This Week with Neil Godin is an informal leadership and ‘people skills’ coaching program, provided free of charge. The idea took shape as I began to wrap up my 40-year career as a business and leadership trainer, speaker and writer. It struck me that I needed a culmination project – a way to share many of the unique insights and skills developed with my training clients over the years. So, here we are, and I thank you for your interest.
Receive insights, stories, tips ‘n tricks and tutorials – and a call to action – every Monday
In a nutshell, This Week delivers fresh insights, strategies, skills and tutorials every Monday morning, along with a call to action – a call to put that week’s insight, idea or skill into practice.
The ‘Big Idea’ behind the program
The big idea behind the entire program is my belief that there’s a missing piece in the puzzle of human development. Advanced in so many other ways we have yet to develop the latent ability to manage our fight-or-flight reactions when provoked. (For more on this important topic please read Post #1 on our home page).
Five key themes are emphasized throughout
While our subject matter covers a broad spectrum, seven key topics run through the entire program:
1. Reaction-management
How to manage our reactions, and our actions, when mistakes are made and things go wrong
2. Self-management. Discussion and coaching on a range of related topics – including why and how to take responsibility for our part as leaders when mistakes are made – so we can attack the problem, not the person when mistakes are made and keep everyone onside; how to manage our commitments and our time and priorities, and numerous related skills.
3. Interpersonal communication. How to speak so others will listen, and listen so others will speak.
4. Conflict prevention. How to anticipate and pre-empt destructive conflict or resolve it in the earliest stages.
5. Problem-solving. How to use the skills of collaborative, creative and pre-emptive problem-solving.
6. Effective leadership. How effective leadership draws on and integrates all of these supporting disciplines.
7. Continuity. Ways to sustain and renew the skills and practices involved.
The practical, real-world insights and skills we share are drawn largely from my life’s work as a trainer and coach. To enhance my knowledge and ability in ‘people skills’ I also completed certificate training at the Justice Institute of BC Center for Conflict Resolution in Vancouver, Canada – a learning adventure that I describe, literally, as life-changing.
While my main focus has always been small business, over the years my clients have ranged from micropreneurs and non-profits to major corporations, including RBC Royal Bank, McDonald’s, Shell, Telus, Subway and many others.
Lessons from the business turnaround world
Through a twist of fate I also served as a small business turnaround specialist, working with companies facing bankruptcy. In these crisis cases, ‘impossible’ problems have to be solved immediately – and people have to learn to eliminate destructive conflict and work together as never before. This turnaround work drove the development of most of the real-world content you’ll find here at This Week. In particular, attacking the problem, not the person when problem-solving and correcting mistakes became cornerstones of every project – both in turnarounds and in my work with healthy companies and organizations as well. I share stories and examples of this vital discipline throughout.
Managing our reactions enables us to use other vital skills
Reaction management forms the foundation of our program because it’s a gateway skill – a practice that enables us to use other vital skills. For example, we may know very well that we need to practice deep nasal breathing in fight or flight situations – because doing so drives oxygen to the brain. (This restores the flow of oxygen that was hijacked during the initial fight/flight reaction and was used to feed the muscles of the upper and lower body in preparation for fight or flight). Deep nasal breathing also triggers what psychologists call ‘the relaxation response’ as it’s the antidote to the adrenaline, cortisol and other powerful chemicals released during fight/flight.
We may also know very well ‘how’ to breathe effectively – but we can’t actually use this knowledge in the heat of the moment unless we’re able to ‘catch ourselves in the act’ of reacting – and stop the action. This gives us time to think, and to choose our response consciously. Our mantra for this process is ‘Stop and Breathe. Think and Choose.’
Navy SEALs are trained in deep nasal breathing
We know this skill is effective and we know it can be learned, because for years Navy SEALs have trained their members to use deep nasal breathing in life and death situations – as well as to practice the skill on a routine daily basis. Similarly, many first responders receive this kind of training, as do many air traffic controllers, emergency room medical staff, and others in high-stress fields. But I want to emphasize that while reaction management is easy to describe and grasp it’s not easy to learn. (On a personal note, after almost 40 years of practicing this skill I still find myself reacting without thinking on occasion. While there are a fortunate few who have this ability naturally well developed, the rest of us really have to work at it.)
Our spotlight is on communication skills
In terms of content in general, some of our more familiar topics include advanced listening skills, empathy, anger, assertiveness, self-talk, non-verbal language, communicating effectively online – and many more.
Less familiar but at least as important, we cover topics like commitment management – how to manage the way we make, request and follow through on commitments – our own and others – so we can build more trusting relationships – and increase our self-trust as well.
Tips on how to have those ‘difficult’ discussions we usually try to avoid
We also talk about constructive conflict: How to establish and follow respectful guidelines for listening and speaking, even when we’re in a fiery debate. We also explore ways to engage effectively in those awkward and ‘difficult’ discussions – the ones we need to have but usually try to avoid.
We also poke at topics like “Road Rage Rehab,” and how to avoid “Drive-by Delegation,” and “Hit and Run Coaching,” as well as lots of little life hacks you can use to turn everyday annoyances into positive experiences.
Our goal: More ‘athletic’ stress; less ‘toxic’ stress
Imagine an organization – a workplace, school, home, or out in the world – where reaction management and these related skills are practiced routinely. There would still be conflict and stress, of course. But we’d have less toxic stress and more athletic, Olympic-style stress – the kind that challenges and excites us. That’s our vision and This Week is our contribution to making it a reality.
Thanks again for your interest and I welcome you to join us.
Neil Godin