Do you have an answer for everything?

Have you ever had conversations with someone, a friend, a colleague, a relative, a person that  knew it all, that had all the answers, had a solution to everything?

How were you feeling during this conversation? How did you feel afterwards?
Did you feel you were listened to, heard, supported, secure, supported, advised? Did you feel that person helped you in any way?

Or did you feel alone, frustrated, denied, violated ... You felt that the other did not listen, stayed in his/her little world of certainty and vanity, a world that had nothing to do with you ... You were left exhausted, demoralized, depressed. ..

What about you? Did it ever happen to you to have all the answers? Think about it... I'm sure it did...

You had certainties, everything seemed so clear, limpid, the issues or problems that were risen were so simple, so obvious, so crystal clear ....!
... So simple and obvious to you, from your point of view... What about the other person in front? Did your posture help him/her in any way? Did your certainties bring any comfort?

Listening is not just about receiving and processing information in order to respond.

It is also empathy, being present in the moment, being in the other’s shoes, understanding, letting the other speak and find his/her way ...
In general, other people do not need your answers, they need to create their own answer...

What about you? Do you prefer to supply solutions...?

Or would you rather help other people out in finding their own answers?

Management on hold?

The current situation and uncertainty are so confusing that in some companies the policy is just to wait-and-see.

It is true that today it is difficult to understand the environment, analyse the data, draw lessons and make he right decisions...

We then prefer not to do anything.

Nevertheless, the answers and solutions are there, in the organization.

They are in the capacity of each and every one to see, to share, to understand and learn to adapt, to experiment, innovate, and continuously adjust to achieve results.

More than ever, the collective success needs to be built day after day, as a team, with openness, humility and flexibility.
Is your team ready for this?

Do they know how to manage this uncertainty, share these concerns, accept their mistakes?

Are they able to move forward, innovate, act, question themselves and adapt to succeed?

And you? Are you ready for this?

Are you open, do you listen?

Do you trust and challenge the team?

Do you know how to share with them, how to decide, mobilize and implement with agility and flexibility?

Management, Customer Service and Sales

All customer-related activities are strategic.

Caring for the customer, maintaining trusting and lasting relationships and developing sales are very demanding activities for employees.

They have more to do with the way they feel, they are and behave than with their knowledge or expertise.

The quality of service and business efficiency of a company require collaborators to be present, motivated and committed day after day.

This directly depends on the styles and types of management that are being performed by middle managers and executives.

When managers relate in cold, indifferent ways, when they demonstrate neither interest nor attention to the team, when they only see employees as resources ... What impact could you expect?...

Customers end up being treated in the same way...as resources ...

If managers rely on the team, let them take initiatives, listen to and empower the people, they will naturally be more present and available with customers, listen to them, at their service, selling more and better, creating connection and retention...

Look for excellence in your relationships with teams, and customers may have memorable experiences with the company.

Do you spend this valuable time with your team?
Do you maintain quality relationships with them?

The Tao of Leadership : Beyond Techniques

An experienced traveller does not need a packaged tour to go places safely.
A good political speech does not need to make promises or antagonize the crowd.
A good mathematician does not need a computer to solve every problem.
A secure home does not have bolts and bars and locks and alarms everywhere, yet a burglar cannot get inside.

The wise leader's ability does not rest on techniques or gimmicks or set exercises. The method of awareness-of-process applies to all people and all situations.
The leader's personal state of consciousness creates a climate of openness. Centre and ground give the leader stability, flexibility, and endurance.
Because The leader sees clearly, the leader can shed light on others.

The group members need the leader for guidance and facilitation. The leader needs people to work with, to serve. If both do not recognize the mutual need to love and respect one another, each misses the point.
They miss the creativity of the student - teacher polarity. They do not see how things happen.

The Tao of Leadership - by Lao Tsu

Listen to the silence

People have many things to say, to comment, to communicate, to shout sometimes.

Talking about important things can be an incredibly powerful therapy to articulate them, verbalize them, understand them or see them differently, to handle them... It may help you to know yourself, to grow, to learn.

Sometimes I meet people whose rhythm and cadence of speech are so speeded up that you feel taken adrift by their verbal flow... like dizzy or drunk ...

You find it difficult to perceive their discourse as a means to understand, advance or learn...

Rather the opposite ...

People who talk a lot, with a sustained and intoxicating pace, are not learning nor discovering new horizons about themselves ...

Their words, their stories have become their prison. The stories they are telling lock them inside their own beliefs, in their interpretations. They become like victims trapped in a dead end...

Their words are like a call for help, a cry of helplessness in front of a situation they cannot assume or respond to.

And it seems that as long as they will remain in their repetitive stories nothing can or will change...

You are not your stories. Your stories are not you. They do not define you as a person.

I see you as a creative, powerful, complete person.

The silence has more to tell you than these stories, these self-justifications.

Do not judge yourself. Do not justify yourself.
Forgive yourself. Have faith in you.

Listen to the silence.

What powers do you leave in the hands of others?

In personal and professional life, there are some people who allow to be defined by others. By their parents, siblings, family, colleagues, bosses, friends ...

Others will say whether you are worth, how you are worth, how much you are worth, what you have to think, what you are good at, the skills and potential you have ... and will say what you are terrible at, what are your weaknesses, your deficiencies, your limitations ...

And you will believe them....

On the other hand, other people will always question or doubt anything that comes from the outside.

And they are right. Judgements and opinions of others often say more about them than about you. In this they generally tend to be useless, of no interest to you.

What is important to you is what you do or do not do. What are your actions, your results and the experience you are having. What are your values, your dreams, your energy and balance. What matters is who you are as a person, who you are being, who you want to be ... and what you do now to already be there.

What do you want for yourself?

Do you accept that others lead or control your life?

Or you create your own opinion and define what you want and do not want in your life ...

On which side are you?

The 3 Key Components in Decision Making.

The way decisions are taken in companies is very linked to their corporate culture, management structure and leadership styles ...

There is an interesting variety of patterns in the way decisions are taken that tell a lot about how companies work and about their competitive context:

- If they are more on the flexible, continuous change ...or the traditional, conservative side..

- if their management structure and style is very flat and straightforward... or very hierarchical and pyramidal

- if the culture is about inspiring and delegating or more about pushing and controlling

Whatever the culture, country or language, there are always three components that always influence decision making.

-The Rational component : what rationally logically analytically justifies decisions

-The Emotional : the non rational dimension, influenced by intuition, feelings, perceptions, mindset or emotions...

-The Political : coming from corporate dos & don'ts, from the influences and powers in the organization, depending on the personalities, relationships, formal or informal high level agreements and engagements.

All three are always present.

They are present in everything that happens...In any decisions taken... or not taken...

Which components are the most present in your company?

Is this bringing value to the business? Is it delivering results?

Are there any changes you would like to create?

The power of emotions : How do you manage yours?

The modern world, in particular the Corporate world, is based on efficiency, production, profitability, speed. It leave no place or time for emotions.

In such demanding and hectic environments, people become harder, more rigid and stolid ... They turn their backs on their feelings and emotions. They slowly build a protection from the outside world, a shell, an armour and lock themselves inside it. They often live their lives and act on a daily basis from inside this isolating shell.

At the same time as human beings we are social creatures and mammals. Because of that our emotions are basic in our lives. They bring us energy, show us the way, are our compass and connection to the world. Without emotions we would be machines.

How to reconcile modern life and emotions?

How to avoid getting trapped in this shell?

People’s leadership, efficiency and balance are enhanced by their ability to connect with their emotions or disconnect from them. They depend on their capacity to emotionally associate or dissociate themselves.

When heart surgeons are operating a three year old child, they'd better not be emotional or nervous about it when holding the scalpel!

They need to dissociate from their emotions to be as attentive, professional and accurate as required.

When executives are communicating or facilitating meetings, they are more efficient and influential when they are present, human, authentic, emotionally involving and inspiring... Rather than acting like a robot.

Connecting with emotions is required to be totally present, to influence, mobilize and have impact.

The complexity lies in creating the right balance ... One that works best for each one of us... to avoid acting like an automated machine or conversely, avoid being emotionally fragile or weak.

Developing your ability to associate yourself with your emotions or dissociate yourself from them will give you power in your life and in your interactions with people. Develop your agility and flexibility to do so.

Influence and power are not about behaving like machines.

Turn on your emotions. They are what is the most personal, intimate and powerful in you.

But manage them. Do not let them invade you when it is not the right time and let them express themselves when it is appropriate to do so.

How do you manage your emotions?

Anybody there?

Have you ever had a conversation with people that no matter what you saying they does not listen. They were in their world, in their understanding, in their interpretation, in their history .... And it seems nothing can take them out...

On another occasion, maybe yourself you happened to be busy and preoccupied and you realized after a conversation that you have not heard or listened to what the other had to say. ... You believed you knew what they wanted to say and now you realize that maybe not ... You actually have no idea... And now, you are missing their ideas, their opinions, their tips, these exchanges...

How come we can accelerate ourselves like this and flee the present moment? .... We are absent ... We are a caricature of ourselves pretending to have a conversation ...

Why don’t we realize what is going on, take the time to re-focus and re-connect with the moment?

What fears, what automatisms, what habits make us turn on our autopilot?

Be aware of yourself. Of your moods, your anxieties, your bad habits. Identify when you're not present 100 percent. And manage yourself, take a moment to calm down, relax, breathe, focus.

When you are present, you do not interrupt, do not impose, you hear, listen, you manage perceptions, judge less, you understand, learn, you communicate ...

A minute or two may be enough. Take these few minutes and your quality of life, of  relationships, your presence and impact in your life and in the world will suddenly considerably improve ...

Got a minute or two?

What are you trying to control?

What do you want to control?

With the fear of uncertainty we tend to create routines and automatic behaviours, as if we could stop time, avoid changes, control events...

We put a lot of effort in staying inside our comfort zones, in our well controlled, well established and well organized lives. Being organized reassures us, gives us the illusion that we can control our lives, our destiny ... That we can avoid suffering, avoid being thoughtful, bored, sad...

Through this desire to control we create our own limitations. We look at the present and at the future with the eyes of the past. We do not perceive all our possibilities, the numerous capabilities we have. We prefer not to see all the potential we have in us...

Unveiling this potential, daring to do something with it, trying new things, innovating ... that would take us away from our imperious need to control...
When you create something new, when you step out of your comfort zone, the unknown pops in and appear the possibilities of making mistakes, of taking risks, of failing...

So you tend to go back to your routine, to structuring and organizing your days, your activities, your life ... And this incredible potential you have just remains inside you... unveiled, unexpressed, unused...

What are you trying to control?
In what are you limiting yourself?

What could you do today that may be different?
What could you dare to try?

Take some time for yourself, time to do something that may perhaps be less productive, more pleasant, more different or extreme... but do something YOU want to do!
Connect with what you have in you. 
Let it speak.
Give it time. Freedom. Try it.
Do it. Now!

This thing about leadership... What good is it for me?

Much is said about leadership...

What is the purpose of leadership? 
Why be a leader?

"I do not want to be a leader. 
I do not want to lead anyone."

Leadership as I define it is not just a matter of being successful in business or management, of being an effective or bright executive... It can be... But not always.

Leadership is about BEING.

It is about growing as a person, knowing yourself, who you are, how you are. 
It is about working on and for your ambitions, challenges and dreams. It is about managing your anxieties and fears to dare to be who you want to be and get what you want to achieve...
It is about taking actions.

To do so, you need to know what you want and do not want, understand what you seek, what you struggle at, define a direction, a vision of where you are aiming, of who you want to be.

Articulate Your Vision.
From there, you can lead your life, orient it, orchestrate it.
Your personal and professional life, Your career and your entrepreneurship.

What do you think?
Does the concept of leadership sound more useful to you?

What is the Business Culture in your Company?

Every Company has a dominant Business Culture. A specific and original culture focused on some areas, aspects and functions of the business.

This culture comes first from the personality and background of the Founder, the Owner, the CEO or the Managing Director. Then it is the product of the organization’s history, of the top management team and shareholders, of their policies, views, opinions, interactions, styles, decisions.

Each Business Culture creates its specific vocabulary, jargon, its perception, logic and understanding of the environment and key drivers of the business.

Some examples ...

Some cultures and organizations are very oriented towards Sales. Everything is about selling. The sales people are the kings, they hold the truth. Everything is organized to respond to their demands and requirements. Sales are perceived to be the essence of the Company’s success.

Other cultures focus on Marketing. On-line, offline, exhibitions, events, advertising, communication, product marketing...

Other Companies are Technology based...Research, training, licences, patents, conferences, expertise, latest releases....

Others on Manufacturing, how to optimize the assets, the plants, the machines, the overall effectiveness and uptime, the maintenance,...

Others on Quality, are obsessed by high standards of product an/or service quality

Others on Operations, Innovation, Logistics...

The variations are infinite...

Most commonly though, Business Cultures are driven by Financials. They talk the shareholders’ and banks’ language and have become compulsory. The Finance Guys are in charge... Margins, ROI, Costs, Cash, EBITDA, Capital Employed, Bottom line... They are the ones who give the pace...

All these areas, competences and functions are totally useful to the company’s performance.

Each of the cultures and expertise bring something crucial and vital to the business...

But they also have possible excesses and drawbacks...

The role of the Top Management is to create a balance

between all these departments, cultures and areas. It is to arbitrate between them to efficiently and flexibly drive the business to growth and success.

A Company’s Business Culture is of great importance: it has created its past and present performance and achievements. It has built what the company has become today.

But the questions might be: 
Is our Business Culture still relevant and effective today? Is it adapted to tomorrow’s challenges?

Is the Top Management's arbitrage performing? 

What Business Culture is dominating your business at the moment?

Is it really 100% useful to the company's health and growth?

Or

Are there any drawbacks you would like to point out?

What changes would create value or generate new opportunities for the future?

How do you handle the pressure with your teams?

How do you avoid dumping all the pressure onto your teams?

One of the great challenges of the executives is managing the pressure that comes from above, from the shareholders, from line managers, from competition, from conjuncture... It is to avoid simply forwarding all the pressure to the teams ...

The role of the manager / leader is to create a context in which the teams are challenged and mobilized but always feel motivated and confident.

With increasing pressure and no confidence, collaborators do not work in an optimal way. They become defensive, get tense, paralysed. They do not dare to try new things, to change, to evolve, to give the extra effort.

When the context is difficult, on the contrary, they can close themselves up and avoid being noticed. As if the only fear was to be the next on the list...

In the current economic climate, corporate executives become stressed and paralysed by the pressure of delivering results in the short term ...

...Whereas they should be fighting for flexibility, for agility, for teams to reinvent themselves... to achieve excellence, to innovate, to create new strategies, tactics, fortified products and services...

What do you think?
How do you manage the pressure with your team?

ASK FOR HELP.... Don't be afraid....

What do you see? Understand? How do you decide to interpret it?

Each of us have our view of the world.

Our reality.
Our interpretation of the world.Different, unique, original.

We interpret our surroundings according to our history, our experiences, our actions, our commitments.
Our interpretations justify our actions past and present, what we do, what we don't do, what we dare do and what we dare not imagine or undertake.

If we are not careful, we can fool ourselves with our own interpretations, the ones that give sense to the events of our lives. We can build oriented, distorted, exaggerated realities...

Growing as a person is to begin to understand our interpretations of the world in which we exaggerate and fool ourselves. It's identifying these perceptions that do not serve us, that generate thoughts or beliefs that are not helping us, that limit us, that take away our initiative and freedom.

To begin this process, you have to become aware of these phenomena without judging or blaming yourself.
And you need to want to go beyond appearances and evidences... to learn and grow.

What do you decide to see? To understand? 
How do you decide to interpret it?