Coaching, Baking and Compensatory Control

C is for Compensatory Control

C is for cookie, that’s good enough for me – Cookie Monster

What does the letter C have to do with bread baking and coaching? What should my letter C be? Creativity…collaboration…cooperation…coordination…communication… Aha!  â€œCompensatory Control”!

So, what is compensatory control? In his new book Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why it Matters and How to Harness It author Ethan Kross shares that many of us order our physical environment to create order in our minds. Kross cites tennis legend Raphael Nadal as a prime example. Nadal will follow a precise routine upon entering the court for every single match. He aligns his water bottles perfectly in front of his bench, places his  ID card face up on the bench, and checks his hair before serving. The routine and order in the physical space provide him the mental space to perform at the apex of his sport. 

For me, this idea was both eye-opening and comforting. Eye opening in that research makes this connection between the physical and mental. And comforting because I learned that what I have been doing has a name. If you were to visit me on a bread baking day, you might observe a level of organization that might seem over the top. I will take out the ingredients and tools I’m going to use and arrange them just so; bins of flour on the counter, three proofing baskets on the bar, and a mixing bowl and starter sitting side-by-side. I’m guessing they likely find a similar spot time after time. The physical order allows me to dedicate my mental resources to the steps in the recipe, the ability to be fully present, to engage all my senses in the process. 

My coaching clients wrestle with this too. Some struggle to quiet the voices in their heads. This last year, I have heard a lot of stories about working remotely (no dedicated workspace at home), remote learning for their kids (less overall structure), and loss of physical connections to team members and friends. Is it any wonder they are having a challenging time channeling calm to operate at peak performance -- or even just efficiently? For many, their inability to generate a calm internal environment allows the other voices in their heads to take root and grow. The voices allow self-doubt, imposter syndrome, or disgust to flourish – and not in a good way.

So how do I help my clients create some of that physical order that will help promote the calm they need and want? Here are a few examples:

• Create a routine. This Facebook meme really resonated with me and many of my clients: “We’re not working from home – we’re living at work”.   The professionals I work with feel like the workday begins as their feet hit the floor and does not end until the head hits the pillow. A routine could include 30 minutes of exercise each morning before work or committing to dinner you’re your family, effectively establishing the routing and creating separation between work and life. The routine provides the structure you may need to perform at a higher level. In baking bread, I am all about routine. Flour and water get mixed at 3:00, starter and salt introduced at 3:30, and so on which usually yields a crusty loaf of bread.
• Identify opportunities to create order. When you consider the chatter in your head, what area of your physical space is out of sync and could use some structure? This could be anything from too many emails in your inbox or stacks of papers on your desk or finding your kid’s LEGOs on the table where you work. If you can carve out the time to tackle the physical environment, you will likely find the calm and satisfaction that promotes effectiveness. As a baker, I have organized my materials and ingredients. Some might think it unnecessarily ordered (namely, my wife) but it allows me to produce efficiently and consistently.
• Consider areas outside your control. If you are a person who tries to create order in all aspects of your life, consider those areas beyond your control. By attempting to create order in the absence of ability, you will invariably feel frustrated, or worse. As a manager or leader, it is a challenge to manage the “drop ins” that can distract from the task at hand. Accepting that this will happen offers an opportunity to consider time management strategies to maintain productivity. There are ways to think about those aspects of your life that may be helpful. Set expectations ahead of time and accept your limitations. This can lead to a calmer mindset that boosts your productivity. The physical is not any more ordered, but you no longer expect it. With baking, I cannot control the weather, the moisture content of the flour, or the potency of the starter. By recognizing I have no control, all I can do is follow the recipe, trust my skills, and plan for success.

“One must labor for beauty as for bread” – John Muir. Baking bread doesn’t feel like hard work to me, more like a labor of love. Many might consider baking bread in the physical realm. By understanding the connection between physical order and mental calm, I can now see how a great loaf of bread is attributable to both. For me, a fresh loaf of bread is a thing of beauty.

Bon Appetit