Exceed
Realizing High Potential
Ex • ceed v
to extend, to go beyond in quantity, degree, or rate; to be greater than or superior to; to go beyond the bounds or limits; to surpass; to be superior to; to excel
Researchers at Drexel and Northwestern have discovered that insights are associated with very different electrical brain activity. Whereas “normal” or logical thought corresponds to regular wave patterns, insights seem to be associated with large spikes in electrical activity. One theory says that this burst of energy re-wires the brain in an instant, unlike the habitual process that takes multiple months. This might explain why, following an insight, it is almost impossible to see or think about the subject in question the way one used to. The old pattern, lens, or filter is no longer there. To misquote Daniel Pink out of context, in essence, an insight seems to be able to give you access to a whole new mind.
How often have we encountered someone who has enormous potential but can’t seem to fully mobilize it, or someone whose style undermines his or her success?
- Perhaps a subordinate is newly on the hook to accomplish a large, complex, and critical strategic goal, but there are nagging doubts about this individual’s ability to succeed.
- Perhaps you have a peer with highly valuable capabilities who also has troublesome traits that sometimes cause unacceptable collateral damage and put his or her employment at risk.
- Perhaps you have a colleague who occasionally exhibits moments of brilliance and you wonder why this capacity surfaces so rarely.
- Perhaps you, yourself, face a project on which you can’t get aligned with key people, or for which your current “toolkit” might not be enough to get the job done.
During the course of a career it is common to encounter periods in which the thinking and behaviors that have made us successful in the past are no longer enough. Often, and fortunately, we learn from these situations: we develop new thinking and new habits and we move on. But sometimes we don’t. And sometimes we don’t even see that we’re stuck and that our career trajectory could be in jeopardy.
In this situation we need to move our potential up to a new level of performance. Some of our old ways of doing things must stop. Some must shift. Some new things must be started. This sort of change can be — and often is — a real struggle. But it doesn’t have to be.
Inherent in all of us is the capacity to have insights, those moments of ease or brilliance when answers pop into our consciousness as needed, choices are simple, and our thinking feels crystal clear. Insights permit rapid change in our thought and our patterns of thinking, resulting in nearly immediate changes in behavior. Surprisingly, this can occur in a matter of days. When approached in the right way, shifting how we think is not difficult.
This shift is the focus of our Exceed program, a customized training experience that has enabled pivotal changes for high-achieving clients. Over the course of a few weeks, participants gain:
- ready access to a calm and productive state of mind
- the capacity to find insights for breakthrough solutions to current problems or long-standing challenges
- increased ability to evoke insights in others and in teams
- enhanced understanding of how to communicate for maximum impact
- skill in developing the rapport and connection necessary for both collaboration with and influence on others in an organization
- step-change improvement in personal productivity
During the past 25 years of working with leaders, we’ve developed and refined the format of Exceed so that it produces these results efficiently and reliably. Each program is tailored to the needs and goals of the participant, and integrates some of the following elements:
- initial meetings to establish the desired results and fine-tune the program
- assessment/preparation period including:
- in-depth interviewing of the participant
- 360 feedback process, including some combination of surveys and interviews with key company associates (if appropriate)
- summary and review of results with the participant
- goal setting (which may include the participant’s boss and HR representative)
- creating the participant’s development plan
- determining the participation of other key individuals in the development process and how confidentiality will be handled
- initial meetings to begin addressing development objectives
- a short (2.5- to 4-day) individual leadership retreat for participant to:
- have a strong experience of a quiet, insight state of mind
- gain a deep knowledge of the human factors in high performance in themselves and others
- start to dissolve unproductive thought habits and uncover fundamental capacities to be wise and insightful
- apply insight thinking to real-life questions and issues (work and personal)
- explore how to live that insight state of mind in the work context and in other challenging situations
- subsequent coaching for 3–6 months to reinforce and deepen what has been learned and to integrate it into the workplace
Value
The average program fee for Exceed is $40,000, but varies depending on the complexity of the situation and the scope of the program. By comparison, replacing or transitioning a senior executive can easily cost in excess of $1 million. The cost of failing to hit a critical business objective can be even higher. To date, clients report that their goals and expectations have been completely surpassed, with typical ROIs of 20x to 100x. Feedback from peers and family members confirms the great personal value of the program.
Whether a critical objective needs to be assured or a step-function shift in performance is required, Exceed is a highly effective option to consider. If you’re intrigued, please call us. We’ll answer any questions and provide specific examples of how and where this program has been used so you can assess what is right for you and your organization.
© 2008
In Pursuit of Performance: Changing Thoughts and Actions
Most of us understand that our thinking governs how we act. But when we’re stuck, our learning is somehow blocked and we don’t see that the source of the impediment is in our thinking. We typically redouble our efforts to apply what we already know and what has seemingly worked in the past, or, we apply effort to change behaviors —none of which is the correct path to a solution. If instead, we improve the quality of our thinking and state of mind, which govern how we experience life and behave toward others, we can have more insights, and problematic behaviors will naturally cease.
A simple and direct way to accomplish this requires that we understand:
- how our thinking affects our performance
- how to find and live in the state of mind that guarantees we will be at our best
Over the course of any given day, we occupy different states of mind. Sometimes we are easygoing and unperturbed, yet at other moments the very same circumstances seem troubling and appear to provoke a very different experience. When we are in a “high” state of mind, we are “in the zone.” We seem to know what to do instinctively, or at least, with little mental work. Our thinking feels effortless, and great ideas or insights come to mind as needed. By contrast, when we are in a “low” state, our thinking is often muddled and more effortful. We make mistakes and get easily distracted, and life generally seems harder. When we are struggling in our work, this is typically how we are.
As our minds shift between these states, our freedom from unproductive, negative, or time-wasting thinking habits varies. In a lower state, we are on autopilot: caught up in mental subroutines, with limited ability to think and act differently. In a high state, the subroutines are in the background and we can access our inherent or innate intelligence. This makes us freer to look, learn, and absorb what is going on around us; able to think, choose, and act decisively; and ready to engage others with good rapport and clarity. By learning to release the capacity of our innate, creative intelligence, we can easily clear our thinking of its old habits, which in turn allows higher-quality thinking and, thus, better outcomes.
