Author Archives: Vegard Olsen

2 steps to communicating better in the team

By Vegard Olsen

The foundation for good communication in teams is having a really good understanding of each other´s highly different communication styles.

The better we understand both our own style of communication and that of our colleagues and peers, the better communication flows.

Many would agree with this, but still, few spend time reflecting on this crucial aspect of working together as a team. And the consequences are ineffective work, misunderstandings, tensions and even conflicts.

Different needs in communication
The styles of communication and collaboration varies a lot from one team member to the next. We all want to work effectively and achieve our goals, but how we want to go about doing that is highly different from person to person.

While some team members have a big need to explore together with others and reflect on values and the bigger picture, others actually really dislike this type of work and just want to get down to concrete work sooner rather than later. Others yet again are most concerned with the harmony of the team and ensuring a good working environment. For them, great work cannot be done until this need is first met.
For others, this aspect of the teamwork seems like a waste of time.

Meeting each others needs
Once we understand the individual differences in the team, the next question is –  how do we deal with the different and sometimes opposing needs of the members of the team?

At the core this is a give and take process where meeting each other somewhere in the middle will help establish a good foundation for team communication and collaboration.

Questions you can reflect on are:
– If it is important for others to have a clear agenda for every meeting, could you meet them on that need?
– If it is important for others to spend time exploring and reflect on the bigger picture, could you meet them on that need?
– If it important for others to socialise, could you meet them on this need?

Pic: You X Venture, unsplash.com

Here are 2 steps to Communicating better in the team:

1. Understand your own and others´ needs?

Below are a list of some of the typical and highly needs in teams.

How would you rate yourself on these?
And how would you rate your team members?

Rating scale 1-10

Needs for..

..tasks to always be concrete an practical
..socialising and connecting with others on a more personal level
..reflecting on team and company values
..have a clear agenda for every meeting
..making sure there is a good harmony in the team
..a precise end goal with the work we are currently doing
..feeling safe to have an open dialogue in the team
..reflecting why we are doing the tasks and the links to company vision and values
..a very precise description of the tasks we are doing
..exploring topics together as a team

2. Which needs are not so important to you, but very important to others?
What can you do and who can you be differently to meet the needs of others?

Want to learn more?

Join us for our next free live online course in collaboration with Impact Hub King’s Cross
on April 21st.

In this course you will learn about different leadership and communication styles in teams and learn what to take into account for each team member to leverage their strengths whilst simultaneously adapting to the communication and leadership styles of other team members.

More info and tickets via the link:

Communicating better in the team

 

3 ways transformational leaders effectively manage their feelings

By Vegard Olsen

Managing emotions and feelings is probably the most important skill you can learn as a leader.
This is very true generally – and even more so during these challenging times.

Here are 3 ways transformational leaders effectively manage their feelings:


Pic: Colton Duke, unsplash.com

1) They listen to their feelings
They don´t run away from them, or try eat or drink them away. They sit with them and listen to them. They understand that feelings comes with information and the best way to manage the feeling is first to listen to this information

2) They ask: Is this mine?
A lot of what we feel is not ours. We pick up feelings from our company, colleagues and peers, our family, our neigbourhood, community, country and even the world.

As much as the feeling comes with information and it is important to listen to that,
it is equally important to realise that a lot of what you feel is actually not yours at all, but things that you sense or pick up from others.

By asking yourself ´Is this mine?´ you will soon realise that a lot of what you feel is not yours.

And the more your realise and accept this, the better you can manage your feelings

3) They choose not to carry other people 

We often hear from clients: ´Because I care for them I need to feel what they feel right? And help them carry some of their burden?´

Is that really true?

To an extent it might be. But if you do this too much it can easily be paralysing and numbing to you.

And what happens then? You can not really be the friend you want to be to your colleagues or your loved ones. And then everyone loses.

When we carry other people, we subconsciously give the message to them that we think they can deal with their problems themselves. And that is in essence disempowering.
It takes away their process of learning and healing. And it diverts us from our own path of growth and learning. In other words, another lose lose.

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Test these 3 steps out for yourself and you will soon realise what a difference they make to you managing your feelings as a leader.

 

3 aspects transformational leaders consider when setting goals

By Vegard Olsen

It’s a new year and a blank slate full of new opportunities.

This year, reach your goals by setting powerful goals that transforms your work and business.

Here are 3 aspects transformational leaders consider when setting goals:

Photo: Sean Dedic, unsplash.com

1) Set ambitious goals
You won´t win the olympics without aiming for it – and even if you don´t win it, it will take you a lot further than if you set a small one. Raising your goal means raising the bar and standards for all of your work and this will significantly drive you forward towards your ambitions

2) Focus on the outcome
Visualise and focus on what will be different once you have reached your goals.
How do you think and act differently there? How have you grown as a person?
Do you speak less, attend fewer meeting, prepare better, focus better and network more?
Well if so, start now! These are the muscles you need to build this year to move significantly forward with your goals.

“Success is something you attract by the person you become” – Jim Rohn

3) Think big start small
Although thinking big and raising the bar is key, it is equally important to start small and celebrate the small wins on the way.

Ok, so you want to climb Mount Everest, but where do you start?
What is enough progress day one and week one. Small and steady bitesize development every week and you will have come a lot further than you thought was possible by the end of this year.

Keep learning step by step on your journey and adjust the steps as you go. And celebrate each small win to ensure your keep fuelling your confidence to continue your journey of transformation

Want to learn more?

Join our free course ´Setting powerful goals´ for ambitious leaders and entrepreneurs in collaboration with Impact Hub King´s Cross on Thursday January 21st at 7pm.

In the course wou will learn powerful tools to ensure 2021 is the year you significantly grow your work and business

And this is what clients typically get out of working with us:

* Based on pre to post process data for the ambitious leaders worked with since 2017
Photo: Tim Johnson, unsplash.com

2 questions to unveil your unique leadership style

By Vegard Olsen

Every leader operates in a unique context with a unique set of people, resources and expectations to them.

And every leader are themselves unique – with a unique set of experiences, competencies, personal and leadership skills.

The key to transformation and growth is first understanding your unique leadership style and learning how to apply  it in the best possible way to deal with your unique context.

Here are 2 questions to help you unveil yours:


Picture: K B, unsplash.com

  • When are you at your best as a leader?

Think back. When have you felt the deepest sense of thriving, being inspired and inspiring others, moving significantly forward with your goals, making a difference, and creating something good and something meaningful?

Were you with others? Were you on your own? What kind of work did you do, and in what way? How did you lead, inspire and empower others – and yourself?

What were your biggest strengths in the scenario? Which of your values were you aligned with?

  • When do you feel the deepest sense of connection and meaningfulness in your leadership and work?

Think back on those moments. Those times, periods, projects that you worked on. What was it about them that made you feel a strong sense of connection and meaningfulness?

What does this say about you as a leader – your strengths and your values?

In our work with ambitious leaders and entrepreneurs we see that stronger clarity of where you add value makes a big difference to growing your work and business.
To gain that clarity the most important thing you can do is stop, breath and reflect.
And then adjust your leadership as according to what you learn.

Want to learn more?

In our upcoming course we share a powerful framework to specifically pinpoint the traits that best describe your unique leadership style and also share a transformational framework to help you leverage your leadership style.

Join our course ´Understanding your unique leadership style ´ on Dec 2nd at 7pm to strengthen clarity and access these transformational tools

This course is free and set up in collaboration with Impact HUB King’s Cross
– a catalyst for entrepreneurial action for a better world.

3 questions to elevate your leadership and grow your business

by Vegard Olsen

If things outside us cannot and will not change, well surely we can.

And that’s exactely what these times are calling on us to do.

Here are 3 questions to help you change your attitude and mindset, adapt to the current situation, step out of your comfort zone and continuing to grow your work and business despite all the external changes:

Picture: Junior Ferreira, unsplash.com

– Think of someone you look up to and admire within your profession and work.
What are they allowing themselves to think, feel and do that you are not (yet)?

– What are you not believing at the moment, which if you did, would make the biggest difference to your leadership and your work?

– Which life or work goals are currently competing with your most important business goals? And which of these could you dial down or let go of to help you elevate your leadership and grow your work and business?

It can be challenging to answer some of these questions, and only you decide if or which extent  you want to apply any of the insights coming from them. But do know that going outside of our comfort zone and doing something that is somewhat uncomfortable is usually the key to your growth as a professional – and subsequently also the growth of your work.

´Success is something you attract by the person you become´- Jim Rohn

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Want to learn more?

Join us on November 11th at 4pm for a FREE live online course in collaboration with
Impact HUB King´s Cross:

Key tools to move your business forward

In the course you will learn powerful tools to help you elevate your leadership, strengthen resilience and grow your business.

We hope to see you there!

5 steps to understanding your unique communication style

Vegard Olsen

The key to communicating better with your colleagues and peers is first understanding your own unique communication style.

Understanding how you apply your unique communications skills and choosing to dial up or down different aspects of your communication style to adapt to the situation and the people you meet is key to communicating effectively.

Unfortunately, many people are not aware of their own – let alone of their colleagues and peers communication style. Or – they choose to overlook it and apply a ´one fits all strategy´ which sooner rather than later is going to cause a lot of misunderstandings, tensions and probably also conflicts.

Here are 5 key dimensions to consider to understand your own and others´ unique communications style:

Pic: You X Ventures, unsplash.com

Going into a meeting to discuss an important topic I prefer:
Rate yourself on the scale from 1 to 10 for each dimension

1: Having a clear agenda
10: Being creative and see whatever comes up in the meeting

1: Having time to socialise
10: Getting straight to agenda and try to cover it as quickly as possible

1: Reflecting on the bigger picture before any problem solving
10: Going straight into solving the problem

1: Making sure everyone gets involved in the discussion
10: Just doing whatever works – it doesn’t matter who speaks or not

1: Talking purely about the practical aspects related to a topic
10: Talking mostly on the vision and bigger picture related to a topic

For reflection:
How would you rate yourself on average for each of these dimensions?
What does your scoring say about your unique communication style?
How would you rate members of your team or core group of colleagues and peers on these dimensions?

And finally:
How can you improve your communication by adapting more and better to the the unique communication style of your colleagues and peers?

When differences in teams are not understood, they are often seen as problems which can easily lead to misunderstandings, poor communication and even conflicts.
When you understand each team member´s uniquely different communication styles and preferences, you will learn how to communicate and collaborate better and establish the foundation for designing thriving teams that have a big impact.

That’s why this work is so important. It’s not just about communication effectiveness.
It’s about work and collaboration effectiveness. And leadership effectiveness.

In fact, many leadership researcher and thinkers argue that 80% of leadership is communication.

Therefore, if you are ambitious with your work, understanding your own and your peers unique communication style is probably the most significant step you can take to evolve your leadership and your work.

We hope that these exercises gives you insight to help you understand differences in your team and some steps you can take to adapt to the different styles of your colleagues and peers.

Want to learn more?

Join our line online course ´Communicating better in the team´.

In this course you will learn about different leadership and communication styles in teams and learn what to take into account for each team member to leverage their strengths whilst simultaneously adapting to communication and leadership styles of other team members.

More info and tickets via the link

Communicating better in the team