As Conservative Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell fights for survival and John Terry resigns from his International career, what can we learn from this for our everyday lives?
Andrew Mitchell allegedly had a moment of madness and John Terry was accused of one. Whatever happened, it’s been very damaging for both of them. Angry exchanges happen every day in our work lives. Why do some companies and some people have more than others?
Our behaviour is a product of what we think and how this makes us feel and react. When we lose control we lose the ability to think clearly and we make poor decisions. Positive behaviour springs from positive thinking and attitude.
Andrew Mitchell explained in an interview that he had had a very long tough day. When we are stressed the choice of behaviour is often negative and irrational. We all have examples of people who seem unflappable; whatever challenges they may have had. They still manage to smile and deal with challenging situations! How do they do it?
Effective communicators manage their thoughts, emotions and behaviour. They are in control and chose effective and appropriate behaviour for the best outcome. They are high in what we call BI; short for Behaviour Intelligence. The fundamental principles of BI are:
1. Thinking impact emotions impact behaviour
2. Effective communicators control their thought, emotion and behaviour
3. Healthy body healthy mind healthy behaviour
4. If you can measure behaviour you can make permanent change
5. Emotions and behaviour are infectious
When people demonstrate low BI, their leaders need to take swift action to demonstrate that behaviour is not acceptable. The most powerful way to do this is to remove those people from having power over others. It’s a strong way of communicating to all concerned what behaviour is not acceptable. If David Cameron had removed Andrew Mitchell from his position it would be very clear he found that behaviour unacceptable.
Many organisations invest in training programmes for their aspiring, junior and senior managers to develop their behavioural competence. OnTrack International design and develop programmes which align with internal values and behavioural competences. We help raise their awareness of their own behaviour style and identify optimum behaviour for any given situation. Our BI tool provides a method of measurement of their communication effectiveness. They can see where they are and where they need to get to. For example, through BI we identify the three most effective behaviours for dealing with an aggressive interaction; the best way to bring someone into a rational state of mind.
Over the last 20 years, OnTrack consultants have been perfecting methods of measuring behaviour to help business professionals appreciate the impact their behaviour has on others and identify positive and productive behaviour. The tool, now the backbone of developing BI helps people identify their behaviour style and more competently choose behaviour most appropriate for the situation. Most people don’t intend to offend! BI enables behaviour choice based on positive intention and reduces the chance of losing control and allowing negative emotions and behaviour.
I am sure Andrew Mitchell would like to roll the clock back and choose a different way of handling his communication with the Downing Street Police security team. He has said he regretted is choice of words and the emotion with which they were delivered. Unfortunately, once the behaviour has been chosen and used there is no going back, the damage is done. A person with high BI stays cool, calm and collected giving thought to ensure the best behavioural response. This is why a person with high Behaviour Intelligence enjoys more success.
This week we have seen the power of behaviour and it reinforces why high BI is the behaviour of power. Speak to OnTrack International if you would like to measure your Behaviour Intelligence.
For more information email info@semperey.com or visit the website .
