The 'trail' to expert mountain biker

It's Sunday and I have just got back from spending a day trying out a new mountain bike trail at Cannock Chase.  I have done the route a number of times, but it has recently been extended and given a great rating by MBR magazine.  I am relatively new to mountain biking and can call myself a MAMIL - a middle aged man in lycra!

I ride mainly in the Cotswolds where I live, but I love the technical challenge and exhilaration, of a trail centre single-track, going fast through the trees, over drops and round the berms!  Great fun, but a little scary too, if I am honest.

So I sit here now, aching a little after 15 miles of concentrating hard on the single-track, reflecting on how I rode today.  I started nervously; heavy rain had made it muddy, my back wheel would not grip and my technique was really rusty.  I hit a couple of trees and had to put my feet down a couple of times as I misjudged corners and hazards.  I only had myself to blame, as I hadn't warmed up, I had got straight out of the car and hit the trail!

My technique and riding did improve, as I warmed up and my fitness kept me going.  But I  kept falling off going UP HILL round tight bends!  I seemed to be doing it quite regularly.  I realise that this is because I don't actually know how to do them and when I do get round I am sure I don't look as 'pretty' as the professionals.

So the answer, I need to PRACTICE!

A couple of weeks ago in my blog I said that it was not talent but practice that made you an expert.  Well, I need to practice, but it needs to be 'deliberate and purposeful' practice.  So I need some lessons, observe an expert and really read the tips in the many magazines that I have scattered around the house.  Then get out there and keep practicing!

If you want to be the best that you can be, you have to put the hours in (remember that magic 10,000 hours?)  Consider some lessons, some coaching, or just some time thinking about what you have done and reading deeper into the subject to enhance understanding.

I would really like to hear about what skills you are practicing at the moment.  

How understanding your personality preferences helps drive Innovation

Today, more than ever, businesses need innovation. They will not survive simply by relying on the same processes, same thinking, same planning as before.

Innovation can be described as the “implementation of ideas” and starts with defining the problem, discovering alternatives, deciding on and implementing a solution.

So how can personality help or hinder this process?

We know that that there are no right or wrong personalities but all of us have preferences that influence the way we interact, think, make decisions and plan. 

So when we manage and lead innovation, our preferences can influence how we approach the process and where we focus our attention.

So when you look at the fours descriptions in the table, which one best describes how you work when when you are dealing with innovation?

Understanding which profile best describes you can help you to understand why you find some parts of innovation easy and others hard work. It can also help you to identify others in your business who might enjoy other parts of the innovation process.

When you are managing innovation, how do your preferences differ from others and are you providing the right stimulus for others to be as innovative as possible and play to their strengths or could you be stifling them through your actions and preferences?

If you would like to know more about how you can use an awareness of personality to help drive innovation please do call me 

What's the secret of high achievement? It's not talent or natural genius. The key is PRACTICE!

Talent is a subject that I frequently reflect on and encounter in my daily work as a coach and as a father of a 'talented' swimmer.

I have read with interest over the past six months, two books on Talent - 'Outliers' by Malcolm Gladwell and 'Bounce' by Matthew Syed.  The September issue of Wired magazine reviewed these books, along with two others, and concluded:

• the difference between expert and normal performance is due to "life-long periods of deliberate effort to improve performance in a specific area",
• in sport it takes 10 years of deliberate practice,
• it takes 10,000 hours of practice to be an expert,
• the month of your birth plays a big part,
• there is an element of luck!

So what can we make from these insights?  That natural talent is not enough, to succeed you do need to practice and it takes time - a lot of time!

For my son in swimming it is not just about turning up and swimming once a week and doing the lengths.  He attends all his practice sessions over the week, where he is given 'sets' to swim, each of which has a specific outcome in mind.  The swimmers are watched closely by trained coaches and given immediate feedback to make small changes that make all the difference.  The children also record their PB times so that they can measure their progress against set goals that will get them to county, regional or even national times!!

As a coach I seek regular feedback from my clients and I reflect on each session.  In line with best practice in this industry, I regularly have sessions with a trained professional Supervisor.  We discuss how I have been coaching, how this has helped or hindered my clients which raises my awareness of my coaching style, reinforces what I do well and identifies further development areas to address.

So in our specialist fields, if we truly aspire to be best in class or considered an expert, how many hours of deliberate practice are we doing?  Or are we just turning up and doing what we have always done?  To what extent are we reflecting on the daily situations and challenges that we face, and how often do we seek feedback on our performance.

What are you doing to help improve your natural talent?  I look forward to hearing your stories.

So, where did you go?

A month ago I talked about how your choice of holiday might reflect your MBTI preference type.

So, if you chose a holiday that was busy, where you met lots of new interesting people, it might indicate an EXTRAVERSION preference.  This means you prefer to draw energy from the world around you and from contact with people.  These types learn best through doing or discussing and tend to speak and act first then reflect later.  So at work you might feel comfortable taking on a visible role, be prepared to alter a decision to meet external demands and delegate liberally. 

If you chose to spend the holiday with a few close friends having a lovely 'chilled' time then you may have an INTROVERSION preference.  This means you prefer to draw energy from your internal world, through quiet reflection.  These types learn best by reflection and mental practice and tend to reflect before acting or speaking.  At work you might feel more comfortable working behind the scenes, feel reluctant to alter a decision to meet external demands and you may delegate sparingly.

Do you recognise yourself in any of these or maybe a colleague who is the opposite of you?  Or are you a combination of both?

If you would like to find out more about how MBTI can really help you in the workplace then please do call for a chat.