Motivational Memos

NEW TOOLS FOR COACHING, ANYONE?

On some of the Discussion groups I belong to on LinkedIn there has been quite a bit of discussion on the topic of new tools for coaches: are there any, which do you use, and do they need them anyway?

The short answer has to be: yes, there are many; which you use will depend on your own experience, learning, preferences; and yes, coaches need them. In truth too many coaches (and for that read trainers and consultants) seem to adopt the ‘education’ view of coaching. You know what I mean? I trained to be a lawyer and I qualified in 1985, so what do I need new training for? For ‘lawyer’ also read dentist, doctor, teacher, professor or just about anybody who wants to be stuck in the groove of what they ‘learnt’ thirty years ago, and think that that serves the client well.

One of my scariest true stories occurred some ten years ago. I was called into a major (for the UK) food processing company to deliver a programme called Investors in People. This company employed hundreds of people, and had been owned by one man and run in a particularly patriarchal fashion. One year before he had retired, sold out to venture capital, and now they were aiming to get a return on their investment.

I stood in the corridor as some manager told me how pleased they really were to see me. Oh, good, I said.

Yes, he continued, only we’ve never had training before. I smiled at his exaggeration.

Well, I said, you’ve never done Investors in People before?

No, we’ve never had any training. I looked perplexed. He looked nervously around.

His colleague beside him took up the story. Occasionally we could do it, but we always had to have two trainers.

I am sorry, I said, I don’t understand what you are talking about.

Well, she said, you got fired if you were found training anyone – fired on the spot.

Really? I said. So what’s the point then of two of you doing the training, if you’re both going to be fired!

Ah, said the first manager. That was so you didn’t get caught! I seriously had no idea what he meant. You know, he said, one did the training, and one stood on guard to let you know if Mr X was wandering down the corridor!

Why did he do this? I asked incredulously.

He reckoned he paid you to do the job, so why would you need training if he employed you as capable to begin with? Fair point, eh? May be, but only in an antediluvian world.

We all need tools – and the insight and wisdom to use them effectively and appropriately. The good thing about good tools is that they help ‘sell’ the business proposition because people are attracted by the self-evident power of the tool, and it acts like a guarantor of the service provided by the person. Certainly, our Motivational Maps have worked in this way with some of our coaches.

Recently I came across a superb Canadian company, called appropriately The Coaching Tools Company, see www.thecoachingtoolscompany.com , which allowed me to trial some of their products. Very impressive indeed. I especially liked their Troll Travels – Who Am I? tool. Invariably as a coach one comes across defining identity issues; this particular tool makes this such a fun activity: you first make a list of all your qualities, and then are sent off to three bridge encounters. At each bridge you have to give away a certain percentage of your qualities to pacify the troll. You are left at the end with only 10% of your qualities, but these are the CORE you! Brilliant. Totally relevant to anyone reflecting on their personal or career development.

The other thing about these tools is how attractive they are laid out, which is always half the battle in presenting stuff to clients. So – check them out – well worth a visit. Sharpen one’s tools for the next round of coaching!

James

 

THE SELF ESTEEM QUESTION

I was recently on a coaching forum and found a question about self-esteem: what had readers seen of literature specifically about coaching to build self-esteem? The person asking the question was doing an MA on the topic, so great for him to get loads of helpful references. For me, however, it reminded me of the importance of not just reading about self-esteem, but thinking constructively about how we do build our clients’ self-esteem – or not?

I like to cite Nathaniel Brandon’s comment that self-esteem is the most powerful force in the universe! That certainly makes it pretty important. And of course there is general unanimity that one’s performance in life at anything is directly correlated with one’s level of self-esteem. Put crudely: the higher one’s level of self-esteem, the greater one’s level of performance.  But performance is not the end benefit – the better we perform, the more we enjoy life – in fact, enter the zone where time stops and we are fully absorbed with actually two things – the doing and the mastery. There is something incredibly satisfying – whether one has or has not got an audience – about performing at the level of complete mastery. The dancer at this point becomes the dance.

 

On a practical level, as a professional mentor, I frequently encounter issues of low self-esteem in some of my clients. When I do it is important to distinguish between the use of left and right brain tools. In short, for some people, it is enough to explain concepts and provide what might be termed logical exercises that enable them to move forward. These exercises can be very small steps indeed; in fact, the whole principle of kaisen suggests that working on very small steps has far more likelihood of succeeding than the big radical shifts.

 

Here is one, small, left brain tool that anybody can do. Fill the right side of your pocket with 10 small coins (in the UK 5p is ideal). I like to ensure they are all shiny although that isn’t essential. Then, during the course of the day, every time you think a positive thought about yourself, or correct a negative one with a positive substitution, transfer one coin across to the other side pocket. Aim to transfer all 10 during the course of the day. If that becomes easy, try to get all 10 transferred back again. The brilliance of this is that the small chinking of the coins reminds one to be positive and create positive self talk. It is also a very small step – seemingly inconsequential. Who could not do it?

 

However, for some, the problem is more deep-rooted and these ‘left brain’ activities and ideas simply will not work. Right brain, holistic, tools are necessary. These can include things like NLP, especially when weighted with hypnotherapy techniques. I personally prefer image streaming, meditation techniques, and EFT - these are astonishingly powerful ways of impacting the self esteem. What this is really about of course is aligning the sub-conscious mind to support the rational mind - and if it doesn't, there is not much chance of progress.

Out of ten, how would you rate your self-esteem? (10 is high, 1 is low). Does your self-esteem need a boost? Remember, what we focus on, grows in our experience.

James

 

LEADERSHIP AND MOTIVATION

As many of you know, our company specialises in the language and metrics of motivation. You would think – at least in business – that motivation was/is an indispensable part of the ‘mix’. By which I mean: every organisation should actively consider a strategy for motivation for all its staff. The assumption, for example, that we have an HR department, so therefore it’s ‘covered’ is often fallacious.

Why many organisations pay so little attention to motivation is a mystery, but when the same holds true, albeit to a lesser extent, for leadership, then something is seriously wrong. For if there is one factor that is consistently identified as being THE most important component of an organisation’s success, then it is leadership. The quality of leadership is intimately related to results.

So it is that we need to take a wide – generic – look at leadership before narrowing down the attributes necessary for a specific organisation. What, then, are these generic attributes? What exactly are we looking for in a leader?

I think there are two main aspects of leadership that any leader has to be thoroughly conversant with. First, leaders must be able to work ON the business or ON the organisation. What does that mean? In essence I reduce this to two major skills: the strategy for the organisation and the implementation of the processes, systems, structures that enable the strategy to be delivered.

Secondly, working IN the business or organisation. This working IN is not about the systems; it is about recruiting, creating and sustaining the winning teams. Such teams seriously leverage human productivity. As they say in the jargon: TEAMs – Together Each Achieves More.

But the final part of working IN drills down to the individual – the leader must not only build the strong, winning teams – s/he must also motivate every individual in the organisation, for it is the motivation that will provide the biggest impact on performance.

So, generically, leaders must work ON the organisation (strategy and system) and work IN the organisation (teams and motivation) too. Is there anything missing from this picture? Yes, I could argue that motivating people is a leader’s skill that is not only inwardly focused on staff, but outwardly focused on suppliers, customers, and the wider audience of the world’s opinion too. We might call this PR or negotiation!

But semantics aside, there is one major area I haven’t covered – without which none of the other skills work effectively in the long run. It is more a quality than a skill. It is the leader’s commitment to personal growth and to learning. Without that commitment and action, leadership is running on empty – and it soon shows.

James

 

MOTIVATING THE BRITISH ROYAL MAIL: PART 2

Following on from our debate last time, I am almost certain that regarding the Motivational profile of the Royal Mail, we would find the following: the staff would predominantly have Relationship motivators. Time for them is slower and change is largely to be avoided, since they want certainty. Since the staff make up the bulk of the Royal Mail, it follows that screening the whole organisation would produce the same result: the dominant motivator is relationship based.

The senior executives, on the other hand, are Achievement motivator based. For them time is faster, and outcomes, not relationships, are what is important. One important outcome will, therefore, be cost cutting, efficiency, savings.

Beyond the senior executives will be the consultants advising them – often in fact Professor X and a team from a leading Business School. These will tend to be Growth orientated: faster still than the Achievement motivated, and concerned with growth – not the same as the tangible outcomes of the cost-cutters. One slightly over-simplified way of expressing this might be: the Achievers will tend to want efficiencies, whereas the Growth motivators will move towards effectiveness. Both are necessary, but like centripetal and centrifugal force they go in opposite directions.

What this all means – surprise, surprise – is that all three groups are really speaking a different language and coming from a different ‘space’. This space isn’t inconsequential – it is the energy space that we describe through our motivators; for that is what motivation is - an energy. Thus, it is so difficult to deal with people whose energies are running counter to ours – the difficulty is way beyond mere intellectual dissent.

What the Maps could do is:

a.     provide that language that would make sense of some of their dialogues

b.     suggest appropriate reward strategies that would work, that would touch the ‘hot buttons’ of the other side

In this way the Maps could help redefine the conflict.

Of course what this is in essence is a change management programme, but one that cuts to the chase: the motivational profiles are where our energies go – they therefore go straight to the heart of what we want! And when people offer us what we want, we tend to be more compliant.

If the management of the Royal Mail understood what people wanted at a motivational level, and started using the language and reward strategies accordingly, how differently might this conflict turn out?

James

MOTIVATING THE BRITISH ROYAL MAIL: PART 1

I gave a talk at the Institute of Directors last Friday and alluded to the application of Motivational Maps to the current dire situation developing within the British mail system, The Royal Mail – its managers and workers. Somebody afterwards asked me to expand on my remarks. Although I am not following the situation closely, and neither am I a corporate consultant – my focus is the SME market – nevertheless I do believe the Maps are highly relevant.

First, though, let it be said: there is no easy panacea, and in discussing how the Maps could help resolve some of the problems we need to bear in mind that once conflicts start many non-rational obstacles arise – including intransigence and the need for victory – that go way beyond what might be construed as rational or constructive debate.

What, then, have the Maps to offer the Royal Mail? Before answering that question we need to identify what is the major ‘driver’ of the Royal Mail as an industry? There are three major drivers and no business/organisation can be equally strong in all of them: Time, Cost and Quality. It is manifestly obvious, for example, that we cannot provide products or services at the minimum cost, in the least time, and yet have the highest quality. In the case of the Royal Mail the key driver is Time – letters need to be delivered by the next day; Costs need to be controlled; and Quality is the least important driver of its core function. So 2 million letters a year go missing is OK; currently, depending on who you read, some 20 million letters are ‘lost’- but Quality is not the issue, so they can get away with that.

Imagine now the widget producer: speed of production (Time) is not the first driver, but second or third. Cost is the key issue – if one can produce the widget for a dime less than the competition, then one is in business.

Finally, take consultancy services as another sector: here the important driver is Quality – if it takes longer, costs more, so be it – but we want the best advice.

Now Motivational Maps depicts an interesting parallel universe with these three drivers. Basically, the nine motivators of work divide into three groups of three: relationship motivators, achievement motivators, and growth motivators. And these also in their hierarchical structure provide a speed and change index. People/team/organisations which have a predominantly relationship profile tend to be slower than the achievement set, who in turn are slower than the growth group. What does this mean? It means that the three drivers (Time, Cost, Quality) are precisely correlated with the three motivational groups (Relationships, Achievement, Growth).

The Royal Mail is not a client of mine and has not done a Map profile, but if we were to ask the question, What is Map profile of the Royal Mail? What would the answer be? Better still: what is the profile of the whole Royal Mail? The senior management team’s profile? The staff’s profile? And finally, and interestingly, what is the profile of the consultants who advise the senior executive?

I am certain we can predict the answers to these questions, which throws considerable light on the current problem. Read Part 2 of this blog next week!!

James Sale

SUNDAY MOTIVATION

I don’t like admitting I’m an addict – but the truth will out.

It’s Sunday morning, 4 AM, and I am staggering up in order to leave the house at 5 AM. We are scheduled to drive from Bournemouth to Newham Sports Centre – in North East London.

My wife has made this trip before and advised: don’t take the short route via the counter-clockwise M25 Dartford Tunnel. It’s murder, she says. Then again, trying to navigate across London in a ‘direct’ line is also fruitless and frustrating. So, go the best route: clockwise around the M25, circling the circumference of London. Come off at Junction 27, and then the Sports Centre is only a dozen or so miles away. This actually adds an extra 50 miles each way – but, I am sure you can imagine what you may miss by way of consequence.

Why am I doing this? Do my readers see me as someone on an intense fitness programme that requires work-outs in London? No, my son Joe is competing in the Under 20 BFA Foil competition and it’s pretty important to him that he achieves some result. Fencing (Foil) is like tennis in terms of ranking – you turn up, get points, these are added up, and over time you – hopefully – go up the rankings. Naturally, motivation is a core component of competitive sport.

But as I was saying, I am addict. You see, we left at 5 AM, having had a good breakfast, including a solitary cup of tea. I felt fine, but by the time I hit Southampton I was yawning. By the time I hit Heathrow I was positively drooping. I pinched myself, I drank water, and I attempted a mild form of acupressure with my right hand – my left hand firmly on the wheel. Nothing seemed to work – and then there was the South Mimms Service Station ahead.

I knew what I needed – the fix. One hot cup of Americano later and I felt alive and awake again; and partially ashamed! Yes, I have read “Caffeine Blues” - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Caffeine-Blues-Hidden-Dangers-Americas/dp/0446673919 - a searing indictment of the effects of coffee. But, I was in the now – and needed it now! The rest of the trip seemed a dream.

There is a theory I am developing here: every one of us has one ‘fix’ we cannot do without. Or what might be termed, my Sunday Motivation.

James Sale

CHRIS BROGAN AND SELF AWARENESS

I am sure we can all agree that there is a new growth industry that it is almost impossible to avoid, and they are the pedlars of the social networking technologies. ‘They’ are everywhere – and they can become extremely annoying.

My last blog denigrated the Twitter phenomenon – and received unexpected praise! – so perhaps I need to say a little more; at the risk, perhaps, of my luck running out.

That social networking helps business who could deny? But the trouble is some of the pesky methodologies that arrive like SPAM in the mailbox. Everyone and his dog can tell you how you make a fortune from using these methodologies. And then, surprise-surprise, the technology morphs into a huge concert/seminar somewhere that you simply have to attend for a mere …$/£ and there the final secret will be revealed (or alternatively in the 12 box DVD set for  a mere …).

Well, I have consigned most of these to the SPAM filter now, but one person I have found consistently interesting and useful is Chris Brogan. He can be found at http://www.chrisbrogan.com/ or email at blog@chrisbrogan.com. Chris like everybody else is making a living at the social networking stuff, and he makes no bones about it; but he also supplies a lot of useful free information and insights. Why then do I think he is different from the average commentator on this scene?

What I really like about Chris Brogan is underpinning nearly all the communications is first, a genuine attempt to communicate on a personal level, despite the fact that it is a mass mailing. And how does one do that? He does it by, secondly, being acutely self aware. That’s it: self awareness. As you read his material you begin to understand the assumptions underpinning what he is doing since he is laying his own motivations bare. This is incredibly engaging, honest and empowering – the latter especially because one can emulate what he is doing.

This observation should really come as no surprise since the foundation of all personal growth is self-awareness; as the Greeks said, Know Thyself. Without self-awareness we cannot grow into the people we could become, and this applies as much to being effective social networkers as anything else. It should come as no surprise but of course it does, precisely because so few people are that analytical or direct or honest or all these things!

So, three cheers for Chris Brogan and his blog – it motivates me – check him out and he may motivate you.

James Sale

TWITTER, TWEET, TWADDLE & LINKEDIN

Some of you reading my Blog may have noticed how seamlessly it is now integrated into my LinkedIn profile. The wonder of technology.

I, like everybody else, am being encouraged to use social networking media. Not long ago a business colleague of mine invited me to join them on Facebook; I obliged. Hmm. Very soon people I knew 25 years ago were contacting me. Admittedly that was interesting and welcome. Others too – even my son’s fifteen year old friend! Ah – cute! But a swift trawl through some of the content of some sites left me feeling – what’s the point?

Then a good friend insisted we should be on Twitter. Get a following, he said, and to do that you follow first, then you lead. Eighteen thousand people could soon be with you, following you. Sound great?

Well, we experienced, my wife and I, Twitter briefly. And what an appalling concept Twitter is.

British industry has long complained about levels of education of school leavers and even graduates. The phrase ‘can’t string/write two sentences together’ springs to mind. And currently, it is unclear to me whether Twitter is a causal or symptomatic link. Certainly, symptomatic seems more likely (given its relatively recent appearance). But that is only a question of time – like television programmes which imitate reality, eventually reality imitates the programmes. Eventually, no-one in the ‘normal’ population distribution will be able to write more than 140 letters. In short, no-one will be able to think.

I wanted to quote from Twitter to show the inanity – the Twaddle – of all this ‘tweeting’, but really wherever you go you find exactly the same stuff. It’s like being on a train and listening to the many Ancient Mariners on mobile phones who have to shout out loud: “I am on a train … yes, that’s right. I’m on the train … sorry … yea… tunnel  … yea … on a train”. So there’s little point in quoting it – it’s beyond parody.

On the other hand, I have also discovered LinkedIn – what a contrast! How useful and relevant an application is this. How useful to be able to stay with people as they move from role to role. How clear it is to be able to connect with people beyond your own network. Finally, in this brief eulogy, how wonderful to be able to join special interest groups and see key issues being raised and answers proposed.

I am pretty amazed by LinkedIn and recommend all business people to join it. It’s not like the naff side of social networking – sure, there will be unwelcome people who try to exploit the system, but no group, club, organisation is free from that problem, virtual or otherwise. It has, perhaps, most compellingly, clarity of purpose: it exists to do something – smooth business for business people. That to me is music; so go for music – avoid the noise elsewhere.

James Sale

MOTIVATION AND ADVENTURERS

One of the curious anomalies of my life is being introduced as a ‘motivational speaker’; I always have to make it clear that I am not a motivational speaker, but an expert on motivation. I am not there to motivate the audience: I am there to inform them how motivation works and how they can get themselves or their teams motivated using the language and metric that is Motivational Maps.

Bizarrely, we don’t have a lot to do with ‘motivational speakers’ by and large, because we do ‘our thing’. But may be that is about to change. We were contacted recently by the adventurous adventurer, Alastair Humphries - http://www.alastairhumphreys.com/ - who is, technically, an Adventurer, an Author, and a Motivational Speaker; and if you read his stuff you cannot help but be impressed. He is currently most famous for spending 4 years cycling round the world and covering 46,000 miles – phew!

Delightfully, Alastair has also completed a Motivational Map – the first Adventurer I am aware of to do so – and has given permission for me to analyse it publically through my blog. So, we like Alastair, and feel that an important link has been made to the other side of motivation, and therefore we want to go on talking about him and promoting his activities.

So, what do we learn about Alastair from his Motivational Map? First, he is only 72% motivated, which for someone who is effectively self-employed and doing the thing he loves, seems actually low. (One must say, however, with nearly 5000 Maps now done, most organisations would regard 72% as wonderful if their staff were on average at that level).

His top 3 motivators are in order: Searcher, Expert and Creator. This means: Alastair wants to make a difference, wants to be a specialist, and wants to innovate. In fact his fourth motivator, which is scored almost equally with his third (and which is a long way ahead of the fifth) is Spirit – the desire for freedom. In short, three of four top motivators are for Alastair all about self-actualising. He is on a journey of personal growth. Hmm – can he be a team player, then? Watch out, Alastair!

The first two motivators, however, are so heavily scored they are what we call ‘spikes’ – intense motivators. Radically, it is in the area of purpose/making a difference that Alastair feels not motivated enough. This is essential to him.

If we could help motivate Alastair more, what would the Reward Strategy  be for a Searcher like Alastair? The answer to that is very simple: quality feedback. And if you look at his website and its links to Facebook +, you realise just how important feedback is to him. For all the RSS feeds – he needs more. So, please: comment on his blogs, buy his books, and express interest in what he is doing, because that is what he loves and needs.

His lowest motivator by far is the Director – Alastair is not motivated by power and control. He knows already … but stay away from management, Alastair! You won’t like it.

James Sale

MOTIVATION AND T-GROW

I had lunch on Thursday with my friend, the great Steve Jones, aka ‘Jonesie’ – check him out: http://www.skillsforbusinesstraining.co.uk/ - and as usual there was something, apart from the food (Chinese actually) to delight me. Steve always has something interesting to say, but Thursday he was on especially good form. As regular readers of my Blog will know, innovation is a pretty important concept to Motivational Maps Ltd: how can we improve what we do? It is therefore particularly pleasant when someone else comes up with the idea.

Steve has been training coaches in London for a major coaching organisation and casually told me about one of his processes. Steve is a Business Practitioner of Motivational Maps – which means he is one of our most senior, level 3 exponents of the product. As he proceeded to explain to me what he was doing, my eyes popped open, and I garbled something like – Tell me that again, Steve – that’s brilliant!

What he’d done was to dovetail two widely differing ‘products’ into one seamless process. Basically combining the Map technology with the T-GROW coaching model. As I said to him after I realised the scope of what he’d done – well, Steve, perhaps we need another level within Motivational Maps – the Coaching Practitioners!

For those who don’t know the T-GROW model it is basically a non-directional coaching process (first, I think, outlined by John Whitmore in his book, Performance Coaching) that follows five simple stages:

          T – what is the Topic to be discussed?

          G – where does the client want to be? Agree a Goal they want to achieve by the end of the session

          R – what is the Reality of the situation? Get as much background information as possible

          O – generate some Options – be creative, brainstorm, mindstorm, use thinking hats and try to get fresh ideas about solutions

          W – When is it going to happen or Work out your action plan

Given that the client has done a Motivational Map, the coach can then identify which motivator, based on the information provided by the Map, is the key one to work on with them. Then, treat that motivator as T: the Topic. For example, the motivator that the client needs working on is the Searcher: the need for meaning, purpose, and desire to make a difference. So, beginning the process: our Topic is how you can make more of a difference (in your work, your relationships, your self-development, your …).

With that clearly established we can now run through the GROW process of goal setting, unpicking the reality, creating options, and setting deadlines.

The beauty is, of course, not only does the coaching tap into the motivational energy of the client, but better still, provides not just one motivator to focus on, but two more. In other words, whilst adding value to the client in a highly defined way, it also potentially adds work to the coach. And all coaches want more work, don’t they?

So, well done, Steve – a brilliant innovation and I look forward to developing this further with you.

James Sale

STRENGTHSCOPE IS GOOD

Recently I was introduced to James Brook, MD of Titan Talent – see www.titantalent.com – and James is a highly impressive person. A mutual acquaintance, Kate Turner of Motivational Leadership Ltd – see www.motivationalleadership.co.uk - thought it would be good if we connected as we seem to be in parallel universes: we both have recently developed self-perception inventories, both inventories are successful, and it was curious too that in comparing sales figures they too seemed about the same.

James had done via Kate a Motivational Map and was intrigued by the result, and as a courtesy offered me the opportunity to complete his inventory: Strengthscope.

Strengthscope is not a psychometric, but instead it works out what an individual’s strengths are in the workplace, so that these can be optimised, excessive strengths can be curbed, and perhaps most critically teams can be evaluated in terms of the group’s strengths – does a team actually have the requisite strengths that would enable them to deliver? This strikes me as an important area which overlaps with what Motivational Maps do, and what psychometrics do not – although psychometrics, perhaps less appropriately,  are frequently used for this purpose.

Of course, what strengths are we talking about? In this area there has to be some generic strengths that are universally applicable, and doubtless there may be debate over the exact definitions. But Strengthscope has defined 22 Strengths, and the report focuses mainly on your own top seven. The 22 are:

1. Collaboration
2. Common sense
3. Compassion
4. Courage
5. Creativity
6. Critical thinking
7. Decisiveness
8. Detail orientation
9. Developing others
10. Efficiency
11. Emotional control
12. Empathy
13. Flexibility
14. Initiative
15. Leading
16. Persuasiveness
17. Relationship building
18. Resilience
19. Results focus
20. Self-confidence
21. Self-improvement
22. Strategic mindedness

An interesting questions for readers of this blog might be: which are your top 7 ‘strengths’ – do you know?

Intriguingly, in completing the on-line questionnaire you are also invited to nominate up to eight individuals who know you and can independently and anonymously comment on their view of your Strengths. This is a sort of reality check on self-perception.

Naturally, because you need up to eight other people to log-in and comment on you (I actually used six from widely differing relationships with me) the report isn’t instant. However, it is extremely useful when you get it. I was fortunate in that James also kindly gave me a half hour mini-coaching/feedback session to help me address the issues that arose.

My top 7 Strengths are: Creativity, Decisiveness, Developing Others, Empathy, Leading, Persuasiveness, and Self-Confidence. This is good – but I need – we need – to consider whether a Strength is in ‘overdrive’? Hmm. And also, given the team, what is lacking? Great question. Given that list of 22 I could certainly find 7 things!

But in the anonymous feedback I found a real treasure for my self esteem – thank you whoever said: “James Sale has remarkable abilities to motivate and inspire others”. Whatever we lack, let’s focus on what we have.

So let me recommend James Brook’s Strengthscope to you – a fascinating new tool well worth a visit.

James Sale