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EP 14: Motivation In Chaos Part 3

In this final part of the Motivation in chaos episode, Ian explores how the factors that can motivate people can show up at home with our friends and families. He explains how motivating people in the wrong way can have disastrous consequences. Part 3 of 3. Enjoy!
FlowIrelandAdmin
24th June 2020
News

Having-all-the-answers Leadership?

The relationship between leader and orchestra conductor returned to mind this week as the world celebrated a century since the birth of the great Leonard Bernstein. One of Bernstein’s protégés is a colleague and international associate of Flow – Itay Talgam.
FlowIrelandAdmin
3rd June 2020
BlogNewsPodcast

EP 8: Building Trust

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” – Warren Buffett. In this episode, Ian reflects on the importance of Trust in times of chaos. This episode looks at how we tend to react in times of uncertainty and the two neural systems that are at play. He then explains 5 % moments and how, depending on how Leaders show up in them, they can either build or break trust.
FlowIrelandAdmin
13th May 2020
BlogNewsPodcast

EP 7: Finding Gold in the Dirt

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” - Napoleon Hill. In episode 7, Ian speaks about the Chaos Room. What is the Chaos Room? How are Leaders and Organisations dealing with the chaos room? and, The Leadership responsibility amidst the chaos. Finally, some guiding questions for leaders. Enjoy!
FlowIrelandAdmin
6th May 2020
BlogNewsPodcast

EP 6: Be Your Best Self

Ian shares how to be your best self in times of chaos. Self care is core when you are in the chaos room. Ian discusses the Zeigarnik Effect, asks who is in your War Cabinet, and the importance of being kind to yourself.
FlowIrelandAdmin
29th April 2020
BlogNewsPodcast

EP 5: Clarity in Chaos

Episode 5 is about clarity in chaos, where our communication must be ultra clear, even if that is the delivery of bad news. This episode includes an extract from a live webinar for the Executive Institute.
FlowIrelandAdmin
22nd April 2020
BlogNewsPodcast

EP 4: Connecting in Chaos

Connecting in Chaos features an extract from the GreenLine Conversations Leadership in Chaos Webinar with GreenLine Conversations co-founder Blair Steinbach. We reference some of the GreenLine methodologies around the commitment cards which help us Enquire, Hear, Acknowledge and Straight Talk.   We also reference the Red Brain, the fight or flight system we engage when we feel threatened. Enjoy.
FlowIrelandAdmin
15th April 2020
News

Winning at Life

Today is my son’s ninth birthday. I mention that although, curiously, we are the only mammal on the planet that either counts or cares for time. Even the teddy bears chose a picnic, not a birthday party. I don’t remember much about being nine but I do remember two things clearly – The Minstrel winning the Derby under Lester Piggott; and a strange fascination about why some adults were more happy, kind and "successful" than others. Anyway, what did success really mean? (as plenty of rich people seemed pretty miserable to me). Fast-forward forty-one years and I’m now about to turn fifty (in February). In the intervening years, I’ve had the good fortune to translate those childhood preoccupations into two compelling parallel careers – writing for the Sunday Independent on horse racing for 20 years whilst growing a company (Flow Group) specialising in people and organisational development, also for 20 years. happy, kind and "successful" Why are some adults more happy, kind and "successful" than others? Many have asked how I intend to celebrate the half-century – big extravaganza? Dip into the bucket list? Instead I’ve decided to indulge in the reflection time necessary to record my life-to-date reflections and insights on the key to turning this game of Life into a game worth playing. And life has all the hallmarks of a game – defined physical boundaries; many levels (physical; psychological; emotional; spiritual); a starting point (lottery of birth); and a time limit (although sneakily we never know how long). The trouble is we are born without the manual of how to be successful or happy and, therefore, are left to figure it out usually on a trial-and-error basis for those with a mind to do so. As mentioned, I’ve had that mind for as long as I can remember and have wrestled with making sense of it all through a combination of mindful personal experience, working professionally with over 20,000 leaders in over 300 organisations internationally, whilst growing a business and helping raise a family. bucket list "Many have asked how I intend to celebrate the half-century – big extravaganza? Dip into the bucket list?" So whether this is a vanity project or an invaluable service to mankind (did I mention humour is a valuable de-toxifier?), the plan is to serialise 50 life lessons distilled through 50 years over the next 12 months through posts and podcasts although – may I add – the standard health and wealth warnings apply. Without giving the game away, every insight into what makes us happier or more successful in our brief encounter with humanity is ultimately rooted in just two elements: how we think how we interact Finally, I was once working with an Italian client and arrived at Milan’s Linate airport during a taxi strike. Eventually, finding a thronged bus to transport me to the client’s office in the centre, I was steadily approached by Salvatore, a manager who was part of the leadership team I had worked with some…
FlowIrelandAdmin
18th February 2018
News

Resolution Dilution? Here’s What to Do.

Ok so its the first day of 2018 - and if you need some help with those resolutions already, Ian McClean is all over it. White Rabbits aside, humans (curiously) are the only mammal on the planet to worry about time. We alone created the calendar. In this regard January is a peculiarly unique time of year: characterised by the two faces of Janus simultaneously looking both backwards and forward. Curiously, Christmas and New Year break is the only time of year when work stops for almost all of us simultaneously. With the finger removed from the dam and the cadence of life’s relentless unconscious sub-routines broken, for once only in the year there is proper time for reflection and self-evaluation. January, surely, is the cruelest month but by now at its end, we have some idea how well those New Year Resolutions are faring. New Year Resolution If the University of Scranton’s research is accurate then 92% will fail at accomplishing our choice of weight loss; kicking the habit; eating healthier; exercising more or improving our significant relationships – the five most common resolutions. There is plenty of data out there on why people fail and what the 8% do that succeed. After all, as one prominent psychologist put it "how many times do 50% of the population undertake a behaviour change programme all starting on the same day?" Most interesting is that there is no correlation in those that succeed between success and the choice of resolution - it is just as likely to be reducing body fat as it is improving relations with the mother-in-law. Contemplation Vs Commitment New Year Resolutions are like a global movement involving nearly half of the population, so for many their motivation is more to follow the crowd than to seriously entertain personal change. Resolutions become an act of compliance, rather than commitment. Most people never actually stray outside the realm of contemplation. Unsurprisingly, those who write down their commitment are ten times more likely to succeed than those who don’t. Common to all who succeed is a bias for action over intention. Resolution Dilution? Here's What to Do… Resolving Symptoms or Causes? A further complication around why many efforts at healthy eating fail for example, is that much unhealthy eating has a much greater personal malaise at its core (anything from poor self-image to being bullied or harassed) so that even if you succeed in dealing with the symptoms in the short-term, it will never sustain if the root cause is not addressed in conjunction. Will Power We all understand that will power is critical to sustaining any change but with latest research suggesting it takes on average 66 repetitions to either make or break a habit we might underestimate quite how much will power is actually involved. It used to be believed that will power is like a muscle that got stronger each time you used it. However, more recently research concludes (for now!) that will-power simply amounts to the…
FlowIrelandAdmin
18th January 2018
News

How to Get to Agreement when you Disagree

Disagreement Wonderland Is it simply my imagination or are events even more heavily shaded with disagreement than usual? The post-election fall-out is an obvious starting point. The electorate has spoken, yet those elected cannot agree on who should govern us. The various political entities are frantically speed-dating in a snug just beyond public view in an effort to stitch together a plausible patchwork in sufficient quantity for government – with those whom they sometimes fundamentally disagree. In Britain, disagreement is in full swing on whether they should opt in or out of Europe. A chorus of disagreement is echoing all around Europe concerning the migrant crisis. Whilst in America the republican nomination candidates can’t agree on practically anything. Including hand size. Meanwhile closer to home the Workplace Relations Commission is earning its corn at present hosting disputes amongst Luas workers and management whilst simultaneously providing the same forum for resolution at Cadbury’s. Disagreement is not simply confined to politics or commerce as Shane Lowry found himself in a face-to-face wrangle with the PGA over his choice of words off the tee during the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens. 200 Millenia and we still haven’t figured it out You would imagine that by now, after just the 200,000 years of human existence, we might have figured out how to resolve our differences. It’s not as if we lack the opportunity to practice. Most managers spend 80% or more of their time daily interacting with people to get the job done (and if they don’t they’re probably not managing very well). Within that time, a significant portion of the effort is spent getting to an agreement of one kind or another – either reaching a decision or solving a problem. That’s actually what managers get paid to do. However, as one manager admitted to me recently: "This job would be easy - if it weren’t for the damned people!" Employee & Employer: The perfect match To advance in their careers people spend hugely on education and qualifications. Corporations, meanwhile, fall over themselves to attract the best and the brightest. After the perfect match is made, companies then invest heavily in guess what? Technology, processes, systems and structures - all done in the name of increasing productivity in a world where (according to a 2013 Harvard survey) smartphone-connected employees are now routinely working 72 hour weeks (13.5 hours on weekdays and 5 hours on weekends). Yet nowhere can I find any data on how much is being invested to equip people to find agreement where there is none. Without which of course all the state-of-the-art technology, systems and processes in the world simply falls over. The look says it all - see The 5 Deadly Sins below Cultural Blind-spot It is assumed that if a person has a high IQ, then it follows they will automatically have the smarts to manage the people side of productivity. Most, in truth, really struggle and there is plenty of research out there to suggest that…
FlowIrelandAdmin
18th November 2016
News

RTE Guest Post: GE16: Are leaders’ debates really debates at all?

It was Pat Leahy from the Sunday Business Post who inadvertently prompted the reflection. In the RTÉ Spin Room programme that followed the University of Limerick leaders’ debate, the panellist’s opening remark began "You’ve still got to pick out a winner…" Really? The very assertion begs the question: what are the leaders’ debates for and what is their purpose? Is it simply (as Pat would imply) a beauty pageant where there is a winner and losers? I’ve tried the question amongst colleagues and associates over the last fortnight and elicited almost as many variations as I did responses. So then, is it true the topic that has generated most noise on the airwaves lately has no clear or common purpose? To those involved, however, there is clarity. For each political party the object is clearly to enhance its chance of winning in the election. For the broadcaster, its hope is to boost audience ratings. Suddenly we are faced with conflicting wants we now need to reconcile. Cue the format: let’s have a debate! That way political leaders can attempt to bolster their campaign and at the same time it may yield up some entertainment in the process. Yet the very title is misleading. When I punch the word “debate” into my iphone dictionary app I get the definition: 1. Discussion involving opposing points; 2. Deliberation; 3. Consideration; Obsolete: fight or quarrel. Curious then how the element that is now obsolete about debate is the very thing that characterised the pedigree of all three TV editions of the leaders’ “debate”. Indeed if we had a euro for every time the host had to intervene to prevent leaders shouting over, interrupting, or directly avoiding the question we would be half-way towards repaying the national debt. At many points the whole affair resembled your worst Christmas family nightmare. It is the breakdown of order amongst our most senior politicians that veers towards entertainment. It reminded me at times of the once famous Frankie Goes to Hollywood Two Tribes video that pitted Reagan against Gorbachev in a sand-wrestling pit. Little wonder then that Simon Cowell threw his hat in the ring in Britain last year with an offer to produce the next round of party leaders’ TV debates saying “I would love to do that. I’d do it in a heartbeat. 100% I’d have walk-ons, music, fire…and a trap door if people didn’t like what they said. And I’d definitely have a clapometer.” On the subject of the clapometer, at one particularly anarchic nadir Claire Byrne threw her hands (literally) in the air and chided the contestants (er, leaders) “All we’re hearing now is nothing”, which drew the loudest audience applause of the night. The whole affair was very symptomatic of what routinely happens in business meetings. Smart, often senior people coming together frequently without a clear or common understanding of why they are there. Some attempting to monopolise airtime with their own agenda whilst neither listening nor answering the question they were asked;…
FlowIrelandAdmin
18th November 2016