13 minute read
Alan’s Corner
Alan O’Neill Managing director of Kara, change consultant and speaker
Find your true grit
Grit sets winners apart, giving you the courage and determination to go over, around or right through challenges and obstacles. Here are simple steps to infuse this quality into your team
of words of reassurance, Ben encouraged him and continuously perked him up. Through some tears and perseverance, Freddie nailed it. So did Ben, for a di erent reason.
In homeschooling recently, I overheard Freddie’s Zoom class and listened to his teacher talking about ‘grit’. She was prompting the class to keep trying and to never give up. Remember, this is to a class of toddlers. Ben is in the same school and later in the day he told me all about the school ethos. He and his classmates are challenged to support each other, to be kind and also to achieve one new task each week.
Every single day, the teachers talk about grit in class. Ben told me about a time they broke into teams of four to write a poem. Each team appointed a recorder (scribe), a reporter (to read it out a terwards), a time-keeper and an encourager. Yes, an encourager. The encourager’s job is to keep the team upbeat and tenacious when they are struggling. (Fans of deBono’s six-hats will recognise this mix). It doesn’t stop there. Throughout the whole curriculum, grit is this school’s mantra.
Whether it’s in sports, academics or social interactions, tenacity is encouraged, even through adversity. Now I’m sure that most schools also have their defi ned ethos, but Safa
Community School really impresses me.
ORGANISATION CULTURE
Nobody can quantify or articulate how much our world is changing. We can deduce, guess, assume or even look in a crystal ball. But the one thing we can be sure of is that there will always be adversity. We’re not through this yet and we will be tried and tested some more.
Another word for the ethos in the school, is culture. Every single organisation in the world has a unique culture, like a fi ngerprint. For some, it has been proactively designed, defi ned and embedded. For many others, it’s more of an abstract way of working that while everybody in the team knows about it, few can describe it succinctly. I believe that the latter group are missing a trick.
Iknow that every day is a school day for us adults, but I did not expect to receive my best learning from my grandchildren and I’d like to share it with you too.
Freddie was not yet four when he learned to ride his bike without stabilisers. As you can imagine, he fell several times and did hurt himself. His then eight-year old brother Ben helped him each time, but not just by picking him up. With lots
INTRODUCING ‘GRIT’ TO YOUR BUSINESS
Your culture needs to be relevant to you, but you would do well to consider grit as a key element of it. Here’s how you can do it 01. Research the great achievers from across the spectrum that adapted and coped against extreme adversity. It doesn’t have to be just the solo-rowers that crossed the Atlantic and survived shark attacks and perfect storms. There are others that our teams can relate more to. In Ben and Freddie’s school, a refugee family arrived with no knowledge of English at all. They got extra tuition at weekends and with support from the kids, they were playing and speaking English within a few weeks. They were also taught to show grit from day one. 02. Take time to talk about ‘grit’. In daily huddles and team meetings, acknowledge how everyone is feeling and show lots of empathy. Then try to li t yourselves by refocusing on the big picture and building hope. ‘This too shall pass’ is an old Persian adage that is worth keeping in mind. 03.Set S.M.A.R.T goals, with extra emphasis on the ‘R’, ie realistic and relevant. Whether they be team goals or individual goals, make sure you don’t overestimate what you can do in these strange times. Make your goals ‘S’ specifi c (rather than mere wishes). They should be ‘M’ measurable, otherwise how will you know for sure if they have been achieved or not? The ‘A’ is for achievable and ‘T’ is for timescale. 04.Surround yourself with as much positivity as is possible. Now I know that’s probably ridiculous for some right now where medical or fi nancial stress is all consuming. But you know what I mean.
THE LAST WORD
The start of a new year is a time when we refl ect and consider the future. The global uncertainty makes this year very di erent indeed. But while your strategy and your tactics may be in constant fl ux, your culture needs to be consistent.
I think we should all give some thinking time to our respective organisation’s culture. And if you can consider how to introduce some grit into that, it’ll serve you well I’m sure.
S.M.A.R.T GOALS
WITH EXTRA EMPHASIS ON ‘R’, WHICH STANDS FOR REALISTIC AND RELEVANT
COMMENT
Rehan Khan Principal consultant for BT and a novelist
Mirror image
To enable proximity triggers to work for you, start by identifying the character you want to emulate
Our behaviour is shaped by the people we are in close proximity with. I once worked for a trigger-happy executive who was ready to declare war on the competition and ruthlessly remove employees who disagreed with him. Initially, I found myself being swayed by my boss’s character, and I noticed myself becoming less patient and tolerant of others. However, this was not my character, and fortunately, I was able to redress this.
In the same manner, as we grow up, we learn from our parents about how they manage conflict, and this becomes imbued within our own character. We observe how colleagues get results at work and we tend to follow their example.
One study tracked 12,000 people for 32 years and found “a person’s chances of becoming obese increased by 57 per cent if he or she had a friend who became obese.” It works the other way, too. A separate study found that if one person in a relationship lost weight, the other partner would also slim down about one-third of the time.
Elsewhere, research suggested that the higher your best friend’s IQ at age 11 or 12, the higher your IQ would be at age 15, even after controlling for natural levels of intelligence. The proximity triggers around us seep into our own practices and, ultimately, shape our character.
One of the ways you can enable proximity triggers to start working for you is to identify the character you want to become. What are the traits and behaviours you want to hold? Are you someone who wants to be defined by what you do? Become a writer, a cyclist. Or are you someone who wants to be defined by your actions, to serve others by showing love and compassion? Clearly, it could be both – what you do for yourself and for others. Once you are clear on this, find people who are following those practices. Join a group that has the characteristics you desire. Allow proximity, closeness to them, to trigger the behaviours.
However, the reverse can also happen – when we inherently disagree with the group, but we go along with what they are doing anyway.
One of the classic psychology experiments that demonstrate conformity was undertaken by Solomon Asch. Every experiment began in the same way: a subject entered a room with a group of participants who were all strangers. The strangers were actually actors planted by the researcher, and they were instructed to deliver scripted answers to certain questions. The participants were shown one card with a line on it and then a second card with a series of lines. Each person was asked to select the line on the second card that was similar in length to the line on the first card. It was a very simple task.
The length of the line on the first card was clearly the same as ‘line A’. The experiment always started in the same manner, with some easy trials in which all the participants agreed on the correct line. After a couple of rounds, the participants were shown a test that was as simple as the previous ones, but this time, the actors in the room deliberately selected a wrong answer. For example, they would respond ‘line C’ to the comparison shown in the diagram, even though the answer may have been ‘line A’. All the other actors agreed the lines were the same, even though they were different.
The subject, who was not aware of the deception, became puzzled, laughing nervously, checking the reactions of others. Over time, they became agitated as all the other participants (actors) answered with the incorrect response. After a while, the subject doubted their own eyes, eventually providing an answer they knew was wrong.
Asch conducted the experiment in multiple formats, and what he discovered was that as the number of actors increased, so did the conformity of the subject. If it was just the subject and one actor, there was no effect on the person’s choice. They just assumed there was something wrong with the other person. When two actors were in the room with the subject, there was still little impact. But as the number of people increased to three actors and four and all the way to eight, the subject became more likely to doubt themselves, and by the end of the experiment, 75 per cent of subjects agreed with the group response even though it was incorrect.
When unsure, we often default to the group. As human beings, we are tuned into what others are doing around us, and the normative view of the majority becomes our standard. As a result, if we want our environment to positively trigger good practices, we should encircle ourselves with others who have the practices we want to acquire.
AS HUMAN BEINGS, WE ARE TUNED INTO WHAT OTHERS ARE DOING AROUND US, AND THE NORMATIVE VIEW OF THE MAJORITY BECOMES OUR STANDARD
Leading by example
Basma Ashry, general manager of Business Incorporation Zone, tell us why she sees herself as a positive role model for women who want to step out of the shadows and empower themselves
With International Women’s Day around the corner, tell us how women are trailblazing their way to the top of the corporate ladder. I believe it all starts with your mindset and embracing a winning mentality. Women are recognising their power, claiming their space and working hard to get where they want to be. They’re not afraid to speak up, and they don’t wait for opportunities to be handed to them. It’s amazing how far you can go when you think big, and believe in yourself and your work.
Having women in visible, leading positions is so important, as it’s encouraging and empowering for young women starting out in their careers. It’s down to us to set an example, show up, share our stories and encourage others to step out. I believe in building supportive networks with other women, providing career advice or mentorships and advocating for more women in business. That’s exactly why I’m so proud to be doing what I do at Business Incorporation Zone.
Tell us about your own journey as an entrepreneur. What have been your key learnings along the way? I started my career in telecommunications and then moved to banking, but I’ve always had bigger aspirations to help people with their businesses in any way possible. Today, I head one of Dubai’s leading business setup companies thanks to the experience I’ve gathered over a decade.
The main thing I’ve learned in my journey is you’ve to believe in yourself, your idea and your vision. Congratulate yourself on your wins, but also be prepared to fail. Failure allows us to learn from our mistakes and keep growing. And finally, give back where you can. There’s nothing more fulfilling than helping people and watching them flourish, that’s what drives me every single day.
What I’m truly passionate about is advocating for young women to be more ambitious and aim higher so they can reach their full potential. My happiness lies in helping people launch their entrepreneurial careers, and during my time with Business Incorporation Zone, I’ve assisted multiple clients in successfully achieving this goal.
Our company is all about supporting new beginnings; we pride ourselves on giving our clients the best possible start to their business. We support entrepreneurs through every stage of their business. Not every person and business can fit into a one-size-fits-all plan, so we make sure we’re very personal in our approach. Once our clients are fully set up, we like to be there for them if they need any additional help, whether that be marketing, e-commerce solutions or other consultancy services.
What are some of the main challenges that women face in the workplace? The gender pay gap is still a huge issue. Women are not earning as much as their male counterparts, and don’t feel confident enough to ask for pay rises. They often feel they’re not being taken seriously or aren’t being given the same opportunities as men. This plays into the imposter syndrome a lot of women unfortunately experience. I recently came across a study that showed women will only apply for a job if they meet 100 per cent of the job description, men on the other hand, will apply even if they meet 60 per cent. This is why I feel so strongly about a creating a supportive and inclusive space for women. There are so many challenges that women face in the workplace, even though it’s 2022. We’ve come a long way but there’s still a long way to go.
What are the opportunities available to women to become successful entrepreneurs? Entrepreneurship truly is the path to leadership and today, it’s easier than ever for women to launch their own successful businesses. Women can be empowered to be their own boss, pay their own salary, work the hours they choose and create the worklife balance they want. Being an entrepreneur also gives women the chance to collaborate with or hire other women.
To make the best of these opportunities, women can hone their knowledge and skills through courses or a business degree and have a crystal clear vision when it comes to their business. I also suggest cultivating relationships with people who will challenge, motivate, inspire and support you, be it friends, colleagues, mentors or us, at Business Incorporation Zone.
