A Tale of Tempting Marshmallows

Whilst walking along our local High Street, I noticed a large display of pink marshmallows in the window of our local bakers.

This reminded me of the story shared by Daniel Goleman in his first book on the subject of Emotional Intelligence. A study was carried out on young children to see whether they would be able to resist temptation for a potentially greater reward which in this study was two marshmallows instead of the one that was available immediately. Goleman describes the many tactics used by the children to distract themselves away from the waiting treat for what appeared to them like hours, when in fact the experiment only lasted 15 minutes. Around a third of the children succumbed to the treat, whilst the remainder were disciplined enough to succeed in the challenge.

Years later the study went on to establish what had happened to each of the children as they transitioned into adulthood. Interestingly there appeared to be a clear correlation between those children who were disciplined enough to hold on for the second marshmallow and their ongoing success as an adult. Conversely those children who were tempted to immediately access the single marshmallow fared less successfully, often over reacting to the various situations they found themselves in and acting impulsively.It could be concluded that this experiment highlights two distinct personality traits that people are born with however Goleman reasons that these different behavioural responses can indeed be influenced and developed by an individual.

As a leader we sometimes encounter poor performing members of the team who suggest the reason for their shortcomings is down to "just being the way I am". Perhaps no one has invested time to firstly challenge this assumption and secondly support the individual to work on their behaviour. For some this can be identifying and working on the limiting beliefs held by the person to help them break out of a cycle that has steadily become ingrained over time. This cycle begins with the limiting belief which then impacts emotions that subsequently influence behaviours which ultimately affect the outcome. The often negative outcome only serves to reinforce the limiting belief held by the individual and cycle continues.

The key therefore is to really focus in on the belief that is underpinning the behaviour and challenging the reasons why that person holds the belief. Often these reasons start to become no more than excuses when identified and viewed in isolation creating the opportunity to systematically develop a new, more positive belief in place of the limiting one.

It's amazing how this whole thought process can be triggered off by a single random observation. 

The brain is indeed a wonderful piece of technology!

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Resilience in the Classroom

It was interesting to see a report in this week’s Evening Standard regarding an initiative to train teachers to help support their pupils become more resilient. The article suggests that the reason for such an approach is that our children have somehow gone ‘’soft’’ and don’t know how to cope with failure. This is an interesting take on resilience and although the elements of the programme detailed make absolute sense I do hope that the initiative helps address long term development of resilience which for me also includes wellbeing.

From what I can understand the training will support students to set clear goals, encourage optimistic thinking and help manage emotions. These areas fit well into the headings of ‘Structure’ and ‘Attitude’ which underpin the SAW system developed by myself to coach clients through ‘The Resilient Leader’ programme. Clear goals, developed from a having a sense of purpose provide individuals with a meaningful and realistic framework upon which they can achieve future aspirations. Changing key personality traits is problematical however developing behaviours and attitude through building an individual’s self esteem, pragmatic optimism and regard for others is realistic and very achievable.

Walking back from a coaching session today it was interesting to note the activities of passing children enjoying their half term holiday. A number were congregating outside a takeaway enjoying chips and burgers whilst a couple were having a smoke, ironically outside a ‘Health’ centre. Now I guess my Reticular Activating System was aroused sufficiently from reading the article to note these finer details and admittedly I did see a number of children cycling around enjoying themselves. The question I ask myself is around the opportunity to engage children in the basic art of healthy living and ‘Wellbeing’. Now you may be thinking I need to lighten up a bit and let kids enjoy themselves and address ‘health’ issues when they hit full on adulthood. However it is a statistical fact that an obese adolescent is likely to have obese parents. 

I firmly believe that taking a proactive approach to our wellbeing is a fundamental component of building individual resilience, providing  higher grade ‘fuel’ to drive the bodies engine when tough terrain is encountered. This analogy may give the impression that I’m talking only about diet and exercise, however it’s so much more than this. The quantity and quality of sleep are vital components of wellbeing yet I know from firsthand experience that many teenagers stay up until the early hours. Brain stimulation is another area that shouldn’t be neglected especially at an early age. Mastering a musical instrument or artistic pursuit were often ways of expanding the mind, however I wonder whether the same expansion occurs when sat with an I pad on the lap? Technology is a wonderful thing; however, I admittedly struggle to remember the last time I did some rudimentary maths in my head.

I wish everyone involved with the ‘Young Foundation’s Resilience Project’ the very best and hope the model is taken up outside of the London pilot. I also hope that The Department of Education also ensures that pupil Wellbeing remains high on the curriculum.

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Resilient Football Musings

So it's been an interesting week for English football as another manager of the national side waves farewell to what appears apart from running a bank, the most high pressured job one could possibly have. 

Consider what it was that Capello had that helped him secure the job in the first place? 

He certainly had a good track record of success overseas and appeared determined to succeed in the role when first appointed, engaging in English lessons at the earliest opportunity. In terms of having good structures in place it appeared that Capello ticked all the boxes with disciplined rituals and routines underpinned by a strong sense of purpose. 

However was his attitude towards the role really at the level it needed to be?

It was interesting to hear that Capello felt he only needed to learn 100 words to fully converse with the players and provide them with enough inspiration to produce the success we all craved. The cracks clearly began to show at the 2010 World Cup where rumours of unrest and unmotivated players translated to poor lacklustre performances and a disappointing early exit. Perhaps Capello thought he had cracked the challenge after achieving early success, however is this really an example of winning a couple of battles rather than the war in terms of engaging the hearts and minds of the players. He may well have had a clear vision of what was needed and what he wanted to see in his players however did he truly ever manage to engage them to a level that we see demonstrated by the likes of Alex Ferguson week after week.

Engagement is the middle key component of Steve Radcliffes F-E-D (Future , Engage, Deliver). In his book 'Leadership Plain and Simple', Steve highlight how often he has seen leaders overlook the importance of great engagement when implementing a new strategic direction. Capello might have had a very clear future vision and purpose in his own mind but did he really ever have the right language to share it with his team. 

Also,consistent regular communication is so important when leading, providing an opportunity for team members to feedback corcerns and positively challenge.This later point is particularly difficult to achieve within the set up of managing a national team, with limited time frames to bring players together. 

So perhaps it's fair to conclude that It was Capellos attitude that ultimately led to his resignation.

It will be interesting to see how any successor tackles these vital components of leadership. At the time of writing many are hoping that Harry Redknapp will be persuaded to take on the role. If successful I somehow doubt whether he will ever be accused of not having the right attitude towards his players.

Watch this space.

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