The Middleton Interview.
What did you learn about mental toughness from the GFC?
The GFC presented a challenge for many employers. Businesses had to change their shape, reduce team size, change focus, get back to bare bones and run a fairly lean ship. There was a lot for people to deal with…
We expected people to take a hit in self belief, and we thought confidence would be shot, but what we actually found was it wasn’t so much people’s confidence that was gone, in fact people still believed in themselves, but it was more their motivation and engagement levels. They lacked belief in their leaders’ ability to motivate them…
Are pessimism and optimism built into a person?
Can these mindsets be developed or changed?
We’re certainly not born with optimism or pessimism. These are patterns of thinking that are learned over time. Whether you’re an optimist is not something that’s hardwired, and it can be developed. As a psychologist myself, I’ve had a lot of experience with individuals who’ve had breakthrough moments – it’s almost like an enlightened moment for them – when they realise they don’t have to be pessimists, that there are different ways of thinking.
How does rogenSi’s Mindset offering work?
Mindset is a confidential assessment where people can provide accurate indications of what they feel about themselves and their pattern of thinking, so they can understand it, and look to strengthen it. It’s essentially a training and development tool.
Rather than getting HR people to understand something like resilience and trying to replicate resilience in their business, we actually do it the other way round. We go into the organisation and try to understand what mindset they need to be successful.
For example, you might have two companies that have merged together so the mindset that is needed is a one team mentality where everyone is aligned to one brand as opposed to two brands competing with each other. So for that organisation, everyone needs their hearts and minds connected on a one team, one vision, one purpose strategy.
From Tough Enough? An interview by HR magazine Human Capital.
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