Optimisation through wellbeing
21st
century
ready?
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) identified four competency and deep learning skills, the “Four Cs”, as being the most important for effective work in the 21st Century. Ensuring your team is effective and competitive will require certain skills + one extra ingredient…
THE FOUR Cs +
- Critical Thinking – “thinking that explicitly aims at well-founded judgment and hence utilizes appropriate evaluative standards in the attempt to determine the true worth, merit, or value of something” critical thinking.org
- Communication – the exchange of information, using various kinds of media in order to promote understanding.
- Collaboration – working towards a specific outcome by valuing the contribution of others as you would your own.
- Creativity – the emergence and expression of original and useful concepts and ideas.
- COMPOSURE – a state of mind which heightens awareness, strengthens self-control, increases empathy and improves the quality of the “Four Cs”.
MOOD STATE IS KEY
The performance of an organisation is dependent on the quality of work done by the individuals and teams within it. Investing in wellbeing serves to improve work-life and subsequently optimise performance.
As modern society increasingly places strain on our mental and emotional reserves, smart leaders are recognising the importance of training which facilitates personal resilience. This also provides the benefit of enhancing cohesiveness within teams.
When individuals are in a composed state, they more capable of being creative, forming collaborative relationships, thinking critically and communicating clearly.
There is also the added benefit of being able to handle the inevitable pressures which arise when operating at high levels.
TEAMWORK ALCHEMY
Humans are remarkable. Individually, we are capable of great things but it is when we work together that incredible feats can be achieved. Facilitating effective working relationships can seem like alchemy when strong characters with strong opinions are tasked with combining their efforts toward a goal.
Being able to remain calm, in control and non-reactive is a skill which anyone can learn with appropriate instruction. The principles of Mindfulness Meditation and other contemplative practices can introduce team members to new ways of responding to stress triggers that enhance teamwork and productivity.
The C5 approach
Every organisation has different requirements and demands when it comes to the Four Cs. Your team may be required to constantly innovate or iterate new versions of a current system, product or service. On the other end of the spectrum, they may be required to acquire information, analyse it and cut through the fog and get to the facts of what the data reveals.
Both of these abilities, being creating and being critical, are improved when a person has a calm mind. When a person understands the nature of mind, achieving an ideal state is so much easier.
Collaboration and communication, on the other hand, will always be required of every productive person, regardless of the work they do. The better the quality of these two skills (and they are skills which can be honed), the more effective the work will be. Composure and calmness enhance both.
CULTURE CODE
In his book, “Culture Code”, Daniel Coyle sights SAFETY as one of the most important elements in creating healthy, high-functioning teams. When there is safety, one can be authentic and free to express themselves, they can be spontaneous and creative and they can connect in a more meaningful way.
Without safety, there is always a tendency to hold back, a fear that expressing creative ideas (ones that are truly original and possibly radical) may lead to judgement and rejection. Without safety, there is less freedom to critique and express one’s opinions and concerns if flaws are observed. Without safety, true cooperation is held-back and communication is stifled.
Creating safety requires self-control, empathy and humility – composure is a characteristic which enhances all three.
RELEASE THE BRAKES
It is rare for a person to fulfil their potential, we have so much of it! I believe it is even rarer for teams to do so. What could be achieved if your team had the freedom to create ideas and initiatives, communicate them well and then explore them freely? Can you imagine what difficult problems could be solved?
Mankind’s greatest achievements have been completed by teams, I don’t need to reel a list off, you know them.
What is holding your team back? What could be achieved if the brakes were released?
let’s collaborate…
Let me know what your team’s needs are and we can organise a complementary consultation to discuss potential opportunities for training.