If you break down human behavior in a very simple way, you get a sequence of emotions and thoughts that are mutually dependent:
If you think about lying on a sun lounger on the beach with your eyes closed for long enough, sooner or later you will start to grin and generate feelings of happiness.
Conversely, anyone who is angry for no apparent reason will automatically have a tendency to develop angry thoughts – we all know this too.
Then our value system comes into play, which is partly genetically determined, partly acquired or formed through conscious reflection, and finally we say or do certain things.
Values of a person in maturity and immaturity
Mental strength: caught between stimulus and response
As already mentioned above, mental strength means not differentiating between stimulus (emotions/thoughts) and reaction (statements/actions) with a clearly developed value system, but getting in between in order to be able to act maturely.
This requires a consciously lived value system. It is therefore crucial not to react to an emotional trigger such as a feeling of fear, guilt or shame with an unreflective reflex (stimulus/reaction), but rather a reflective reaction (stimulus/reaction/action).
For example, a feeling of shame caused by the criticism “I think you slept through informing the sales department in good time that …” should not be responded to with a justification. Rather, the response should be well thought out and reflect the values of openness and honesty. The only appropriate response to this criticism is therefore: “You’re right, I made a mistake!” Even if you are not the main cause of the problem!
Performance cultures are forged with hero teams of seven people
This is the high school of performance culture: managing to internalize a few core values with a few “heroes” in order to have the mental strength to actually live these values and not just have them written down somewhere.
And since this is not easy, you need comrades-in-arms who, in case of doubt, will help you critically – in the spirit of the cause. One or more hero squads of up to a maximum of seven people are initially needed to consciously educate each other as a team in relation to these values! And seven, because anything more than that is just a group of people who may be logically committed to something, but who are never really committed.
Team spirit – which is essential for a performance culture – is only possible with a maximum of seven participants.
In terms of our social skills, we humans can be connected with a maximum of six people in a network and work together towards a common goal, i.e. function as a team.
All special units in the world know this: the Navy SEALs have teams of seven, the British SAS even only teams of four.
Kolbusa’s implementation code: five values
The implementation code, which must be adhered to if you want to establish a performance culture and thus pronounced implementation strength, consists of five values and two very practical phenomena that must be avoided or established:
Establishment of the implementation code in five steps
Four things are necessary to establish the implementation code:
1. internalization: Definitions – as strange as it may sound – must be learned by heart. Anyone who does not know exactly what he or she means by trust, openness, etc. has no chance of differentiating between stimulus and response and acting appropriately with a clear understanding of this value as a guiding principle – especially under pressure. So: create and distribute hand cards. Everyone involved should have them in their pockets.
2. little and one thing at a time: Under no circumstances should you tackle the above ten phenomena (two per value) at the same time! Limit yourself to a maximum of two phenomena at the same time. Experience has shown that reliability is the best place to start, as it can be developed quickly and in a targeted manner on the one hand, and on the other hand represents the least discomfort with the greatest effect. Then it’s time for courage and openness, followed by speed and trust.
3. teams of seven: If you want to establish the implementation code, you need support! This can only be provided by a good team with the necessary hints if you do not stick to agreements, with mutual exchange and motivation to stay on the ball, and with a joint reward when you have reached a certain level, and so on. As described elsewhere, you have to trust each other (see above for what that means!) and educate each other. Due to the social complexity and demands of such a process, this is only possible in groups of a maximum of seven people. You should therefore form teams of no more than seven people each or let them come together themselves. The same applies here: few and one at a time! Perhaps you should start with top management, because: When managers talk about change, they usually mean the others.
4 Don’t just talk, do it: Communication is massively overrated in change processes. This also applies to the establishment of implementation performance. It is not uncommon for too much communication to do more harm than good because it raises expectations that are then not met. People find it exciting to hear about such things, but ultimately they are only really interested in what they experience.
Therefore: discuss changes in a small team (see point 3), start living and wait.
The best feedback that can come from colleagues or employees relates to one of the five values of the implementation code, for example:
“Gosh, what’s wrong with them? They’re much more open!”
Progress
