How to Define More Robust Goals

SMART – What each letter really means!

The SMART goals technique is arguably the most well-known of all goal-setting techniques. How to set goals is really important if you want to be more productive, have success, and ultimately achieve your goals.

The acronym S.M.A.R.T. is well used across the world. But knowing what it stands for is only the start, you need to understand the individual components to make it work for you and improve your productivity and effectiveness.

Anyone can set a goal, but if it ain’t specific, you’re saying you don’t care what you achieve or if you achieve it. Denzel Washington said, “Dreams without goals are just dreams”.

So if it’s important to you and you want it, get specific and go for it. In this video, we explore the types of measures and how to make them work for you. SMART goals are essential to the Thinking Focus Toolkit for Team Leaders and Managers. Watch this video to find out.

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Posted On December 2, 2021 By Ricky Muddimer In Coaching, Goals, High Performing Teams, Leadership, Management, Metacognition, Mindset, Video /

How to think different and get unstuck!

We are all subject to the insanity loop from time to time, that feeling when we seem to keep doing the same thing yet expecting a different result.

We get stuck! To get unstuck, we need to change our thinking; in this video, we explore why you get stuck and offer three easy ways to free yourself from Einstein’s insanity loop. Thinking skills are essential to the Thinking Focus Toolkit for Team Leaders and Managers.

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Posted On November 18, 2021 By Ricky Muddimer In Confidence, High Performing Teams, Leadership, Management, Metacognition, Mindset, Productivity, Video /

How to make your self talk work for you!

Learn how to make your self-talk work for you. In this video, I share with you how to change how you think so that you can achieve your goals more easily.

By Self-talk, we mean those inner voices that determine your mood, confidence, emotions and appetite to want to do something – or not. We are often our own harshest critic, yet rarely are we our own best friend.

Ethan Kross talks deeply about how your inner dialogue affects your performance in his book, Chatter. At Thinking Focus, we help people get out of their own way by providing practical tools they can use for themselves; after all, thinking is one of the crucial tools you have in your arsenal for success. Thinking skills are essential to the Thinking Focus Toolkit for Team Leaders and Managers.

So whether you’re focused on personal goals, like losing weight, making more money, or achieving your work goals, this video is a great way to start changing your self-talk and achieving your goals!

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Posted On November 11, 2021 By Ricky Muddimer In High Performing Teams, Metacognition, Mindset, Video /

How do leaders create engagement?

Another podcast exploring the role of a leader.

This time we dive into engagement. How do leaders create engage followers?

To us, engagement is more than just making sure people like working here. It is the way that leaders connect people to purpose, the team and the plan. This is an ongoing role, constantly needing updating and resetting as the team gets buffeted by day-to-day challenges.

This podcast is part of a series about the role of leaders, exploring the nuts and bolts of what leaders need to do. It is based on a model (we created) to help aspiring leaders work out what it means to be a leader.

You can find the model, and details of all the areas at www.thinkingfocus.com/what-is-leadership

Posted On November 8, 2021 By Paul Hutchinson In Leadership, Podcasts, Productivity, The question is /

Why do leaders build psychological safety for their people to perform?

This is another podcast in our series about the actual things that leaders do.

This time Richard, Rob and Ricky talk feelings! In particular, they discuss the leader’s role in managing feelings; dealing with conflict, smoothing over loss when difficult decisions need to be made and most importantly creating a psychologically safe environment where people can flourish.

Leaders who ignore the people elements of the role risk damaging their own productivity and put their underlying purpose at risk.

You can find the model, and details of all the areas at www.thinkingfocus.com/what-is-leadership

Posted On October 25, 2021 By Paul Hutchinson In Culture, Leadership, Podcasts, Productivity, The question is /

How do I re-engage my people?

This time on the podcast, we ask a very relevant question for the last quarter of 2021, as we work through this strange lull in the pandemic, trying to act like it is over yet without being really sure that it is.

This leads to a feeling that we should be getting back to normal, yet for many going back to what they were doing still feels a way off. As leaders, how do we engage people who have lost their sense of purpose, or are having to do something slightly different as their organisation adjusts and repositions?

However, this is not just an issue that is pandemic related. Any time an organisation experiences significant change, a high proportion of people will find their purpose, their reason for being there, impacted. It may be put on hold, or changed completely, and it is the leaders who need to engage them back into the business, helping them find new meaning and motivation so that they can continue to perform.

Posted On September 27, 2021 By Paul Hutchinson In Change, Culture, Leadership, Podcasts, Productivity, The question is /

How do I create a high performing hybrid workforce?

With many organisations considering hybrid working, what does that change about the ways that we manage people?

Ricky and Paul walk through some of the key areas that managers need to consider if they are leading a team that combines working styles – office, home and various hybrid options.

In some ways, managing a team is managing a team, and where the team works should not make much difference. Yet, in other ways, mixing home workers and office workers can create some unique challenges that will require teams, and managers, to change their approach to maintain peak performance.

Photo by Jaz King on Unsplash

Posted On July 22, 2021 By webadmin In Culture, Leadership, Podcasts, Productivity, The question is /

Will a hybrid model for the workplace be as easy as it sounds?

As the pandemic lockdown hopefully draws to a close, many of us are starting to consider how will we work going forward. Will we return to the office as if nothing happened, or will many people carry on working from home?

Many organisations are considering hybrid working, splitting the working week between home and office, but is this a simple as it sounds?

In this podcast, Paul and Ricky explore some of the challenges and advantages, from power to personality, collaboration to management style; we think about what needs to happen to make this approach work for everyone.

Photo by Jonathan Farber on Unsplash

Posted On July 1, 2021 By Paul Hutchinson In Culture, Leadership, Podcasts, Productivity, The question is /

In what ways do senior leaders need to think differently?

Leadership roles require different cognitive skills than many of the roles we do earlier on in our careers, but often we are expected to work this out for ourselves.

In this podcast, Richard and Ricky explore what this means. What is different about the way in which senior people need to think, and what does that mean for them and the way that they work?

This podcast is the third of four podcasts considering what is required of anyone who wants to take a senior role or highly demanding job in an organisation.

You can find out more about the four areas and how we use them here.

Posted On June 18, 2021 By Paul Hutchinson In Leadership, Podcasts, Productivity, The question is /

How to achieve success in 2025 with a proven process.

Discover the secret to boosting your productivity at work!

Follow these tips, and you’ll be able to get more done in less time and feel more organized and efficient in your daily tasks. Whether you’re a working professional or a student, these tips will help you achieve your goals and meet your deadlines.

So let’s get started! These tips will help you improve your productivity at work! Whether you’re unstructured, find it hard to plan or dive in without thinking it through first, our Actions Model – FoooDo will help you to be more productive and effective more often.

FoooDo has six steps designed to help you get clarity, be more creative and critically evaluate which ideas are worth pursuing as you work to achieve your goals.

Be more successful with FoooDo, the ultimate #coachingmodel that will help you think, plan and execute your goals more robustly. Achieve what you want!

FoooDo is a central component of the Thinking Focus Toolkit for Team Leaders and Managers.

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Posted On May 21, 2021 By Ricky Muddimer In Confidence, Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking, Goals, High Performing Teams, Leadership, Management, Metacognition, Mindset, Motivation, Performance Management, Productivity, Video /