5:1 – Stay positive

I went to a seminar recently which reviewed how as leaders we can take advantage of Neuro Plasticity  (put very simply, it’s never too late to learn, and never too late to change). The course itself reinforced my belief that great leaders and coaching can really inspire people to let go of their self-limiting behaviours and I’m going to bring more of that into my personal and private life (my poor kids are forever being subjected to my new ‘just been on a course’ Kool Aid’ techniques!).

This was the evidence which most struck me however:

Evolution-wise, humans are 5 times more driven to protect themselves from danger than they are to pursue comfort.  The theory therefore is that we are (times 5) more inclined to notice, or act upon, or expect a bad outcome than a positive one. Who amongst us gets an  invite to an unsolicited meeting with our boss and expects it to be good news, for example!

As leaders, we can mitigate this fear, and the natural defensiveness that is felt by challenge by ensuring that we NOTICE and PRAISE 5 positives for every 1 ‘could do better’ that we comment on.  The brain then adjusts to accepting these in the way they were intended and becomes more open to all feedback.