Colin Gautrey

The Common Obstacles to Greater Progress

September 8, 2020 by Colin Gautrey

The Influence to Thrive Model aims to take people above and beyond their current trajectory and put them on the fast-track to greater accomplishment, whatever that means to them. Some will be driving for financial success. Others far more orientated to fulfilling contribution. The way you define success in your life does not alter the efficacy of the model - it works regardless of your goal. As you start to dig deeper into this model, in my experience it helps to prioritise your time and energy into removing the barriers or roadblocks to faster progress. Here are some of the common obstacles I encounter when working with my private coaching clients. Read More

Agenda Power Explained

September 3, 2020 by Colin Gautrey

Extract from Influential Leadership: A Leader's Guide to Getting Things Done

The issues and priorities you focus your leadership attention on.

What is noticeable about all powerful and influential people is that they have very clear opinions about a whole variety of things in the wider organisation. They have also chosen to focus their agenda in a particular way. Their focus may be orientated towards fixing a certain problem or issue which t Read More

What to Do When Power Corrupts Your World

August 18, 2020 by Colin Gautrey

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Lord Action

Only history will prove if we are at a point in time right now where absolute power is absolutely corrupting.

Unable to divine what is fact, fiction or fake, on so many high-consequence matters, many would be forgiven for believing that we are at that point, total domination of corrupt power.

However, it is always a matter of degree, and always a very personal viewpoint. Read More

The Eighth Principle of Persuasion

August 11, 2020 by Colin Gautrey

Few can doubt that one of the greats in the field of influence is Dr. Robert Cialdini. I’m sure you’ve heard of (and probably used) his principles of persuasion - i know i have, and do my best to avoid them wherever possible.

Actually, they are pretty straightforward, but what he has not highlight, is the eight principle.

The original six came after his research way back in 1984. In summary… Read More

Grasp Your CONTEXT: Seven Common Mistakes

August 4, 2020 by Colin Gautrey

With the 5Cs of The Influence to Thrive Model, perhaps the one which causes the most problems for people is Grasp Your CONTEXT. This has major consequences because unless you are intimately aware of the context in which you build and implement your vision, you’ll likely get nowhere fast.

Quite why Grasp Your CONTEXT is so difficult is unclear to me, but certainly, many struggle because of the often nebulous and subjective nature of this area. Aside from the professional agendas which are usually fairly straightforward to determine (well, at least the official version!), it takes confidence, determination and the Read More

Frustrated, Uncertain and Indecisive?

July 28, 2020 by Colin Gautrey

Pause for a moment and think back to the last meeting you attended where a group came together to discuss a difficult situation, and a decision needed to be made. As you think back, you'll probably remember several people who appeared to be out of their depth, struggling to get their points across and getting frustrated. Those people may well have looked harassed, angry, or even fearful. I'm sure they felt passionately that the group should make a particular decision yet, somehow, they couldn't make it happen.

Mental Agility: Five Reasons Why You May Lack It

July 16, 2020 by Colin Gautrey

Back in April I was asked to speak with a progressive group of senior technologists about Mental and Emotional agility, and I shared thirteen factors that need to be considered as you develop greater agility in your performance (see Mental Agility and Emotional Agility).

Here it is worth sharing some of the causes of reasons why you may lack this ability. With greater awareness, you may be able to head some of these off at the pass!

What’s your boss’ real agenda?

July 16, 2020 by Colin Gautrey

To my way of thinking, the ultimate boss-subordinate relationship is experienced as a mutually beneficial collaboration or partnership that also respects the hierarchical status. This means you are both working together, sharing, problem-solving and doing your level best to help each other because you both know at a deep level it is in your best interests.

How does your boss relationship measure up to that ideal?

If my recent coaching experience is anything to go by, at best only 2/3rds of people have this quality. Had I probed, my guess would be less than 10%.

If you’re in that 10%, look after that relationship like a most precious asset, because right now, given what is going on in the world, a great deal of disruption is heading in your direction. Having a strong relationship with the boss is going to serve you well. Read More

You Personal Power Profile

July 7, 2020 by Colin Gautrey

This tool, developed over 10 years ago has proved to be extremely useful in helping clients to understand how power and influence works around them. Within a few minutes, just by selecting a few words, you'll have a clear view of where you think you get your personal power from. This is matched against the Seven Sources of Power, explored in detail within Influential Leadership: A Leader's Guide to Getting Things Done. One of the great things about this tool, is that you can also complete it based on your view of specific stakeholders, or even, what influences a particular group. Read More

FP: How to Future-Proof Your Career and Your LIfe

July 3, 2020 by Colin Gautrey

Welcome to the temporary resource centre to help you get your head around what needs to happen in order for you to Future-Proof your career and your life. In the era we are about to enter, the old rules are being trashed, and new ones emerging. What we used to be able to rely upon, in many cases has vanished, or is now seriously at risk. Thus, the need to re-evaluate your relationship with all that surrounds you now, and will do so tomorrow, is urgent. On 30th June, I hosted two Zoom MasterMind events with senior-level managers and executives, during which I shared my latest thinking on this topic, and engaged with these interested parties. What follows are the most useful extracts from the proceedings, together with a series of exercises that you can use to make some serious progress on your big adjustment. NOTE: These resources can only be purchased until the close of play on 15th July 2020, after which we will move on. Once purchased you will have ongoing access for at least a year. Read More

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