation but too scared to take leave.

The boss appreciated what I had done and for also letting him in on the reason. This professional’s sudden change of behavior had been noted by others and there were murmurs of his developing an attitude.

The deal I made with my team member was that he should head home and stay the weekend but return on Monday with full commitment.

To his credit, my team member honored our deal and gave me more than I had asked for. He worked late into the night to make up for his absence. He proved that my decision was the right one.

He is now the Managing Partner of his own audit firm and making a difference for the audit profession in his country.

Use Praise to reinforce performance

The second piece of advice comes from my late father who as an accomplished diplomat and administrator told me to make sure that feedback was given even for the times that the work is done well.

Sincere praise for a job well done goes a long way to reinforce performance.

When it came to giving less than satisfactory performance feedback, his advice was to have specific instances to demonstrate a point rather than a general sweeping statement which gets the other person into a defensive mode.

I remember working for another boss who had been influenced by the corporate politicking backbiters in one of the offices where I worked. Instead of getting a dressing down, I turned it around by simply asking for specific incidents.

That did indeed madden my boss, but he got the point when I started giving instances of harassment and bullying in the workplace.

His advice at the time was to report things immediately rather than allow others to get through the door first. Fortunately I never needed to because the word got out that I had held my own – something that had never been done before and that too by a female Manager.

Thus began the era of assertiveness among colleagues who had been too scared of the bullies (yes, they do exist in the corporate world).

As for the bullies, I made it a point to be extra nice and charming towards them but kept my antennas up for any more mischief. (Learn more about how to deal with backstabbers at work in this post by clicking here).

The third piece of advice is from my own experience relating to our role as team leaders or bosses ourselves. Think of your team as your family. We spend enough time at work and might as well establish a positive rapport. If you are in charge of the job, make sure that the work that you delegate among the team members will be within their comfort zone but with a stretch that challenges them to learn more.

If you find that they are lacking expertise in some area, be willing to get hands on and show them how to do it and then let them get on with the job. Don’t micro-manage but be there for them when they hit a roadblock.

Make a note of their training needs and champion them for courses, whether in-house or external to help polish up skills that they need. They will remember you long after you have both moved on.

The beauty of making your colleagues shine be they your supervisors or the professionals who are working under your supervision is that when they shine, some of the star dust rubs off on you too.

You demonstrate that you have the skills and talent to nurture and develop talent. You show that you can lead your people to success.

That is what true leaders and mentor-coaches in the workplace are. Like Michael and Gerard.

Have you ever been in a situation where you helped your colleague shine? What was the outcome?

Additional Posts and Resources for you

What exactly are you criticizing, Mr Monday Morning Basher? (for giving feedback and being assertive)

5 ways a good Group Leader actually improves the chances of individual Goal Achievement (being a good team leader)

Where politics and promotions meet, you need to have your finger on the pulse  (helping colleagues who are branded as having attitude or difficult)

Influential Leader Crash Course – see more here or by clicking below

Kerrie Mullins-Gunst, one of Australia’s leading female business advisors and speakers has graciously accepted my request to write a guest post for our blog readers. In this post, Kerrie is sharing her insights into what makes a good leader. As a bonus, there is a Leadership Resource Pack that can be all yours and guess what? It is free.

 So read on, comment and share with colleagues the valuable insights that Kerrie is sharing.

Over the 20 years I have worked as a business consultant, leadership coach and strategic planning facilitator I have often heard people, in big and small organizations, complaining that good leaders are hard to find.

Is this true?  Is our only option to keep looking until we find a good leader?  Do we need to look for ‘pre-made’ good leaders, leaders who were born that way, or can leadership be learned and improved?

While I agree that some people seem natural leaders, I believe that most good leaders become so through learning and experiencing what works, and even more importantly, what doesn’t.  We can all learn to be better leaders and leadership can be taught.  And I have always observed, really good leaders are always keen to improve.

So if you want to become a better leader, here’s a good way to start…

While there are many things a leader must do to become an exceptional leader, let’s focus on three specific things that you can do immediately to start being a better leader.

In order to do a good job, a leader at any level must be able to guide, motivate, and support his or her people. Let’s look at each of these in a little more detail.

Guidance:

A leader guides people by providing an example of how things should be done.

To guide effectively, a leader should be working alongside his or her employees, in the trenches so to speak.  The leader is not doing the same work but is working alongside them, making their own contribution by offering guidance.

A leader doesn’t just tell someone to do something; that’s what a boss does.

Leaders clarify what they want their people to achieve and help them work out how to achieve it.

Good leaders also guide by modelling the behaviours they expect of their team members.  Do you want your employees to be punctual and work hard?  Then don’t come in late, take long lunches, and leave early.

Motivation:

A quality leader motivates others.  There are many ways to motivate, but a common thread among great leaders is they listen to what their people have to say and respect them and the job they do.

As a leader, your team members are important.  They have a huge wealth of experience and knowledge about the integral workings of their job that you probably don’t have, unless you worked your way up the ranks.  Look inside yourself and think about what motivates you – a bonus, extra time off? Those are nice, but actually the biggest motivator is recognition and a big pat on the back for a job well done.

Learn a bit more about what motivates people in the workplace – and what de-motivates people – and you will find it much easier to understand why simple things can work so well.  Stopping to say “how are things going?” in the corridor, smiling at team members when you pass them or learning the names of a team member’s family and asking after them, can be so powerful. As can making a point to recognize the contributions of all team members – not just the high profile people, but all the ‘behind-the-scenes’ workers, when a big deadline is met or a problem solved.

Support:

Good leaders provide support to their team members, enabling them to do their job well.  What do your employees need from you to get their job done quickly and efficiently?  What tools should you provide to help them do their job better?

If you are not sure what support your people need, simply ask them what they need.  Could you demand an employee type and email a 97 page report when he doesn’t have a computer?   Of course not, he is not equipped.

However the support your team needs to do their work successfully may not be so obvious.  It could be that they need more quiet time without interruptions or the opportunity to talk things over with you or someone else to get their thoughts straight.  Or the support they might need could be in the form of additional training, or coaching and feedback that improves their skills and performance.

By identifying and securing the support that each of your team members needs to contribute their best efforts you will be demonstrating yourself as a leader who cares about your team as well as their results.

So, are you a good leader?

Most people in leadership positions must learn how to be good leaders.  If you focus on guiding, supporting, and motivating others, you will be well on your way to becoming a leader anyone would be keen to follow.

About the Author

Kerrie Mullins-Gunst (MBA, BSc, DipEd, Company Directors Course Diploma) has more than 20 years experience Growing Success as a business consultant, leadership coach and strategic planning facilitator.  Visit http://kmgconsulting.com.au for more details, and while you are there, claim your FREE Leadership Resources Pack at http://kmgconsulting.com.au/free