Success is a Team Sport

Today is the anniversary of Samuel Morse who evolved a communication system that he then gave his name to – Morse Code.

Morse code has been used in countless occasions where regular communication was impossible – ships at sea have communicated by it, prisoners of war used it, inmates of prisons use it still and even small children have learnt the basics.

As a small child I remember playing with my Action Man figures and have them tap out SOS messages when pretending that they needed help and rescue. Great fun; happy memories.

So what has this got to do with the fact that success is a team sport? Well simply this, whilst we live in a society that is very keen to highlight the ‘winner’ it is important to realise how winners actually succeed. They succeed, just as Samuel Morse did, by being influenced, motivated and encouraged by the ideas and works of others.

Whilst it’s great to have the vision and aim to step onto the podium and be crowned the best do remember that the most likely way to achieve that is with others helping you. This help might be direct or indirect. Indeed a worthy opponent surging ahead can be the most motivation of things! And ideas that others have originated can be great stepping stones to new discoveries.

I take nothing away from Mr Morse by highlighting this fact. And certainly I, and my Action Man figures, have every reason to wish his memory well. I highlight it because it’s the truth.

And with the knowledge that great things can be created together you can start to ask yourself some very interesting questions; such as:

• Who do you know, who is already good or great at what you do, that you could team up with?
• What additional people could you bring into your success team?

And I’ll offer you a tip – possibly the people you don’t like are the ones you need to ask or keep tabs on. Jealousy can take many forms – don’t let it stop you teaming up, or being influenced by the works of talented people.

Additionally it might well be that you have something to offer to others; consider:

• Who do you know who you can help reach success?

For by being part of someone else’s team how much might you learn in turn? How much sharper might your knowledge and skills become?

So I leave you to ponder these things and whether you end up on the podium itself or help someone else end up there; enjoy your team success.

Regards

Stephen Hart

Trainer, Coach, Public Speaker

Based in the UK and Working Globally

P.S. With thanks to Kriss Akabussi, the Google Team and my wife who, knowingly or not, helped me create this blog. See – success teams work!

The Art of Silence in the Corporate World

Silence is your secret weapon in the corporate world.

Senior managers and directors, contrary to what many inexperienced business people feel, want their people to say less.

What they would really like is for their people to say the right thing, then go and do it!

We live in a world of information overload and time is being squeezed from all directions. In the corporate world less is truly more when it comes to business people chattering away.

Yet silence is something that a lot of people struggle with; equating silence with weakness. With many people thinking, “if I was really sharp and clever I’d always have something to say. People expect people to talk so I’d better say something. . .”

Sadly the consequence of this is a litany of pointless, half hearted and half thought through statements that doesn’t aid the situation at hand but rather obscures it. Worse still some of those half baked statements then get acted upon with, shall we say, questionable results!

So let’s explore this issue and see if indeed there is strength, and wisdom, in silence. . .

When no one is listening say nothing

 There are occasions where you will have something to share that actually no one else cares about hearing. It might be that you would have an audience later but at that moment in time people really are doing other things and don’t want to hear what it is you have to say. This is definitely a moment to remain silent.

Sure it can be disappointing. you have something you want to share but communication is about timing as well as content. If your current audience doesn’t want to hear right now perhaps they will later. And if not then find a different audience for that discussion.

Create space for ideas to grow

I’ve been in lots of board meetings where people clearly felt the need to quick fire ideas.  Now there is a place for that. And there is also a place for sitting there and thinking through the ramifications of ideas, taking ideas mulling them over and then putting forward a view.

In my experience managing directors and CEO’s would rather hear a great idea in a moment or two than an average idea instantly.

Have the strength to say that you are thinking through a point. You will be respected for that.

Control the situation

Being silent can give you control of a situation. By being silent you often force other people to speak. This can result in them saying more than they intended. This then give you more information to work with. Also it gives you a change to time your comments more effectively.

Also assuming you can be comfortable in your silence you will give off a thoughtful air and one of mastery of the situation. The other person, who is jabbering away, is the person people will perceive as weak or flustered.

Enables you to actively listen

One of the first thing you learn as a business coach is to stay silent whilst the other person is speaking. You are taught this for a number of reasons and one of the key ones is it enables you to listen properly. Proper listening, or active listening, is really focusing on what the person is saying, and not saying. By intentionally being silent, you can concentrate on actively listening to their words, tone, pitch andthe other subtle verbal clues they will be giving off.

Equally you will be able to observe their body language, possibly giving you a truer meaning of their statements than their words alone!

 In summary

I hope you can see that there is strength and wisdom in moments of silence. A few seconds can be all it takes to turn what would have been an average thought into a brilliant one. Give yourself that time. Impress your bosses and achieve your potential! 

Until next time

Stephen Hart

Trainer, Coach, Public Speaker

Based in the UK; Working Globally

Thanks to Natasaa for the photo 

http://natasaa.deviantart.com/

Great Careers Do Not Just Happen

It’s 6am on a Wednesday morning as I type this. The spell checker is telling me that my spelling is rubbish at this time of the morning but I guess that’s why it’s there. So as I am challenged to spell at this hour I want to challenge you for a second – think of some famous people; go on, I’ll wait. . .

Now if I join in I can think of Neil Armstrong – first man on the moon, Lance Armstrong – seven times winner of the Tour de France, Sir Alan Sugar – British business man, Madonna – career musician and pop star. . .here’s another question. . .what do they have in common?

The answer could be long and rambling but let’s keep focused and sum up the biggest thing they have in common – persistence.

You see the success that they all have, and the fame, has come as a result of their persistence. They have struggled up slowly to a level of success and then they have improved upon it. Madonna can be put forward as one of the most clever and business minded of all modern pop stars. She reinvents herself to not only keep up with new generations of singers but often to set an example for them to follow.

Lance Armstrong became one of only three men to win the Tour de France five times then, despite injury and illness, achieved something no one else had done before or since; a sixth and then a seventh win of the Tour.

Ask Sir Alan about how well Amstrad did in the 80’s and he might wince a little at the remembrance of tough times. Yet now he is known the world over as a business leader and his fortune has returned.

Oh and that just leaves Neil Armstrong; in some ways the most famous man in the world. Neil had a successful career prior to being picked for the space program. Then he was selected for a program where only the very best of the best were being selected. He had to again persist in his efforts to do everything right, to have the right attitude and to achieve beyond expectations. By again doing this he became the first human being to set foot on the moon.

So all of the above might leaves us, mere earth bound people, wondering something. Wondering where our persistence might take us. But in fact I think that is the wrong question. I think a more powerful question for us should be this – what would that persistence look like in our lives?

For Lance it would have been getting up early every morning and going for training rides. For us perhaps it is getting up early and starting work before others. Or perhaps it is finally learning to take control of our daily schedule, or reading more. Whatever it is, surely if we can recognise it then we can start to do it.

It’s now just after 6.35am as I come to the end of this blog. I’m going to get some coffee and then start on my list of things to achieve today. For me that’s about being persistent. For you what would persistency be?

Regards

Stephen Hart

Trainer, Coach, Public Speaker

Easter – A New Hope

Whether you are religious or not Easter can be a significant time for you.

We are at a point roughly a third of the way through this calendar year. New Year Resolutions are far behind and many will have been abandoned and even worse forgotten. Now is the time you can change that.

You can either go back to the resolutions of January or you can forge ahead with other new, fresh ideas. Easter is to for the calender year what a full stop is to a sentance. A chance to pause. Reflect. Make new choices.

Where ever you are in your life the rest of today can be different. You can start something new today that will last a life time. Or you can stop today something that has been with you too long.

My daughter and I were discussing addictions just the other day and we concluded that many people have them of one sort or another. Easter can be a chance for you to make a choice regarding your own personal addictions. Maybe you need to stop something or maybe you need to start something.

Would your life improve with more exercise or less television? Would it be enriched just a little bit if you phoned a friend or family member and said ‘hello’ ?

And for those of you in business. What strategic choices can you make at this time that will influence the success of the rest of your year? All good sales people know that there is a time delay between effort and results. If you are in sales or business you know that if you put the work in now you will most likely receive the benefits this year. If you wait it might be next year.

Personally I will be spending a little time contemplating where I have come from and a lot of time planning where I am going.

So whether a believer or not may Easter be a time of New Hope to you all.

Best regards

Stephen Hart

Trainer, Coach, Public Speaker

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