I’m in training for a triathlon and I figured a few swimming lessons couldn’t hurt so I signed up to ‘stroke correction’, a class that shows you how to improve the efficiency of your stroke.
The prior class was a beginners one for adults aimed at people who can’t swim. At the completion of the beginners class one of the participants was set a challenge by the instructor to go underneath the lane rope which meant she needed to duck her head below the water. It took about 10 seconds for the courage to be summonsed but she did it. When she resurfaced she was visibly shaking – whether it was due to fear, relief, adrenalin or a combination.
I watched this seemingly innocuous exercise and the energetic impact it had. The courage it must have taken to push through the fear really struck home. As I ducked my head under the same lane rope, I asked myself what drives such different energetic reactions? I then remembered a time when my wife and I were on the balcony of a high-rise and my knees wobbled with vertigo whilst she was completely relaxed and enjoying the view.
There’s a huge amount of research behind this theme and one of the commonly agreed views is that feelings come from how you make meaning. What context you hold an event in. Some people see water as the place you cannot breathe. That is their meaning, their context. Others see water as a fun adventure. Some see the magic of the horizon when standing on the 25th floor balcony, others see the 100m vertical drop!! Context and meaning drive feelings.
In the Business context there are those that have millions in the bank, have their first negative quarter in decades and feel like the sky is falling in. And then there are those that do not know how to fund a looming cashflow gap whilst maintaining a relentless belief and optimism.
These energetic reactions are not to judge, rather acknowledge. Be it pessimism or optimism these are the things that drive Businesses forward.
Last time we spoke about the Business lifecycle and the significance of feelings. At different points in the lifecycle, whether you are a pessimist or optimist, there are default feelings that are commonly created. Knowing your feelings gives you a clue around what context you are holding things in.
Are you viewing the next sales opportunity as a must-win or just part of the source activity that over time will grow your business? A must-win context creates a frantic feeling which doesn’t often bode well for the sale!!
The importance of knowing this about yourself and your Business is that you get to choose more consciously how you attach meaning, what feelings are created and what choices you make.
This process means the difference between hiring someone and not, firing someone and not. It means the difference between restructuring or keeping things running the old way. It means the difference between playing to win or playing not to lose.
Try answering the following 3 questions as a reflection exercise.
- What is your ‘feeling’?
- What meaning are you giving things to create this feeling?
- What impact is this having on your decision-making?
Tune in next time to discuss the key decision that is forever impacted by feelings….capacity management. Do we grow or do we consolidate?
Finally, we are running a workshop on this theme in late March, details are coming shortly.