Is Your Environment Holding You Back?
I was working with a client (let’s call him John) recently about the fact that his productivity levels were fluctuating more significantly than normal. We acknowledged that times are strange and that in a sense it’s no wonder that some days he’s productive and other days he’s not.
During our conversation, one of the things I wanted to explore with John was his environment and to help him understand if there were external factors that might have been contributing to how he was feeling and how productive he was able to be.
I asked him these four basic questions:
What energises you?
What depletes your energy?
Who energises you?
Who depletes your energy?
After each question, I got John to write a list of the things and people that in turn energised him and depleted him. Even though there were no revelations, the process of thinking through and writing down brought John great clarity.
When we finished the exercise, I talked to John about the “Zone of Genius”, the concept created by Gay Hendricks in his book The Big Leap. According to Hendricks, this is the place where you’re at your best, where everything feels almost effortless for you. It’s a place of flow, creativity, energy and fulfilment. I love this concept – I think it really brings to life the idea of our best selves.
I had John think about his zone of genius and the environment he needed to get him there. I asked him about having a constant reminder, maybe a post-it note or something else physical, that he could put somewhere to remind him of the ideal environment.
Or maybe it was something he needed to build. What process or system could he build for himself which would allow him to create the environment needed for success?
John didn’t have the answer during our conversation, but it did give him food for thought. I’m intrigued to see what he comes up with! And that’s sometimes what happens with coaching – the magic happens in the ‘white space’ between sessions.
I’ve written a lot recently about what holds us back. While the answer is often what goes on between our ears! Equally importantly are those external factors and, vitally, the environment that we create (or allow to be created).
In the words of Marshall Goldsmith, “if we do not create and control our environment, our environment creates and controls us.”
Until next time,
Julian