August 2010
Tranquil Sea
Welcome to Changing People Inside
 
Dear Karen,

How do thoughts control our behaviour and change the way we do things? This month we look at: 
 
  • how to change negative thinking patterns and learn new helpful ways of thinking using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy 
  • what are the unwritten ground rules that you may be unaware of in your business?
  • how and when to introduce values into an organisation
  • and latest news on what we have been up to

Enjoy the summer!

 
Best wishes,
 

Karen
Changing people inside
People often ask how you can make changes - and if you manage to make them at all, how do you make them stick?

Karen recently qualified in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, commonly known as CBT. She has been amazed to learn how powerful and effective it is in helping people make deep and lasting changes to overcome habitual thinking patterns. CBT is used by the NHS and other organisations with great success.
 
CBT is based on the fact that our thoughts, attitudes and beliefs affect our emotions, which also have a trigger effect on physical symptoms and ultimately our behaviours and actions.
 
10 Steps to Positive LivingSo for example if you think you are a poor public speaker you can begin to feel the emotion of anxiety when asked to speak. This can trigger physical symptoms like sweating or shaking. You may then stammer when you speak in front of an audience.
 
negative viewYou can then begin to really believe that you are a poor public speaker. Your anxiety grows. You may even get headaches and worse symptoms such as migraines. You may then avoid public speaking at all costs and even eventually develop a phobia.(Public speaking is the number one fear in the UK and USA apparently).
 
People can then use all sorts of distorted thinking to reinforce the negative view:

 
catastrophising or awfulising - exaggerating the probability or severity of a threat
 
all or nothing thinking - black and white thinking - polarised into extremes
 
fortune telling - predicting negative outcomes prematurely - 'I'll never be a good speaker'
 
mind reading - assuming we know others' thoughts - 'they think I'm stupid'
 
mental filtering - 'people are only nice to me because they feel sorry for me' 
 
These are just a few of the more recognisable traits of faulty thinking that you might recognise in others, or even in yourself.
 
However a CBT coach can challenge this faulty thinking using 'Socratic' questioning to establish whether these views are valid and true beliefs. There are a number of different techniques that can transform the negative thought patterns and create more positive helpful ones.
 
So for example, by creating an alternative belief system about your capability as a public speaker anxiety is lessened, physical symptoms are reduced and avoidance behaviour can be conquered.

 
10 Steps to Positive LivingTo find out more Karen recommends reading '10 Steps to Positive Living' by Windy Dryden, one of the foremost thinkers in CBT or contact us for more details.
 
 


 
What are the unwritten ground rules in your organisation?
If someone walked through the door as a new employee what would people say about how your business operates?

Would people say "The bosses are really great here you can pop in and chat anytime"?
 
Or would they say "The bosses sit closeted up there in their ivory tower and never listen to us?"
 
Would they say "People really take health and safety seriously around here" ?
 
Or would they say "You need to watch yourself in the warehouse - those forklift drivers are a menace and someone lost a leg last week"?
work groupWell maybe it wouldn't be as serious as that but unwritten ground rules are an important starting point for looking at values in the organisation and how best to create and incorporate new ones.
 
 
 
So how and when should you introduce values to people in a business?

Karen and her team have been looking at how to roll out values in organisations.
 
10 Top Tips for introducing values.
 
  1. Start by understanding the culture and the existing unwritten ground rules 
  2. Establish where you want to be and how you want people to behave in your business
  3. Set the context carefully - why are you doing this and what is the benefit to the people and the business?
  4. Make sure the values are created through consultation with the senior team and, wherever possible, with other people throughout the business
  5. Ensure the values that are created are truly values and not the outcomes you want to achieve
  6. The internal values need to reflect the external customer facing values and the customer proposition for the business 
  7. Be sensitive with the timing of the introduction of values - your efforts will fall on deaf ears if you introduce them at the same time as a redundancy programme for example.   
  8. Make sure that the values are introduced in a way that reflects some of the existing practices and behaviours in the organisation as well as those you behaviours you want to encourage
  9. Use experiential activity to educate and involve people and to achieve their buy in
  10. Create stories, myths and legends that will live long in the minds of people and which sum up how the values have changed the business for the better.
Our man in Shanghai
Julian Dodson
Julian Dodson
This month we are delighted to feature Julian Dodson, who has been helping Karen design and develop team building programmes for a number of organisations.
 
Julian has Board level leadership background and is a specialist designer of experiential development programmes.
 
Not only is Julian an expert facilitator, leadership & team working trainer and coach he also commits a great deal of his time on a voluntary basis leading Scout camps. He enjoys a life travelling to a wide variety of countries around the world - China being the latest place to request his expertise!
From China...to Cheshire 
Karen has been to rather more humble destinations recently speaking about the Power of Hypnosis in training.
 
Karen speaking at a recent event about the Power of Hypnosis in Training
Karen training
Karen demonstrated how positive thinking, stress reduction and confidence building can engage your people and help to achieve better performance.
 
The event was for the Brain Friendly Learning Group http://www.braininbusiness.com in Cheshire.
 
If you are interested in a similar event contact Karen or visit Brain In Business for details of more innovative events like these.
 
Nick Hill's NLP quick tip 
 
Delegate the outcome not the methodology.
Have you got a team that you need to delegate tasks to?
If so, be clear when explaining the standards you want and the expectations you have. Then explain how you would execute the task but let them know they may be creative with the methodology, providing it meets the deadline.

This approach respects their autonomy and inspires the team member to take ownership for the task you have delegated. 
 
If the task has not been delegated before, be sure to review  progress on a frequent basis, sometimes every few hours if necessary, offering constructive feedback in the process.
What we are working on
 
We are pleased to announce we are working with another new client - a major Toyota dealership. Karen and her team are coaching the HR function, developing a communication strategy and plan and conducting more research into communication. Again we are using 'The Four Pillars' methodology shown to contribute to business success:
 
  • Clarity of Purpose - everyone understands where the business is going and their role in it  
  • Effective Interfaces - good levels of trust exist in the relationships between people in the business 
  • Effective Sharing of Information - knowledge is shared freely and accessible to everyone across the business 
  • Communication Behaviour of Leaders - the leaders are good role models for communication.
Swan upping in Windsor 
Swan uppersRecently we had the pleasure of visiting the new MacDonald hotel which is opening opposite Windsor Castle in September this year.
 
After a very enjoyable champagne breakfast (hic!) Karen had a fascinating trip on the River Thames to see
 Swan Upping in action.
 
This is an annual two day event where groups of 'swan uppers' representing the Queen, the Vintners and Dyers, embark on boats (with a tot of rum or two!) and capture cygnets from the river.
 
The phrase 'swan upping' suggests the swans are turned upside down to retrieve them from the river but it appeared to be a more humane process than the name suggests.
 
 
Swan Uppers - row, row, row their boat gently down the stream
Swan uppers
 
 
Once the cygnet is taken aboard one of the 'swan upping' boats it is marked to signify the correct ownership (contrary to common opinion the Queen doesn't own all the swans). The 'swan uppers' also check on the cygnet's overall health, taking its blood, before returning it to its parents.
 
Amy Philpott and Nathan Alemany from Visit Britain
Amy Philpott and Nathan Alemany from Visit Britain
A team from 'Visit Britain' accompanied us on the trip seeing all the splendours that Windsor has to offer tourists on a lovely summers' day.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tours of the hotel are available from Liz Dax, Sales Manager liz.dax@macdonald-hotels.co.uk and bookings from September 2010

 
Macdonald Windsor Hotel
And finally...
Here is an amusing but rather shocking video for anyone contemplating marriage this summer... http://worstbestmanever.com
 
 
 
 
Issue 5
Karen Kimberley Logo
In This Issue
Changing people inside
What are the unwritten ground rules in your organisation?
Our man in Shanghai
From China...to Cheshire
Nick Hill's NLP quick tip
What we are working on
Swan upping in Windsor
And finally....
Karen Kimberley
Karen Kimberley 

 
 
 

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Karen Kimberley's company is based in Taplow near Maidenhead. She coaches people inside companies, to change things inside themselves, to improve their communication and performance. For more information contact Karen on Tel 01628 509593, Mobile: 07785 566468, e-mail kk@karenkimberley.co.uk, and visit the website www.karenkimberley.co.uk 

Click below to see other ways in which we have helped people through experiences of stress, depression, lack of motivation and anxiety www.karenkimberley.co.uk/case-studies.php
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Karen Kimberley
Changing People Inside