As trainers, coaches, catalysts and change agents,
we find ourselves motivating our participants on this powerful quote quite
often:
"Sow a thought and you reap an
action,
Sow an action and you reap a
habit,
Sow a habit and you reap a
character,
Sow a character and you reap a
destiny."
As we pause, reflect and truly
comprehend this causal relationship, the profundity of this quote truly sinks
in.
That thought is a powerful seed that
germinates into one's attitude, choice of words and action is itself a powerful
thought! Let me elaborate…
How many times are we prepared to dig
deep in the iceberg beyond the visible tip of an individual's observed
behaviour, habits and accompanying results? Amidst the frenetic pace of today's
existence, there is an inordinate focus on dissecting one's behaviour - what
wrong did he do? what did he say? what is the pattern of results? You get the
drift....
As trainers, we strive to accomplish
change of behaviour of the participants. We find ourselves investing huge
energy in not only training (hopefully, with engaging activities in the
classroom or otherwise!) but also motivating them to surpass benchmarks and at
times, do what perhaps, nobody has achieved. Motivational speakers seem to
flirt with this tip of the iceberg in ample measure and leave their audience
spell bound, seemingly ready for some dramatic action. Alas, this excitement is
short lived with no tangible action or a behaviour change seeing the light of
the day - in the long term. Memories of a 'feel good' experience are carried
forward by the participants as a saving grace.
Let us shift our attention to the 90%
of the iceberg that is hidden. Therein lies the proverbial mass that comprises
thoughts and feelings, beliefs and values and even underlying needs of the
individual. How can we understand these? The challenge lies in the complexity
of this mass with a multiplier effect due to variations on account of different
individuals. One of the ways is to trigger their thought processes by
asking questions that encourage learners to dig deep within and look
for affinity and congruence to their feelings, set of values they hold dear,
their belief system, and the needs they feel will be met.
Therefore, some essential questions
to consider can be:
·
what would you gain in this learning
engagement?
·
how will you overcome the odds to
keep yourself motivated during the training?
·
how would the learning help you back
on the job?
·
what changes can you visualize for
the better?
·
how does it relate to what is dear to
you?
·
how do you see yourself progressing
hereafter?
·
what will you lose if you were to
miss out on this experience? Etc.
Time and effort need to be invested
in these questions by the trainer both at the pre-training stage and prior to
the start of actual training session as a minimum. These should be reiterated
later during the training sessions and also at the conclusion to trigger the
chain of thoughts of the participants. What would appeal to an individual is
after all difficult to predict.
My belief is that these questions
check on and build the willingness of the learner towards the learning journey
that lies ahead. This mental priming is essential and should not be missed or neglected.
As the learners find their own answers, clarity of thought emerges clearing the
cobwebs in the learners' minds. The learners then, are prepared to acquire new
knowledge and skills and are ready to even slog it out. This is evidenced
through the change in their body language, vocabulary and of course, 'willing'
action - all to the delight of the trainer. The learner is now ready to take
the plunge - with both his heart and mind in complete sync - into the realms of
learning and emerge strongly influenced and motivated to ‘change’.
We get credible evidence of this in
sports and military training. In both, the trainer and the coach highlight the
importance of winning the mind game to outwit the opponent or the enemy. The presumption
is that winning thoughts clearly precede and determine the action on the
ground. At the thinking and willingness level, enough lessons and time is
invested so that the learner focuses on the action (to be performed and
perfected) with an uncluttered mind. An adversary who hasn't prepared at
commensurate levels of priming and preparing the 'thoughts' is clearly at a
disadvantage!
Be a willing and ‘thinking’ learner
yourself and create tribes of learners who are harnessed on the power of clear
thoughts!!
