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Success stories of clients
Charles an example of collaboration and finding a creative solution for colleagues' needs
Charles was technically very strong and had immersed himself in a narrowly focused role preparing sales reports for various sections within the firm. The coordination of these various sections left a great deal to be desired. Charles poured over the data and noticed where the snarl ups seemed to be occurring. Noticing how these snarl ups arose coincided with yearnings Charles had to expand his horizons. He also realized that he didn’t have the qualities that were needed to put the solutions he had identified into practice. He was faced with the dilemma of how he could contribute to a solution that, if successful would propel his career forward, but where if he handled things poorly would jeopardize his chances of further advancement.
This was a classic case of Charles needing help in expanding his modern workplace skills package.
Charles enrolled in the seven secrets program. He tested as a Technician in our Awareness Logic test. Technicians revel in being immersed in detail. However, if he wanted to expand his horizons it was clear that Charles would need to learn how to take a much broader range of perspectives and learn how to collaborate with a number of section leaders to create a better way of coordinating the activities of the different sections.
The fact that Charles had picked up the nature and cause of the bottlenecks is not unusual for technicians, but because Charles was keen to do something about it was indicative that there were urgings within his awareness to advance and expand his Awareness logic and his communication capacities.
In the program Charles learnt that he needed to combine his technical expertise with a broad range of objectives that fitted in with the organization’s objectives. Charles was also able to learn how to more effectively communicate his ideas in ways that did not antagonize senior leadership people within the organization. Charles learned how to conduct crucial conversations (the fourth secret) where opinions differ, where the stakes are high and where emotions can run hot.
This whole experience demonstrated to Charles the need to be open minded and use each interview with section leaders as an opportunity to deepen his own grasp of the issues and how they were perceived by others in the organization. He also took responsibility for the initiative once he had secured the approval of his immediate boss. The whole experience caused Charles some anxiety but our emotional mastery programme helped him manage his emotions effectively.
The system’s changes that Charles suggested were trialed with some of the sections and found to overcome the bottlenecks and they were adopted throughout the organization. Shortly after the successful implantation of the programme Charles was promoted to a position within the organization that involved a wider range of collaboration and coordination. This is what Charles had to say about his experience in general and doing the course in particular:
I found the CMI course that I completed a very worthwhile experience. I could see that I wanted to move my career forward, but I was not sure how I could do this. The CMI course showed me that I had reached a certain level of development that they called a Technician and I appreciated that I operated as a Technician buried in the details. However, I was able to see where there were bottle necks in the organization and I felt myself being urged to do something about the problem. Learning to be an Achiever was about being able to take a wider perspetive and see my work in relation to the bigger organizational picture. Once I had made this breakthrough I was able to work out a strategy of how I could involve the section leaders in my ideas. I also had to overcome my anaxieties and I found the emotional mastery parts of the course invaluable. I realized that I needed to "up my game" so far as communicating was concerned. The communication capacity development part of the course made it possible for me to talk to the leadership people with confidence and assurance. I don't think I could have pulled off the project I set myself without the growth in my awareness and in the capacities that I was able to develop. Growing my awareness and the capacities has also made for a fuller life outside of work in my relationships in family and my wider social life.
How Rachael expanded her workplace skills package
My name is Rachael. In my job as a researcher in the marketing department of the organisation I work for, I am required to be a problem solver and a perfectionist. My work involves delving into and finding out about a variety of issues that impact on marketing. My talent cluster is very strong in the logical mathematical and linguistic intelligences. I have a reputation within the company for being good with numbers, and being able to see the relationship between a whole range of things. I have often heard people say things like ‘I don’t know how you could see these connections, but now you have pointed it out, it’s quite obvious”. I love to hear this sort of thing, and now recognise that this is the sort of thing that a Technician revels in.
However, I was finding being a Technician was confining me within a narrow band of competencies and I wanted to broaden my horizons. I wanted to use my abilities and talents in a broader frame. I learned in the CMI seven secrets program that making this leap is not really about learning new stuff, but is about growing in awareness so that I could take on board a wider and deeper perspective. This basic insight was invaluable and I am grateful to my CMI coach for guiding me through this process.
My immediate boss Jack confided in me that he was likely to be promoted. I felt I was ready to step up and become the marketing manager rather than just delve in to the numbers.
I recognised that I needed to show that I could take on a more senior role. This required learning and being able to apply the seven secrets. I knew I needed to be able to convince the people in upper management that I could operate at a higher level and embrace the marketing manager’s responsibilities.
I enrolled in the seven secrets program and as a result of what I learned I was able to develop a strategy that demonstrated to the upper management that I was ready to take on the marketing manager role. I found that this move lead to upper management involving me in the decision making of the department. I volunteered to take on some new responsibilities involving re-writing a rate structure for the advertising department. I also renegotiated my salary as a result of doing much more. I am hopeful that I will ultimately be appointed the marketing manager.
How Trevor overcame the need to win the argument and became a collaborator
This example shows how powerful psychological dynamics can inhibit collaboration and effective communications in an organization, and how the psychological dynamics can be neutralized. Trevor was technically very strong and connfident about his ideas. This translated into an aggressive response whenever his views were challenged. In the seven secrets program we asked Trevor to consider what he needed to commit to in order to help his team achieve greater harmony in its decision making?
This is what Trevor recorded in his work book.
I am part of a team at my work. In our organisation teams are charged with solving many of their problems without direction from senior management. Our team meetings are facilitated by our team leader. I find the talk goes all over the place and I get annoyed and step in to impose my views on the group. This has resulted in people not contributing to the discussion and I get my own way. They just sit there like dummies. The team leader has taken me to task and asked me to be less aggressive, and let other people contribute. He feels I have disrupted the team dynamics and the best decisions might not be being made. He also said that other team members have complained to him. I had to acknowledge that I was aggressive. I have given a commitment to the team leader to be less aggressive and listen to the views of others. I can accept intellectually that my actions have been disruptive, but I want the team to excel, and I feel that the “wishy washy” stuff that gets talked about is a waste of time. However, I will do my best to comply with the commitment I made to be being more respectful of other’s views in the team and to accept graciously the decisions of the team even if I do not agree with them.
Trevor later recorded
I don’t interrupt to the same extent as I once did, but I find myself seething with frustration at the ideas being presented. I also try just as hard to present my views, and I find it hard to accept graciously decisions made that ignore my approach. This seems like an attack upon me even though some of the decisions have worked out OK. I am finding it hard to feel the same enthusiasm for the company and I feel like looking for another job. However, this is an organisation that is going places and I would like to remain part of its future.
We can note a tone of frustration in Trevor’s thoughts, but that frustration is a measure of a lot of energy. It’s important for Trevor and the team that this frustrated energy is channelled into constructive change. The point is that this energy and the frustration can be the source of solving Trevor’s problem. The way to do this is to take Trevor’s frustrations to a deeper level and inquire as to the reasons for the frustration. We asked Trevor to reflect upon this question. Is there any fear that you experience as part of your frustration, and your failure to accept graciously the decisions of the team that you don’t agree with?
This question about fear takes things to a deeper level. In this type of situation it usually leads to unmasking the reasons that give rise to the failure to accept the commitment that arose out of the first question. In this case we found that Trevor was afraid that his idea of himself as highly competent was under threat. He felt that the other team members in making a decision that did not agree with his ideas was a rejection of him. He also felt that this would undermine his reputation as technically outstanding. He felt that he could not accept graciously something that challenged the very core of his identity. This gave rise to a competing commitment on Trevor’s part that to live in accordance with his identity and his reputation of technical competence, it was important that team follow his direction which was a superior solution to the team’s problems.
This gives rise to Trevor’s Big Assumption that in order for him to be a real contributing part of the team the team needed to adopt his solutions and a rejection of his solutions was a rejection of him as a technically competent person.
This is a very common problem in the work place and a common factor in making it very difficult for people to be effective collaborators and contribute to the smooth operation of a team.
In order to transform to a new level of consciousness it was important for Trevor to test his Big Assumption. This would involve operating by treating everything that arises as an opportunity to learn.
Under our advice he started reflecting on his actions. He began noticing how it felt to inquire and discuss alternative solutions to technical problems with colleagues. To his surprise he found that there were many good ideas that he could learn from his colleagues. He started practicing the communication skills that are part of the modern workplace skills package. He found that rather than his reputation suffering it was enhanced. He found that he didn’t need to be right all of the time to be valued as a team member. With this realisation much of his fear and anxiety disappeared and he began to see himself in a different light. His relationship to his field of competence changed and he was able to see his competencies in a new way.
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