HR Professional - June/July 2008 - (Page 49)

HRP: How do we get rid of it? JPF: This sounds counterintuitive, but it’s not about ignoring that voice because we can’t silence it. We need to welcome it. Dealing with it requires you to be mindful that it’s there. But you don’t want to have too strong an aversion to it either because that just gives it power. Ideally, you need to notice the voice and say “ah, there it is.” If we can manage it, we can play a bigger game. The concept of playing big versus playing small comes from my work with athletes and business people from around the world. Everyone has a small self and it’s there to save us from pain, but it can sabotage us if we don’t have tools to manage it. HRP: What is the “big self?” JPF: The big self is about knowing what’s possible, setting a goal, taking risks and achieving it. It’s the inner voice that says, “I can do this, I can have an impact,” instead of playing it safe, being perfect, but not really growing. A lot of our work with athletes focuses on enabling their big self to be in control most of the time. Athletes are tremendously fragile. Knowing that makes it easier for us not to get down on ourselves when we feel fragile. HRP: Sometimes the small self wins out, so what do you do when it gets loud? JPF: When you’re in a meeting and you perceive it’s not going well, you need to go to your refocus plan. To do this you need an anchor to help your big self assume strength again. There are two kinds of anchors. One is a performance anchor and the other is an appreciation anchor. When you’re self-doubting, you need your performance anchor—a predetermined word or phrase linked to your best performance. Recite it to regroup your conﬁdence. The appreciation anchor is for pregame jitters. This is something—a person, place or thing—you feel great appreciation for. Feeling appreciation is calming and helps you get back into ﬂow, allows you to see more clearly and act more decisively. HRP: What’s the best way to foster our own growth and development as leaders? JPF: When we’re offered feedback, we have a choice to take it. We can either play small and rationalize why the feedback is not valid—you know, the “ya, buts”—or we can play big and learn from it. w w w.H RThought L eader. c om You can tell a good leader by how well they respond to feedback. The best example I have is Doc Rivers, coach of the Boston Celtics. A few years ago, he was ﬁred as coach of the Orlando Magic. It was a big, public humiliation. So what did he do? He didn’t stay home and think of all the reasons why the organization was wrong. He travelled to colleges—the NBA feeder system—and asked to sit in on practices to learn from them. Now he’s coach of the No. 1 team in the NBA (as of press time). As HR professionals, we’re all going to have hard days and weeks. But when we use the “ya, buts,” we’re missing an opportunity to learn, grow and get stronger. HRP: How do we sustain performance? JPF: IHHP conducted a four-year study of 1,000 leaders to understand what differentiates people who sustain high performance over time. We assessed their psychological, physical and emotional well-being. We identiﬁed the differences between people who are have both high performance and high happiness and compared them to people who have different combinations, like high performance and low happiness, or low performance and high happiness. We found you can’t sustain performance if you’re unhappy, unwell and socially isolated. The full results of the study will be ready next year. HRP: How do leaders bring out the best in others? JPF: Leaders need two things: heart and edge. “Heart” is the ability to truly listen, have empathy and know that as a leader you don’t know everything. You can improve another person’s performance by understanding what’s impacting them, and what their intentions are. Low performers, for example, might not feel valued or recognized. Having “edge” is being decisive. You have to take a stand and act decisively, even if it’s unpopular. There’s nothing worse than a weak leader. I worked with another NBA coach who said to me, “J. P., if I don’t deal with the underperformers in the room, everyone will lose respect for me.” He’s right. Leaders need to do things that will impact others negatively and be OK with that. For more information on J. P. Pawliw-Fry or the Institute for Health and Human Potential, visit ihhp.com or speakers.ca. J u n e / J u l y 2 0 0 8 49 http://ihhp.com http://speakers.ca http://www.HRThoughtLeader.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of HR Professional - June/July 2008

HR Professional - June/July 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Contributors Leadership Matters Upfront Legal Compensation The Broad Perspective Leading by Example On Message Strategy Talent Management HR 101 Case Study Interview with J.P. Pawliw-Fry Off the Shelf The Last Word HR Suppliers Guide 2008 Calendar of Events

HR Professional - June/July 2008

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