Those ‘lightbulb’ moments
One of the things I love about training people is what I call ‘lightbulb moments’ when something you say just makes an issue clear in someone’s mind – it’s as though there’s a lightbulb coming on above their head when they ‘get’ it. And it can be, to you, the simplest little thing but it’s the right thing at the right time as far as they’re concerned.
A participant on a very intensive development centre was feeling overwhelmed at the end of the two days. He had taken part in challenging role-plays and he was observed throughout. His words, actions, motivations were analysed and fed back to him. He had to pull together an action plan with clear steps about what he was going to do and when in order to achieve his goal of becoming a partner at KPMG. I asked him how he’d got on and he looked at me a little woefully and said ‘I just don’t know where to start’. I replied that it’s worth just letting all the feedback and experiences swill around for a few days and then see what settles and what floats to the surface. I suggested he pick a couple of things to work on and not to try and do everything at once.
There’s one of those management sayings “We don’t want to boil the ocean”, which is as annoying as “You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs” but there’s a nugget of truth in them both – you need to take small steps to begin with and you need to do something. My analogy to him, and to you, was about getting fit: you can’t go from occasional gym user (or even just member) to triathlete in a matter of days…or weeks. You need to start by taking the stairs, getting off the bus or Tube a couple of stops early, allowing time to walk places rather than instinctively reaching for the car keys. Bit by bit, you get fitter and can try something more strenuous. The same applies to personal development. His face beamed; ‘Yes, I see what you mean – ah, I don’t have to do it all at once, do I?’ Now, what I said wasn’t revolutionary but, for him, it was the right thing at the right time. It changed his perception from feeling drowned in feedback to feeling capable of working out how to do the doggy paddle. Now that’s what I call a lightbulb moment.
Patience, dear boy, patience… ›