The NoLimits Blog

NoLimits June 2009 Newsletter

Follow this link below to get the May 2009 Newsletter

Download June 2009 Newsletter

In this edition:

• Organisaional Development, Reap the Beneifts of Your People
  

• How to communicate with IMPACT
  

Read now

Develop your team with a NoLimits Extended DISC programme

One Day NoLimits Extended DISC Workshop

Why the Extended DISC

The Extended DISC personality profiling tool is one of the most widely used personality tools in the corporate world. The tool identifies preferred behaviour styles for individuals and helps us build on our own strengths and well as identifying how we may need to adapt to work with different styles.
The Extended DISC has several characteristics that clearly distinguish it from other personality indicators:

• Describes and then prescribes, with clear indications of how to adapt for success
• Pinpoints preferences, strengths and opportunities to develop.
• Puts all preferences on equal standing.
• Provides a framework to understand human behaviour.
• Refrains from making judgements.
• What is the Extended DISC?

The Extended DISC facilitates the process of feedback and coaching for leaders and teams as it enhances self-awareness in an appreciative way. Not only do participants gain self-insight, they better understand each others' preferences, which is important in a highly collaborative environment. The Extended DISC also shows how differences are important and can actually enhance a team's success.

What is Extended DISC

• Self-report questionnaire.
• Designed to make Jung’s theory of psychological types understandable and useful in everyday life.
• Results identify patterns of difference in normal healthy individuals.
• Gives reasons why people behave differently and in the way that they prefer to operate.
• Helps individuals and groups to make constructive use of these differences in promoting understanding and effective co-operation.
• Helps individuals identify their unique gifts.
• Enhances self-understanding, motivations, strengths and potential areas of growth.
• Provides a framework for self development and development action planning.
• Maps competencies for specific capabilities and reports are available to predict strengths and opportunities for different roles.

The Extended DISC instrument is a useful assessment tool when its results are effectively applied in the  workplace. The results facilitate learning and lead to more successful communication and problem solving.

The Extended DISC is a real success when it is applied to daily situations such as relationship building, enhancing communication, customer services, sales, leadership, project management, personal and professional development and team building.

The Extended DISC personality inventory enhances relationships, teams and leadership by:

• Increasing self awareness and awareness of others.
• Adapting personal styles to other styles to enhance productivity, efficiencies and collaboration.
• Building high performance teams through greater focus on individual strengths, preferences and tolerance for other styles.
• Leveraging talents and marketing individual and team strengths.

Resolving conflict because of greater understanding and awareness of other people’s preferences.
Boosting self esteem and confidence by understanding more about your own personality and preferences.
Helping embrace differences in the workplace, rather than having one ‘style’ corporate mentality.

One Day Extended DISC Team Based Professional and Personal Development

NoLimits facilitates an interactive workshop where participants learn about the Extended DISC tool and their own preferences.  We engage participants in experiential and fun learning exercises to demonstrate the reality of these preferences in action and to embed their learning of this valuable psychological tool.

This full day workshop focuses on self awareness and awareness of other personality styles specifically in relation to different styles in communication and collaboration.

Group Profiles

We also assess the combined personality traits of the members of the whole team by demonstrating this in a chart and discussing the implications of the preferred styles. When we provide overall team profile assessments for teams and organisations this added, tailored dimension allows organisations to assess and offer solutions to:

• Where the team is now, where it wants to be and what else it needs to consider.
• ‘Alert areas’ where the team may not be diverse or mixed enough.
• Patterns where line managers recruit ‘similar to me’ employees or where there seems to be an unequal balance of specific types.
• Areas where individuals with minority personality types may feel uneasy in the team or organisation.
• Thinking and working patterns that may result in ‘one-way’ rather than multi-dimensional thinking and working.

Examples of Group Exercises:

• Valuing Differences – groups to be separated into different personality types and brainstorm the advantages and disadvantages of the other types’ styles.
• Demonstrating Preferences – exercise to demonstrate the different thinking patterns of the different types.
• Decision Making – an interview ‘fishbowl’ exercise where two different types interview one another.
• Problem Solving – participants are given a task e.g. design an employee recognition scheme and the differences in problem solving styles are highlighted.
• Communication – different group types are asked to describe what they perceive as good communication and how they like to be communicated with.
• Management – different types are split into groups to discuss and present how they like to be managed.
• Managing Time – a group exercise to demonstrate the differences on how people perceive time.

Workshop Preparation

Five working days prior to the workshop participants will complete an online Extended DISC questionnaire and will receive their tailored individual reports during the workshop.

The report used is the detailed NoLimits Extended DISC report with a selection of role relevant capability reports. This capability report additionally analyses and explains the underlying drivers of each individual’s preferences and helps understand their characteristics and personality traits that are unique to them for a given role. This creates the opportunity for personal development planning and powerful development discussions with an individual’s leader, or team.

Team Extended DISC profiles can be prepared for all participants. If required profiles can be prepared for sub-groups within the participants, e.g. Regional teams, market level teams, functional teams. This will aid the participants in identifying behavioural preferences for other teams and groups amongst the participants. These team reports can be used in a separate workshop to define and map ‘profiles for success’ for a given role or team, please call for more information on these team development opportunities.

Workshop Outline

Timings
Morning session 9.00am – 1.00pm
Afternoon session 2.00pm – 5.00pm

Workshop Agenda

• Introductions, agenda and workshop objectives.
• Presentation and discussion on the Extended DISC tool with an experiential learning process.
• Review and interpretation of individual reports.
• Review of team profiles and team communication styles.
• Practical exercises to identify the reality of different profiles in action: The exercises are selected based on the styles of the participants on the workshop; participants are placed in different groups based on Extended DISC profiles and undertake tasks that are particular suited to certain profiles and not others.
• Facilitated discussion of the outcomes of the exercises to identify the different styles observed.
• Options for the afternoon session:
• Breakout sessions in groups based on Extended DISC profiles to identify preferred styles in communication and collaboration and role capability with report back and discussion of outcomes; or
• Review of the objectives of the team and the ways in which each type can contribute to, or hinder, teamwork and a facilitated process to agree behaviours that will support the team’s success.
• Personal action planning by each individual.
• Wrap up.

A no obligation discussion

Please call our email Sandra Lai for a no obligation discussion on how your team can be transformed sandralai@nolimitsasia.com +65 6232 2466

Having A Passionate Purpose

The following simple template will help you understand more about who you want to be.

Vision, Purpose, Passion (VPP)

Knowing your VPP gives you clarity on who you are and what you want to be and do. This will give you what you want to have.

What is your personal vision? Summary of where you want to be, what is possible and desirable in the future.

Vision

I see myself …….

  

Passion

What gives you passion? Summary of what truly drives you, excites you and captures your ongoing interest.

My passion lies in …….

   

 

 

 

Purpose

What is your purpose? Summary of what gives you meaning in life and at work. What will satisfy you? What will make you fulfilled, so that you are being all you want to be and doing all you want to do?

My purpose is to:

 

 

In what specific ways can you express your purpose?

 

 

What metaphor can you use to sum up your VPP?

 

 

What legacy do you want to leave behind?

 

Setting Goals

Goals are dreams with a deadline. Goals are what drive us forward and motivate action. They are a decision that we choose to make and follow which will shape our professional and personal life and growth.

By focusing on your goals, you will find that you have more choice and resources to make better and more informed decisions.

Set goals to:

• Clarify, motivate and spend high energy time on where you are going.
• Take control and be responsible for your personal and professional life.
• Make decisions, set up actions and achieve results.
• Move from the present situation to a desired better situation.
• Use the fear of the unknown to direct to a better future.

* Ensure you live your values during the process of achieving your goals. Living your values will ensure you enjoy the journey to your destination goal. Make sure your goals are a balanced set from the wheel of life.

10 Year Goals

What are your 10 year goals? These goals may not be specific and may seem like a dream at the moment, as you may not know whether they are achievable express these goals in simple positive language.

Goal 1

 

Goal 2

 

Goal 3

 

Goal 4

 

Goal 5

 

5 Year Goals

What are your 5 year goals? Take your list of 10 year goals and set goals that you need to achieve in 5 years time in order to reach your 10 year goals.

Goal 1

 

Goal 2

 

Goal 3

 

Goal 4

 

Goal 5

 

2 Year Goals

Take your list of 5 year goals and set goals that you need to achieve in the next two years to reach your 5 year goals.

Goal 1

 

Goal 2

 

Goal 3

 

Goal 4

 

Goal 5

 

1 Year Goals

What are your 1 year goals? Take your list of 2 year goals and set your specific goals that you need to achieve in the next year to reach your 2 year goals.

Goal 1

 

Goal 2

 

Goal 3

 

Goal 4

 

Goal 5

 

What will these goals give you?

 

What's most important to you while you are achieving your goals? State in the positive.

 

What resources do you have available?

 

How do your goals fit with your values and circumstances?

 

What are the worse things that could happen if you follow these goals?

 

What are the best things that could happen to you if you follow these goals?

The following simple template will help you understand more about who you want to be.

Vision, Purpose, Passion (VPP)

Knowing your VPP gives you clarity on who you are and what you want to be and do. This will give you what you want to have.

What is your personal vision? Summary of where you want to be, what is possible and desirable in the future.

Vision

I see myself …….

  

Passion

What gives you passion? Summary of what truly drives you, excites you and captures your ongoing interest.

My passion lies in …….

   

 

 

 

Purpose

What is your purpose? Summary of what gives you meaning in life and at work. What will satisfy you? What will make you fulfilled, so that you are being all you want to be and doing all you want to do?

My purpose is to:

 

 

In what specific ways can you express your purpose?

 

 

What metaphor can you use to sum up your VPP?

 

 

What legacy do you want to leave behind?

 

Setting Goals

Goals are dreams with a deadline. Goals are what drive us forward and motivate action. They are a decision that we choose to make and follow which will shape our professional and personal life and growth.

By focusing on your goals, you will find that you have more choice and resources to make better and more informed decisions.

Set goals to:

• Clarify, motivate and spend high energy time on where you are going.
• Take control and be responsible for your personal and professional life.
• Make decisions, set up actions and achieve results.
• Move from the present situation to a desired better situation.
• Use the fear of the unknown to direct to a better future.

* Ensure you live your values during the process of achieving your goals. Living your values will ensure you enjoy the journey to your destination goal. Make sure your goals are a balanced set from the wheel of life.

10 Year Goals

What are your 10 year goals? These goals may not be specific and may seem like a dream at the moment, as you may not know whether they are achievable express these goals in simple positive language.

Goal 1

 

Goal 2

 

Goal 3

 

Goal 4

 

Goal 5

 

5 Year Goals

What are your 5 year goals? Take your list of 10 year goals and set goals that you need to achieve in 5 years time in order to reach your 10 year goals.

Goal 1

 

Goal 2

 

Goal 3

 

Goal 4

 

Goal 5

 

2 Year Goals

Take your list of 5 year goals and set goals that you need to achieve in the next two years to reach your 5 year goals.

Goal 1

 

Goal 2

 

Goal 3

 

Goal 4

 

Goal 5

 

1 Year Goals

What are your 1 year goals? Take your list of 2 year goals and set your specific goals that you need to achieve in the next year to reach your 2 year goals.

Goal 1

 

Goal 2

 

Goal 3

 

Goal 4

 

Goal 5

 

What will these goals give you?

 

What's most important to you while you are achieving your goals? State in the positive.

 

What resources do you have available?

 

How do your goals fit with your values and circumstances?

 

What are the worse things that could happen if you follow these goals?

 

What are the best things that could happen to you if you follow these goals?

How to Communicate with IMPACT

How to Communicate with Impact

 80% of your communication is not what you say, it’s  how you say it.

To have more impact and engage your listeners, communicate with:

-Feeling

-Emotion

-Expression

To communicate more effectively, use the following 5 step process and learn it for KEEPS

Step 1:     Know

Before you speak, know what your key message is. So many people jump into their communication without thinking about the message they want to convey. This leads to the person who is communicating the message becoming confused and the listener being even more confused. This runs the danger of the other person simply switching off. They can’t follow what you are saying, so it is easier to give up and start thinking about something else. To know your message, ask yourself ‘Why is this message important? Why do I want to talk about it?’

             Motivate
             Inform
             Persuade
             Entertain
             Action

Keep MIPEA imprinted in you mind and remember why you are communicating.

Step 2:     Express

When you communicate, you are asking other people to listen to you. The least you can do for them is to make what you are saying interesting for them. Express your message with feelings and emotion. Use facial and hand gestures to clarify your meaning. Use vocal variety to express your voice in a way that adds interest and excites. Exaggerate your point to give impact. Give your audience eye contact whether to one, two or over a hundred people. Remember to smile and be sincere when you express yourself.

Step 3:        Explicit

As Shakespeare says “Brevity is the soul of wit.”

Why say ten words when two will do? Say what you mean. Get to the point, keep it simple. Don’t be too technical or complex and don’t let your communication run on and on and on…….

Step 4:        Position

 You are the message, position yourself confidently. Don’t hide behind your message. If you are standing, position your feet shoulder width apart and firmly rooted  to the ground. If you are sitting, position yourself so that you are upright and lean slightly forward to demonstrate enthusiasm.

Step 5:        Stories

The best communicators are the best story tellers. Bring your communication to life with a story. No matter how serious the communication is, it will have so much more impact through storytelling or even using an anecdote or a quote. For example, if you want to communicate the importance of compliance, give a story of a situation when compliance wasn’t followed through. Emphasise the consequences of a person not being compliant. This communication is far more impactful, than giving a point by point description of why it’s important to be compliant.

Follow these key steps to communicate with Impact and remember for  KEEPS:

        Know
        Express
        Explicit
        Position
        Stories       

NoLimis designs and conducts tailored Power Impact and Power Presenting workshops as well as one to one High Impact Executive Coaching. Contact Sandralai@nolimitsasia.com for a no obligation discussion on your organisations and leaders needs.

NoLimits May 2009 Newsletter

Follow this link below to get the May 2009 Newsletter

Download May 2009 Newsletter

In this edition:

• The principles of Values Based Leadership

• How to survive a market downturn

Read now

Organisation Announcement: Audra Lee to join NoLimits Singapore

NoLimits is delighted to announce that Audra Lee will be joining our Singapore team on 22 June as Senior Consultant for Singapore. Audra is a fantastic addition to the team and look out for her in Singapore soon.

Audra’s passion is improving organisational performance through applying psychology to the understanding of people and the behaviours that enable people to be successful.  She believes that everyone has talent and it’s about looking at how to develop and motivate them to be the best version of themselves that they can be.  

Audra Lee, MSc, BSc.(Hons), MIPD Occupational Psychologist and Coach

Audra’s commitment to creating excellence has come from her professional background in Human Resources, Learning and Development and Psychology, holding senior posts within these disciplines for over 13 years in major organisations.  She has worked in a range of public and private sectors which have included healthcare, government, media, retail and legal. 

Audra’s experience covers leadership development, facilitation, organisational development, capability assessment, talent management, change management and culture change.  Her commercial experience within a variety of industries has enabled her to deal with a wide range of personalities at senior levels and she believes in ensuring that solutions are designed and implemented to create sustainable improvements in organisational performance, whilst realising the potential of individuals and teams through increased self-awareness.

Audra holds an MSc in Occupational Psychology and BSc (Honours) in Psychology and is a member of the British Psychological Society.   She is qualified at Level A and B (intermediate) in Psychometric Testing and uses personality tools, including, MBTI and OPQ and Wave.  Audra is a Member of the UK’s Chartered Institute of Personal Development and is an NLP Practitioner.  She is also an experienced coach and member of the BPS Special Group in Coaching Psychology. 

Quick Guide: Performance Coaching

Use the ‘Whole Message Model’ for performance coaching.

The Whole Message Model ensures that all the key factors to create a behavioural change are communicated.

This model, sometimes called the ‘Integrated Message Model’ was developed in the early 1980’s by Dr Janet Beavin Bavelas of the Department of Psychology at the University of Victoria in Canada.

The Components of the Whole Message Model

Observations: the facts as you perceive them. Specific observations about what you hear or see. A description in concrete terms, noting specific events, behaviours and timings.

Thoughts: your conclusions, inferences or guesses, based on your observations. The logical outcome. These conclusions will include clearly stating any impacts on yourself, on others, or on the organisation.

Feelings: an appropriate expression of your emotions. The content is important, it is how you demonstrate how you feel that will gain the attention and provide the motivation.

Wants: a clear statement of the results you expect. A specific expression of how you want the behaviours to change, improve, stop, or continue. (Note this model is equally important in giving positive recognition and feedback, not just ‘feed-forward’). All the steps are essential, this one is more so! Golden rule: Be Specific! say exactly what behaviours you want. Don not assume the person will know unless you state exactly what needs to happen.

 

 

Performance Coaching Worksheet (Download Here)

PLAN

What is the objective or desired outcome of the feedback?

__________________________________________________________________

 

Where and when will you give the feedback?

__________________________________________________________________

 

Plan the Whole Message

Observations:

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Thoughts:

 ________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Feelings:

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Wants:

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Giving The Performance Feedback

1.Explain why you are talking , provide an opportunity to share and discuss any perspectives.

2.Give the feedback using the Whole Message Model.

3.Use the following guidelines:

• Be direct
• Be sincere
• Focus on behaviours
• Be specific
• Ensure the feedback is timely
• Be alert to your own non-verbal communication

As you provide the feedback,  actively listen, paraphrase and confirm understanding.

Allow the coachee time to respond

If a difficult reaction arises:

• Recognise and acknowledge the emotions expressed
• Use reflecting statements, suumarise paraphrase and play-back
• Probe to discover the cause of any disagreement
• Restate the individuals concerns
• Restate your feedback or respond to the concerns.

Remember to acknowledge the person’s right to choose what to do with the feedback.

Possibly my favourite Dilbert

Possibly my favourite Dilbert.... keep on laughing at www.dilbert.com

I personally know a young 26 year old guy at one of my clients who developed stage 4 cancer, while having treatment he watched loads of funny movies and laughed every day, he is now in complete remission.... remember to laugh....

(NB obviously copyright Dilbert, but pasted in using the Embed command on the Dilbert Site, so i assume this is allowed!)