Moving Through Our World

My audience is business leaders, owners, directors and managers.

Having led several thousand coaching 1to1s and hundreds of full-day meetings, I have identified 6 principal characters.

These characters cross all the demographics--gender, age, political or religious affiliation or sexual preference—and they are everywhere.

Here are my 6:

1.????? Even under calm conditions in a pairing or in the wider group, Alexis the Aggressive will take the high ground.? Alexis will feel it necessary to establish who is right and who has the authority in any given situation—any bone of contention will be a matter of black or white, right or wrong.? And, of course, Alexis is on the right side.? And when the stakes are high the fully aggressive behaviour is on display.? Alexis will behave as if there is an existential threat, and it is a matter of kill or be killed and take no prisoners.

2.????? Having been brought up to speak freely, Ashton the Assertive is able to approach people in a range of settings both calmly and evenly.? Ashton will listen to another person’s point of view, putting an opinion without the need to berate or belittle the other party.? Ashton will not take disagreement or criticism personally and will state observations, suggestions or requests without making it a contest.? Ashton will know that most hurt caused is unintentional, and a by-product of the collision between blind competing egos in a world of scarce resources.? Ashton will be slow to anger and judgement.

3.????? Realising why we don’t have some of the things we want, Phoenix the Philosophical will appreciate the role of luck and not taking others’ success personally or negatively. ?Phoenix will balance aspiration with what’s possible, without losing the sense of self, never exaggerating the transformations possible; looking for the learning from both these outcomes.? Phoenix does not like to live in the past, accepting that what has happened can’t be changed and we do not waste time and emotional energy trying to correct it. Phoenix will know how to find contentment; to deal instead with what is available.

4.????? Some people may call it seat-warming, but Pat the Passive sees it rather as going with the flow.? Not for Pat the bold idea backed by a challenging strategy. Pat often says that the future is unpredictable, so any time, effort or resources spent on planning is way too risky, if not completely futile.? Similarly, Pat is fond of saying that 75% of advertising expenditure is wasted, but no-one can say which 25% is working.? And if you spend money on staff training they will only leave for another job. Imagine if they don’t get trained and stay Pat.

5.????? Forever waiting to see the lie of the land, Robbie the Reactive, will not respond until the last moment or opportunity.? Robbie needs to know what others think and do, before deciding on a course of action.? This means that Robbie may pick up an advantage without much effort, but will also be condemned to missing the peak and also suffering the same losses as everyone else.? Robbie is risk-averse and never ahead of the game and people will mostly not be inspired by such an example or motivated to do anything but mirror Robbie’s me too behaviour.

6.????? History has never been kind to Ridley the Resentful.? There is a long list of disappointments and failed attempts.? It is difficult for any observer to discern why Ridley is in business, much less able to hold down a leadership role.? Perhaps it’s because that business was passed down through family succession to Ridley.? And it’s sad that Ridley has never been able to match the zeal or the enterprise of the founder.? Ridley burns up a lot of intellectual and emotional energy with regrets about what has happened rather than imagining what could be for the business.

Have you found each of these characters in your travels through business and life??

And, is it possible that, given the circumstance, the influence of others, the accumulation of stress, these characters may be found in each of us??

Is this how we may be moving through our world? ?

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Next week: ?Don’t Trust Our Gut

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About the Author

Jeff Bell?is Principal of executive consultancy ResultsWise in Perth, WA.?To boost your leadership, ask Jeff about Band of Leaders Australia (BOLA) [email protected] and his consulting, coaching and strategy facilitation, or his Advanced Leadership Course [email protected] Mobile 0439 988 662.