3 tips for reframing a situation as a 'positive challenge'

Peak performers often reframe a testing situation as a ‘positive challenge’ – rather than rush around with ‘pants on their head’. They adopt this approach in many circumstances, even those that involve life and death. Robert Muller, a former Assistant Secretary General for the UN, did this when escaping from the Nazis. Being hunted was so frightening, he said, that he reframed the experience as him being in a film. Robert found that ‘removing’ himself from the reality meant he was more able to see options. Looking back on his wartime experiences, he says they taught him the power of choice. “You can ‘decide’ how you are going to be in virtually any situation.” Robert later wrote a book on this theme called Most of all the taught me Happiness.

People sometimes translate difficult emotional situations into an intellectual challenge. Why? Because then it is easier to take a helicopter view and find solutions. Otherwise the feeling take over completely and they freeze. Let’s explore how this approach works in practice - particularly when encountering a testing situation.

* You can adopt a positive approach.

People who contract a serious illness sometimes reframe the journey as tackling a ‘project’. They adopt a positive approach by aiming to do their best and ‘controlling the controllables’. They concentrate what they can control, rather than worry about what they can’t control. One person explained:

“My first step was to take more control. So I scanned the internet to discover more about my illness. Previously I had waited for hospitals to return my messages. Nurses and doctors always do their best, but they are frequently run off their feet. So I threw myself into discovering everything I could about the illness, the support groups and regaining my health.”

The Penny Brohn Cancer Care organisation, for example, aims to offer people a variety of options for tackling their illnesses. Formerly The Bristol Cancer Help Centre, it specialises in offering complementary care. But it insists on enabling people to consider all kinds of treatments - conventional and complementary. The aim is to encourage people to shape their own futures.

Positive people aim to do their best. They are realistic, however, and concentrate on what they can control. Try tackling the exercise on this theme. First, describe the specific situation you can reframe as a positive challenge. Second, describe the specific things you can do to adopt a positive approach towards this challenge.

The specific situation I can reframe as a positive challenge is:

*
The specific things I can do to adopt a positive approach towards this challenge are:

*

* You can set a positive goal and find a positive way forward.

Peak performers often use the ‘5C’ model for finding setting a crystal-clear goal and find creative ways forward. They focus on the challenges, choices, consequences, creative solutions and conclusions. Clarity is crucial. So when defining the challenge, identify the real results to achieve.

“Certainly I wanted to regain my health, but in some ways I saw that as a by-product” said the person who saw their illness as a ‘project’. “My aim was to care for my body and soul. So I chose to eat properly, do things I loved and pursue my chosen treatment. I also kept a blog – but tried to make it ‘educational’, rather then self-indulgent. My ‘project’ included helping others to navigate their way through this kind of illness in the future.”

Let’s return to the specific situation which you can redefine as a positive challenge. Try working through the following steps. Clarity is the key – start by defining the real results you want to achieve. Choices – describe the possible options. Consequences – describe the pluses and minuses of each option. Creative solutions – describe the potential imaginative solutions. Conclusions – describe your chosen route for tackling the challenge. Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to set a positive goal and find a positive way forward towards tackling the challenge are:

*

* You can do your best to get positive results.

“Persistence is crucial,” said one crisis manager. “Settle on your chosen strategy, then keep doing the right things. You must build-in ‘reality checks’, but sometimes you don’t see instant results. Keep looking for signs – even underneath the surface – for: a) What is working; b) What can be better and how. Encourage yourself and redouble your efforts. Do everything possible to reach the goal.”

Looking back on your life, can you recall a time when you tackled a challenge successfully? Perhaps you began by being consumed by emotion; but then explored many creative solutions. Pursuing your chosen route, you worked hard until you solved the crisis. How can you follow similar principles in the future? Let’s return to the situation have reframed as a challenge. Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to do my best to get positive results are:

*

Some you win, some you lose. But the key is always to do your best. You can do this by reframing things as a positive challenge – rather than by putting pants on your head.

3 tips for focusing on the green, amber & red zones

Peak performers are proactive. They continually make decisions about issues that are in the green, amber and red zones. Here are some suggestions for tackling challenges in the different zones.

* The green zone – the things that are going well.

Peak performers apply the same sense of urgency to the issues that are in the green zone as to those in the Red. Michael Schumacher, for example, may have been leading a Grand Prix by 20 seconds, but he applied the same concentration as if he was 20 seconds behind the leader. Great sales people devote more time to their best customers than to their poor customers. Why? They realise it is the best way to get even more sales. Pacesetters capitalise on what is working. They do not wait for a crisis before springing into action. Similar rules apply across all aspects of life.

“My relationship with my wife is blossoming,” said one person. “So I aim to keep spending quality time with her. Two broken marriages have left their toll. I don’t want it to happen again - nor can I afford the expense! We plan to stay together for the rest of our lives.”

Looking at your personal and professional life, what things are in the green zone? What is going well at the moment? How can you build on these things? Try completing the following sentences.

Green zone. The things that are going well at the moment are:

*

The steps I can take to build on these things are:

*

* The amber zone – the things that are going okay - but there may be warning signs.

“My health may be becoming issue,” said one 35-year old. “During the past year I have put on 2 kilos. Doesn’t sound much, but in the old days I was able to lose weight easily. So it’s time to start moving. Even though it is January, I am going to start running, rather than wait for the spring.”

Looking at your life, what are the issues in the amber zone? If you are a leader, for example, you may have talented team members who reach 7/10 - then go onto cruise control. They have so much more to offer--but do just enough to get by. Profits may still be on track, but older products are reaching their sell-by date. Team members say they are okay, but more people are taking sick leave. Loyal customers call to say they want to stay with you, but are worried about falling service levels. How can you tackle the issues that are in the amber zone? Try completing the following sentences.

Amber zone. The things that are going okay - but there may be warning signs - are:

*

The steps I can take to tackle these issues are:

*

* The red zone – the things that are going badly or where there is real pressure.

What issues are in this zone? Results may have plummeted at work. Setback follows setback. Key people say they are leaving. The products you offer are out of date. Customers say: “We are looking elsewhere.” Suddenly you face a turnaround situation. How can you tackle the issues in the red zone? Try completing the following sentences.

Red zone. The things that are going badly – or where there is real pressure - are:

*

The steps I can take to tackle these issues are:

*

Peak performers take action early. Looking at the things in the green zone, they say: “I must build on this success. If I don’t, it may slip into the amber and then the red. I must act now to stay ahead of the game.” And, because they proactive, they spend much of their life in the green zone. “Capitalise on what is working and spot the danger signs early,” is their motto. You can also stay ahead by continually tackling the issues that are in the green, amber and red zones.

3 tips for managing change successfully

Everybody experiences disappointments in life - the key is how they deal with the difficulties. Here are three ideas for managing setbacks successfully.

* You can recognise the stages people often go through when overcoming a setback.

Imagine you have experienced a setback. You may have had an accident, lost a job, contracted an illness, suffered a rejection or whatever. Whilst everybody reacts differently, many go through the ‘reactive change curve’. They experience the stages of shock, denial, paralysis, anger and hurt. Healing takes time. But they gather new strength, set new goals, work hard, achieve success and gather self-confidence. People may take time to recover; but they often emerge stronger, wiser and more able to shape their future.

* You can recognise your pattern for managing setbacks successfully.

Everybody has a history of overcoming difficulties. If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme called Managing setbacks successfully. First, describe a time in your life when you overcame a difficulty. Second, describe what you did right then. For example, you may have taken ‘time-out’ to recover - even if only for 30 seconds. You may then have set a specific goal, gathered support and set-out on the journey. Travelling along the road, you found creative solutions to problems and kept working until you reached the goal. Everybody is different, so you will obviously have your own successful pattern. Looking ahead, describe how you can follow similar principles to overcome possible challenges in the future.

* You can recognise the importance of spending time in a sanctuary, shaping your future and getting a success.

People who experience setbacks often spend time in a ‘sanctuary’. They rest, recover and make sense of what happened. Sometimes they simply need time to lick their wounds. Give yourself permission to relax, re-centre and refocus - then move onto shaping your future. Concentrate on what you can control, rather than worry about what you can’t. Set specific goals and get an early success. Setbacks can act as alarm calls. Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, a person may say: “On reflection, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.” Gathering wisdom from the experience, they feel stronger

You can find more tools for managing change successfully at:

http://www.thestrengthsway.com

3 tips for surfing the sigmoid curve

“My greatest challenge has been judging how long to stay in a particular role,” said one person. “Looking back at my career, sometimes I kept growing - but other times I stayed too long. The danger has been lapsing into cruise control, when really I should have taken the next step in my career.”

How can you decide when to stay or when to move? One approach is to ‘surf the sigmoid curves’. (Originally a mathematical term, Charles Handy popularised the ‘sigmoid curve’ in his book The Age of Paradox. It is now used to chart the life-cycle of a person’s development, an organisation, a product or even a civilisation.) As one curve reaches its zenith, you surf onto the next one, rather than sink into decline. Let’s explore how to make this happen.

* You can recognise where you are on the sigmoid curve.

Imagine you are climbing the curve in your professional life. Where are you now? (You may find it useful to focus on a specific aspect of your professional life.) Perhaps you are halfway up the curve. Feeling hungry, you may believe there is lots of scope for development. On the other hand, you may have hit a ceiling or believe the ‘product’ or service you offer is deteriorating. Looking at your professional life – or a particular aspect of it - chart where you are on the curve. Try completing the following sentence.

The place where I feel I am now on the sigmoid curve is:

*

* You can go to the top of the sigmoid curve – but be aware of the warning signs.

How can you keep developing? How can you stay close to your customers? How can you help them to succeed? How can you keep improving your offering? How can you keep developing your ‘A’ talent? Let’s look at the total picture. Do you feel at the top of the sigmoid curve? Can you see further growth ahead? Or are you beginning to get warning signs? If so, what are the symptoms? Keep going until you feel at the top of the curve. Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to keep developing and go to the top of the sigmoid curve are:


*

* You can surf onto the next sigmoid curve.

Where is your own energy going? What do find exciting? How can you do more of these things? Looking at your chosen field, what will be happening in the next 5 years? What will be the key challenges your customers will be facing? How can you help them to succeed? How can you stay ahead of the game? How can you surf onto the next sigmoid curve? Perhaps you can even create one. Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to surf onto the next sigmoid curve are:

*

You can find more ideas on this theme at:

http://www.thestrengthsway.com