Navigating the present while planning the future: Damian Hughes speaks at the InX Leadership Summit
The latest InX Leadership Summit took place at The Royal Institution, where Damian Hughes, professor, bestselling author and presenter of the High Performance Podcast, shared his leadership wisdom with C-suite and senior leaders from across our network. Despite the historical backdrop, there was very much a topical theme to the discussion as Damian talked about navigating the present while planning the future, and shared key lessons in transformation.
Good vs bad change
“I can swim – just not yet.”
Just because a child has not yet had any swimming lessons, that doesn’t mean they can’t swim. The capability is within them – it just needs to be unlocked. The idea that nothing is beyond you isn’t just a great view of the world – it’s also an example of good change.
But we’re not taught the difference between good and bad change. Metathesiophobia is fear of change. An inborn aversion to the unknown. When we’re subject to bad organisational change, whether based on fear, force or facts, we naturally stay where it’s comfortable.
Making good change happen
How often do we ask a loved one the same old questions – how was your day? What did you do? What did you eat? – and elicit vague responses? We get immunised into asking pointless questions.
The quality of the questions you ask is a precursor to the answers you get. So ask something different and unexpected. How did you contribute? What did you learn?
When faced with a challenge, the logical approach should be to analyse the problem, think about the solution and come up with the answer. But we very easily skip straight to the answer without analysing the problem. The key to good change is to follow the five stages of change and ask better questions along the way.
1. Dream – The vision of where you’re going.
How much of the time do we enjoy what we do? Are we doing something we’re good at? Are we making a positive difference? The convergence point of these three questions is where we should be investing our time. Purpose guides our passion and the decisions we make.
2. Leap – Doing something different, which gives you the confidence to make your change.
Our brain is always scanning the environment for threats and danger, deciding whether we move towards the situation or avoid it. Your behaviour is a function of your personality and the environment. When someone annoys us, we often make a judgement about their personality when in reality, we know very little about the person. The same could be said of our reaction to change. Sometimes we’re resistant because we need to ask better questions.
3. Fight – Progress is slower and cynicism, impatience and doubt start to appear.
The ability to withstand pressure at the fight stage separates good from great. The ability to understand it will improve your resilience.
This is the stage where most change journeys crash and burn. We start using language like “I must be better, I shouldn’t be failing, I have to be winning,” that keeps us rooted in the fight stage. And what do we do? We work harder, we do longer hours.
How you choose to respond to your struggle explains how much pain you’re feeling. We need to recognise that at some point, we’ll encounter difficulties and doubts. We need to proactively come up with a plan to change the formula, recognising it as part of the journey and reducing pain.
As a guest on the High Performance Podcast, boxer Tyson Fury talked about the value of “finding a comfortable position in your most uncomfortable circumstances” as “that’s where you’re going to be successful or high performance in your area.”
4. Climb – You see progress and this creates a degree of momentum that gives you the energy to get to the final stage.
Too often we approach a challenge by focusing on the problem. But again, if we ask the wrong questions then we’ll get the wrong answer. For many years, a marriage counselling session would begin with the question “what’s the problem?” which would immediately ignite an argument. Eventually, the profession realised they were asking the wrong questions and introduced solutions focused therapy.
We need to ask ourselves two questions at the climb stage:
The miracle question – what does the dream result look like?
The exception question – where are you currently? Again, if you’re not where you want to be, don’t focus on the problem. Ask why you are where you are, and how you can get to the next level. Establish momentum.
Evaluating your performance is just as important when things are going well as it gives you a blueprint for when they’re not. It stops you making the same mistakes in the future. It’s a premortem – looking at what could go wrong so you’re prepared and calm if it does.
5. Arrive
There’s no holy grail when it comes to self-improvement. It’s an ongoing journey. When you get where you set out to go, think about the three Rs:
Relate – The relationships you’ve built. What have you learnt about yourself and the people around you?
Reframe – What’s your next challenge?
Repeat
Many thanks to Damian for his insights and to the senior leaders who joined us for a thoroughly engaging discussion. If you’re looking for your next leadership role or you’re an organisation looking for your next senior hire, contact the InX team now.