10 Principles for Personal and Professional Growth

Besides having studied business management and business administration at university about two decades ago, having visited dozens of various business and management trainings afterward, some years ago I have started to take intensive and comprehensive training in coaching, mentoring, NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) as well as in hypnosis and hypnotherapy. Not to gain additional master diplomas, but instead to further develop my leadership skills and to broaden my personal horizon.

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a communication and personal development approach created by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in the US in the 1970s. It claims a connection between the neurological processes (neuro), language (linguistic) and behavioral patterns learned through experience (programming) and that these can be changed to achieve specific goals in life.

The purpose of this article is not to discuss NLP itself (possibly in one of my next articles). I understand and respect that NLP might not be an easy concept to grasp; one reason being that its original idea and techniques have been often abused in the past by so called "experts" without any proper education and know-how... and even by one of its founders.

For myself, however, it has had a very significant and extremely positive impact, both on my personal development as well as on my professional career.

Coming back to the purpose and the topic of this article: I'd like to share with you the 10 most important principles of NLP. These can be also considered as generally valid recommendations for successful management, leadership and personal growth, regardless of whether you identify yourself with the original philosophy and concept of NLP or not.

Over the years I have found them to be extremely useful:

1) The map is not the territory. We do not respond to the world as it is, we act in accordance with our own mental map of it. We have a much better chance of getting what we want if our map is continually revised to take account of the territory. Doing this is much better than trying to bend the world to fit your map.
2) Mistakes do not exist. We do not criticize any behavior. We should only give feedback. As objectively as possible.
3) There is no right or wrong model of the world. It all depends on experience, context, point of view, intentions, beliefs, values, culture, etc.
4) People already have all the resources they need. From our storehouse of memories, thoughts, and sensations we can construct new mental patterning designed to provide the outcomes we want.
5) People are always making the best choices available to them. We make choices based on experience. More and better experiences allow for more choices.
6) Underlying every behavior is a positive intention. Look behind what people do to find their positive intentions.
7) For every form of behavior there is a context in which it is meaningful.
8) Resistance coming from your partner/client/associate means a lack of flexibility in yourself.
9) The meaning of your communication is the response you get. People receive information filtered through their mental map of the world.
10) If what you’re doing isn’t working, do something else. Do anything else. You’ll only get the same results if you do what you’ve always done.

So, these are my 10 key life leadership principles coming mostly from the NLP arena.

What do you think? Which ones do you think make sense? And with which ones do you disagree with? Any additional principles from your side?

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Andreas von der Heydt

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Andreas von der Heydt is the Country Manager of Amazon BuyVIP in Germany. Before that he held senior management positions at L'Oréal. He′s a leadership expert, executive coach and NLP master. He also founded Consumer Goods Club. Andreas worked and lived in Europe, the U.S. and Asia.

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Other recent and popular posts by Andreas von der Heydt:
It Takes Two To Tango
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The 17 Qualities And Views Of Great Leaders
How To Become A Great Negotiator
Winning With Engaged Teams

photo: istock.com