Requirement : John worked in an organisation that was changing from a bureaucratic to an entrepreneurial culture. He was a dynamic, innovative, action-oriented and straight-talking person who liked to get things done. But he was easily irritated with colleagues, which damaged working relationships. He wanted more self-control and better relationships with colleagues, so that people would want to work for him. He also had concerns about whether he could change in middle life.
Solution : Through mentoring we focused on building John’s self-awareness, helping him to understand how habits were formed, and how to change them. We talked through examples of difficult interactions and looked for patterns. John learned how he could intervene in these patterns to bring about change.
John realised that his behaviour had a pay-off in that it got him attention from senior colleagues. We looked at other ways to meet his needs, alleviate stress, and manage negative feelings.
Outcome : After mentoring John said he listened more and talked less. He made more effort to understand others. He also became more strategic, being clearer about his purpose before entering a situation, which enabled him to think more clearly.
He also found the change surprisingly easy to make. ‘I expected it to be more painful!’ he said.