How is that the environment we work in can either enhance our productivity or inhibit it? This Meta Program pattern plays a huge roll in how beneficial a working environment can be for motivating and supporting those in it. Many people will also discover that they have more than one pattern in any given setting, a dominant and a secondary style.
One valuable use of MindSonar is to identify a person’s motivators. For example, this is important when designing recruitment and retention strategies for an organisation and for individual teams, and when coaching individuals who want to achieve a long-term goal which will take time and dedication.
In using MindSonar for these purposes it’s important to look at the Graves Drives within each profile. These will tell you a lot about the values that matter most to the individual – the things that they need to get from the given context in order to feel fulfilled and motivated. By looking at the Graves Drives of the individuals concerned, it usually becomes apparent that, even in the same context, different people have quite different values.
For example, in people considering changing jobs in a particular sector, I have seen some who prioritise the Graves Drives Powerand Competition, and others for whom Learning and Order are the priorities. Similar differences can exist even between members of the same team.
By knowing this and by being aware of the impact of not enabling individuals to obtain them (namely, dissatisfaction and demotivation) managers and coaches can develop a more tailored approach to motivation. This could be by using different language when describing the opportunities available – emphasising those aspects which match what is important to the individual, or (for larger organisations) it could be about providing a more varied range of any optional benefits available to staff.
Without the information that is provided by the Graves Drives as identified by the MindSonar profile it is all too easy to fall back on the assumption that all people are motivated by the same things. Such an approach can lead to poor recruitment and retention results for companies, or to coaching clients becoming disenchanted with their progress towards major goals.
Of course, the whole profile should be taken into account as thinking styles are also an important consideration, but without an understanding of the individual’s values, much could be missed.
If you’ve done a MindSonar profile, have another look at your Graves drives and think about how they are influencing you in that context – could you improve your own motivation by taking them more into account? If you haven’t done a profile yet, then why not contact a certified MindSonar Professional to arrange one – it could make all the difference to your success!
In my work with self-employed clients, in various contexts connected with their work, I often see a profile which shows a very score for Internal Locus of Control. Sometimes so high that the corresponding value for External Locus of Control is just 1. This is commonly combined with a high score for Internally Referenced.
It isn’t surprising that these two Meta Programmes are high in people who have decided to go-it-alone and become self-employed. After all, to start a business and drive it forward requires someone wiling to take control and make judgement calls about a lot of things. However, those with extremely high scores often find themselves suffering from stress and feeling as if they are unable to cope with demands of their business. My experience is that this often occurs because of two limiting beliefs:
a) that they are responsible for everything – including things over which they can have no influence at all, and
b) that they should not to seek the support and advice of others who could help them with various aspects of their business, as they should know best themselves
These two beliefs result in high levels of stress as they worry about many things which are out of their control, and also spend a lot of time on information gathering and other tasks that could more helpfully be obtained from others or delegated.
The powerful thing about working with these clients with MindSonar is that it provides evidence for some of the thinking patterns underlying their problems, and enables coaching to be focussed on moving to a more helpful thinking style. Of course, as we look across their full profile, it becomes clear which other Meta Programmes are also adding to their current issues and they too can be addressed as needed.
Going through a client’s MindSonar profile with them gives them opportunity to reflect more objectively on their thinking and to explore how these two Meta Programmes, along with the rest of their profile impacts upon their experience as a self-employed individual.
As a coach I find the MindSonar profiling tool incredibly helpful in this context and am seeing the positive impact it has upon my clients. In particular, I’m finding that the contextual nature of MindSonar makes it easier for my clients to accept the results and so be open to change. I have not found this to be the case so much with other psychometric tools which can be perceived of labelling the client, and putting then “in a box” – something which many people reject, especially those who are highly Internally referenced.
What combinations of Meta Programmes are you finding in your clients that re causing commonly seen problems for them? Let me know in the comments box below.
How many times do you, or those around you, complain that people just don’t listen or that they ignore requests and instructions? It seems to be a common source of stress and conflict in the workplace and at home, and a problem in public places where signage about use and safety are needed. So often, messages just don’t get through to the intended recipient.
Most of the time, the blame for the miscommunication is placed on the ithe listener (or reader) and so little thought is given to the original communication itself. However, very often the problem would be resolved if the wording of that communication were changed. If the focus moved from wishful thinking about the audience suddenly changing their response, to ways in which the communicator could change their messaging so that it would be heard by more people, then perhaps success would be more likely. It is also an important thing to consider when producing marketing materials for anything from business services to health advice.
One way to do this is to review the communication for the Meta Programmes that are behind it and then consider versions which come from other Meta Programmes. Here are some examples that come to mind:
There are, of course, many other examples, and this exercise can be done with any communication. The more that is known about the audience for a communication, the more it can be refined. Understanding the Meta Programmes of the audience can make communications so much more effective.
I commonly came across these sorts of mis-communication when managing complex projects, particularly between the policy people (General, Activity) and the mathematicians (Specific, Information). Often it was as if these two groups spoke entirely different languages, so common were the mis-understandings.
This doesn’t mean that every sign and communication has to be written in a lengthy and multi-optional way, just that consideration of the audience is vital, particularly when miscommunication is occurring frequently.
Perhaps you’ve experienced this problem, or have observed it in your environment. I’d love to hear of examples and possible solutions – so let me know in the comments box please.
When working with clients who are on the brink of becoming freelance or self-employed in a services business, I often come across a particular mindset about money which is holding them back or which, if not addressed, will lead to them not being able to have a sustainable business.
This mindset is connected to how they perceive the value of their own time and skills, and prevents them from asking a fair price for their services, particularly for their time.
I’m finding that a MindSonar profile can really help such clients to identify which thinking patterns are at play in this situation. The strength of MindSonar is its contextual nature, so it can be used to focus in on the problem area and the relevant thinking patterns.
In the clients in question, MindSonar helps identify how their thinking about charging for their services differs from their thinking around the other aspects of their new business.
For example, often a person who has decided to be self-employed might have a combination of the following Meta Programmes in the context of their business as a whole:
However, when they consider pricing they move to the following combination:
Working with these clients to develop a realistic business model in which they charge the true value of their services usually involves some general coaching around self-worth, confidence, etc. With MindSonar, it can also enable very targeted coaching on the relevant Meta Programmes.
Different clients might identify other Meta Programmes which are causing the problem, and I’m looking forward to uncovering which ones as I use MindSonar more in this context.
What are your experiences – have used MindSonar in this context yet? Perhaps you struggle with charging a fair price for your services. If so, contact your local MindSonar Professional who will help you get your business in a healthier position.
Please let me know your thoughts on this in the comments section below.
Recently I read of an analysis by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) into the complaints they received about political bias in news reporting. The BBC have a stated aim to be unbiased in their reporting of news, so they do investigate claims of such bias. The results of the analysis revealed that there was pretty much an even split between those complaining of left-wing bias, as there were of those complaining of right-wing bias. This seemed puzzling, other than to add to the belief that more people are willing to complain about what they don’t like, rather than complement what they do.
I started to think about this finding in terms of the thinking styles which might be at work in those submitting complaints of bias. I wonder if what’s happening is that people don’t notice the things that they agree with because when we agree with a point a view, we start Matching and feel comfortable. However, when we are listening to something that we disagree with, we start Mis-matching and so notice how many things seem wrong to us and which therefore cause us some discomfort. In this way we become more aware of those items with which we disagree than of those which we find easy to listen to because of our agreement with them.
So, my theory on the BBC’s findings are that many people only notice those articles with which they disagree because Mis-matching generates feelings of discomfort which are absent they are Matching. As a result, some perceptions of bias will be the product of the observer’s thinking style rather than of the article itself.
I think this observation can help when working with clients who are experiencing stress and frustration with other people with whom they disagree. In coaching, if we can encourage such clients to move into a Matching meta programme, and so to see areas of either agreement or of differences which could be used to complement their own thinking, then conflict resolution and better co-operative working might be achieved.
The team profile MindSonar exercise does this well for teams in which conflicts might exist. Might it also be useful in more domestic settings too? I wonder if any family therapists out there would be interested in giving it a try?
I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences on this subject – perhaps there are other meta programmes at play too. Let me know in the comments box below…
