Tomek Zawadzki did it again: the second MindSonar Certification Training started in Poland in June. It was taught by Jennet Burghard, an esteemed member of the MindSonar Experts Committee in the Netherlads. Jennet is also a very lively and people oriented trainer. A professional photographer recorded the training. Watch the slide show, and you will get a feeling for the open learning atmosphere that Jennet and the participants created in this CT.
In this video, trainer and consultant Guus Hustinx from the Netherlands describes how he uses MindSonar for personal branding. This is an exciting MindSonar project that Guus has Continue reading
Working in a multidisciplinary team can be fun and rewarding. In the harsh day to day reality of dynamic business settings however it is often the opposite and team members tend to ‘shut down’ when faced with difficult meetings. Teamleaders want to boost the team skills to innovate but do not know how to built a bridge closing the communication gap. One of our customers, a local sales and support organization for a global player asked us to help build that bridge. I decided to combine the Mindsonar® test with other business NLP techniques.
What is the big picture
Team members from various disciplines had to work together to set up a new business line. These disciplines included technical support, marketing, sales, management and fulfillment. The objective of the team meeting was to translate existing best practice into innovation for a newly set up business line. On the surface everything seemed to challenge the current business model: instead of delivering the product directly to large customers, the full service needed to be delivered via business partners to consumers. It faced the team with a new focus: how to accelerate revenue and market presence?
The approach
Each team member filled in a Mindsonar® test for a specific context: the biweekly team meeting. The outcome of the test was used for:
Interventions
Each team member received the standard Mindsonar® report with personal drives. During the team meeting I intervened by providing each team member with feedback on their behavior during the team exercises. I focussed on improving team interaction and creativity.
Using MindSonar
Analysis of the Mindsonar results led to the following conclusions:
Based on this I designed the following interventions:
Finding the right interaction
Positive human interaction boosts the emergence of innovative business concepts, plans and actions. Depending on the context similar or diverse kind of people boost creativity. Because the problem cause was unknown, I used a three-step approach with different interactions:
For the information gathering phase I analyzed two meta programs: Global/Specific and Procedure/Options. By plotting team members in a XY-graph I set up two teams of maximum diversity and one team of maximum similarity (see graph). These teams answered a set questions that were formulated using as many as different meta programs as possible. The advantage of this approach is gathering a great range of information.
In the problem-solving phase the complete team interacted. Practical guidelines for team cohesion, such as balancing internal and external reference, were already given in the presentation. These guidelines came from an analysis of two types of meta programs and the Graves drives. During and after this interaction I provided feedback on specific meta programs that stimulated group cohesion (matching, specific, concept and use)
In the creative phase team members used the Disney Strategy as a general process. Now the teams were set up from the principle of similarity on two sets of meta programs : towards/away from and matching/mismatching.
For the dreamer (I,E and G): towards/matching. For the critic (F, D and A): away from/mismatching and for the realist (C, H and B) people who easily switch between towards/away and between match/mismatch.
Benefits
By using MindSonar to boost team interaction various effect arise:
Background information
The Disney strategy are described in Skills for the future (Robert Dilts with Gino Bonnissone).
Specific meta programs for team learning are derived from Energie door Wisselwerking (Published by Ruysdael, Author Rien van Leeuwen).
Eviont, a Dutch NLP oriented consultancy firm, launched their new product ‘Help My Team Doesn’t Work!’ in September 2014. This product, sporting their TAA-system (Train, Analyze, Apply) has MindSonar at its core. MindSonar is presented as an element within the context of this larger, more specifically focused product. This is a good example of the ‘Powered by MindSonar’ principle we like to see: offer the client a specific solution, rather than a general instrument. They have a funny cartoon movie explaining the product (in Dutch).
In some time periods it’s easy to find a new job, in other periods it can be very hard. In those hard times, your job marketing skills are extremely important. Job marketing is the way to conquer the work barrier, so to say. Because when you are one of 200 job seekers in your region, looking for something new, finding a job is a day job in itself.
How can meta programs help?
First, it’s important to have a focus on which job you prefer. So, your meta program ‘towards’ has to be highly developed. It has been scientifically proven that it is better to apply for specific jobs. So don’t say “I’m available for anything”. That way you are not recognizable for recruiters and they will skip your LinkedIn profile or resume. So your ‘options’ meta program has to be somewhat lower here.
Then, discover whether you are ready to go networking. Is your internal control no longer influenced by grief or mourning from your last job? Is your ‘now’ and ‘future’ switched on instead of ‘past’? That’s really important, because you like to give your network relations the impression of someone who is ready for new work activities. Optimistic and open minded. So, ‘internal locus of control’, ‘towards’ and ‘matching’ are useful.
Next, it’s highly recommended to have a plan for your networking activities. So put on your ‘procedure’, ‘activitities’ and ‘people’ and ‘information’ meta programmes, because you need them all! Depending on what you discover during your search, work with a procedure, a plan.
Next, via Linked In it’s possible to find people who do the work you prefer to do, and to see who can introduce you to this employee. In a network date you need the thinking styles “external reference” to be able to really stand in the shoes of the other, and find out what is important for you to develop.
So your meta program “development” is also of great importance. So you can find out what is the gap between the job you want and your competencies. In that case it can be useful to put on “past” as a meta program, because you learned a lot already. When you walk through your work-past with a career coach, you’ll find out that you can do a lot more than you thought.
When you were asked to apply for a job because someone in your network is giving you a hint, your meta programs are helpful as well. Analyze the job very specifically. Which thinking styles do you need the most? What do you read in the text of the profile? Are the tasks specifically defined or just global mentioned? Is the company emphasizing future aspects of the firm, or mentioning where it stands nowadays, or where it comes from? Does it say more about the colleagues, of about the tasks and activities, or are there given lots of information?
So, analyzing the text is very important, because now you can put on the ‘external reference’ meta program again to write your letter in exactly the same style. So that the recruiter matches (perhaps unconsciously) your skills with the job.
When you are invited for an interview, you can use all meta programs. Depending on the recruiters you’re speaking with and which meta program you discover during the interview. Do they ask how you see your first day at work? Or how you are able to harmonize with other team members? Or what your feelings are about the company’s last moves on the market? Match their representation systems!
Are there questions about the essence of the vision of the firm, or about how one part of the process fits in another part, or how you want to put the vision into activities?
Yes, it does sound like you have to be more than an expert in analyzing all those meta programs simultaneously in your search for a job! But don’t panic. When in doubt, ask for a MindSonar expert to help you get the on line measurement and get coached in how to put the most efficient styles on. Start by just putting effort in using a few important, significant thinking styles and you will succeed, sooner or later.
Guaranteed!
Are you contemplating things that happened in the past? Are you focusing on what is happening in the moment? Or are you planning your future?
Time Orientation: Past, Present or FutureContinue reading
