Lesson 1:

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs.
When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbour. Before she says a word, Bob says, “I’ll give you £800 to drop that towel.” After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her £800 and leaves.
The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, “Who was that?” “It was Bob the next door neighbour,” she replies. “Great!” the husband says, “did he say anything
about the £800 he owes me?”

Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Lesson 2:

A priest offered a Nun a lift. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun said, “Father, remember Psalm 129?” The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, “Father, remember Psalm 129?” The priest apologised “Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.” Arriving at the convent, the nun went on her way.
On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, “Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.”

Moral of the story: If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity

Lesson 3:

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out.
The Genie says, “I’ll give each of you just one wish.”
“Me first! Me first!” says the admin clerk. “I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.” Pooff! She’s gone.
“Me next! Me next!” says the sales rep. “I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.” Pooff! He’s gone.
“OK, you’re up,” the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, “I want those two back in the office after lunch.”

Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say

Lesson 4

An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, “Can I also sit like you and do nothing?”
The eagle answered: “Sure, why not.” So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson 5

A turkey was chatting with a bull. “I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree,” sighed the turkey, “but I haven’t got the energy.”
“Well, why don’t you nibble on some of my droppings?” replied the bull.
They’re packed with nutrients.” The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.
The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.
Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree. He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.

Moral of the story: BullS*** might get you to the top, but it won’t keep you there

Lesson 6

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.
A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Moral of the story:

(1) Not everyone who sh!ts on you is your enemy

(2) Not everyone who gets you out of sh!t is your friend

(3) And when you’re in deep sh!t, it’s best to keep your mouth shut!

This ends the 3-minute management course.

According to the 2007 – 2008 Global Workforce Survey by Towers Perrin (now Towers Watson), just one-fifth of employees surveyed were truly engaged in their work. Given the scale of this research that polled over 90,000 employees in 18 countries, this survey is a scandalous indictment of today’s callous and indifferent corporate culture. A report in the Gallup Management Journal found that 55% of workers were not engaged and 16% are actively disengaged meaning that businesses are operating at one third of their capacity. Further research by the Chartered Management Institute and HR Consultancy Penna, identifies that almost half of managers surveyed believe their own line managers are ineffective. In low performing companies only 39% of managers defined their manager as effective in contrast to high performing companies where 80% of managers reported effective line managers.

Many leaders and managers fail to grasp the vital link between engagement and financial success, a fact verified by the Towers Watson Study as well as the important work of Professor Raj Sisodia of Bentley College. Gary Hemel, author of ‘What Happens Now: How To Win In A World of Relentless Change’ claims that the roots for a lack of employee engagement find themselves attached to one of 3 main causes:

1. Ignorance – leaders and managers lack the emotional intelligence that can help them to identify that employees are emotionally tuned out at work.
2. Indifference – leaders and managers are totally focused on the task and the numbers that they just don’t care about the morale and welfare of the workforce. ‘Results at any Cost’ becomes the guiding principle where people are sacrificed for cost-cutting and efficiency improvements.
3. Impotence – leaders and managers recognise disengagement yet feel powerless to deal with it. Corporate communication strategies try to get through their workers resistance yet fail to make an impact like arrows bouncing off a brick wall.

When an individual is engaged they experience a state of flow, or a feeling that they are ‘in the zone’ – in this calm, centred state they become productive, efficient and creative, they are ideally placed to optimise their performance and crave development and personal growth. I refer to this state of optimum flow as ‘Charisma’ and my own studies reveal that everyone can develop their own charismatic potential. To access your own charisma requires a balance between 5 main attributes;

1. Good self-esteem that builds confidence and authenticity
2. Strong driving force that unleashes dynamism and enthusiasm
3. High levels of sensory awareness with mature emotional intelligence
4. Compelling vision that evokes a strong emotional reaction
5. Balanced energy between transmitting and receiving information

If an individual is accessing their charismatic or optimum state they become open to engagement as long as 3 conditions are satisfied:
1. They have the opportunity to learn, develop and advance
2. The company’s commitment to making a difference in the world
3. The behaviours and values of the organisation’s leaders are they are trusted and authentic so that workers want to follow them
If people don’t feel passionately about their work, if they don’t feel valued or safe, if they don’t feel recognised and important then their invisible wall of protection will be erected around them, immediately hamstringing their chances of feeling engaged.

This invisible wall can be perceived by managers as resistance to change – it’s not; it’s simply ‘fear’ in disguise. The easiest and most comfortable way to dissolve this wall of resistance is by:

1. Ensuring staff feel valued and worthy
2. Helping workers see a clear vision of themselves within their organisation
3. Connecting their vision to the purpose of their job role to fuel their motivation
4. Ensuring they possess high levels of Emotional Intelligence building empathy towards self and others
5. Creating a positive environment that fosters ‘you have to dare to lose to win’ that builds energy, reduces stress and promotes well-being

When Dorothy Gale found herself swept away from her Kansas farm home she found herself in the ever- changing landscape of Oz. Only when she achieved these same aforementioned actions did she manifest herself back at home, a place that she loved. Her companions along the way sought a brain, a heart and courage. They discovered they already possessed them – they had just allowed fear to create their own walls of resistance. Dorothy’s approach is a great example of the power of engagement.

After experiencing our first ever Audience with Charisma in Brighton last week, I felt a deep connection for the people who bravely dared to face their demons in search of the quest for inner calm. Already on a high, I nearly took off when I read a beautiful and moving account of Rosie Steven’s experience of An Audience with Charisma. I’m delighted to share it with you all:

I count myself as having been incredibly fortunate to be able to take up an opportunity to be part of one of Nikki Owen’s “Audience with Charisma” events – at The Globe Theatre, no less, overlooking the Thames.

From the outset, I knew this was going to be something very special; the warmth with which we were greeted, the atmosphere and design of the room we were in and the electric, compelling and dramatic introduction given by Nikki within the first minutes of the workshop riveted all of us instantly and told us of great things yet to come…..

I had known that I just had to go. Why?

Nowadays, I’m an independent Organisation Development Consultant, but I’m also an NLP Master Practitioner, Certified Hypnotherapist and EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Practitioner, so I’ve not only got a foot in “both camps” as it were – the corporate and the more therapeutic/ psychology-based worlds and approaches, but I also spent many years in the corporate world myself, in a range of varied senior management roles.

Over what, looking back, is quite a number of years, I grew to believe, understand and see the hard tangible evidence (partly through having some inspirational managers and leaders myself), that exceptional organisational performance and great customer service can only be delivered by people who themselves are inspired, well led and empowered; whose potential is developed and, most importantly, who can be themselves enough of the time in the workplace to allow them to be creative, determined, to find their own solutions, to deliver great performance and tangible outputs.

I’ve had what most people would consider being some pretty “hard” operational roles, where delivery, performance and customer service were paramount. And I was lucky enough early on in my career to be managed by someone who showed me that “superb-ness” “excellence” and “brilliance” in those areas can only be sustained where people at work are happy, motivated – and the very best of themselves.

I’m currently looking to start a piece of research around all of this, but for the moment it’s enough to say that I’ve seen, heard – and personally experienced -enough evidence to support the proposition that people have to get back to being themselves all, or the vast majority of the time, in order to make those sustained differences in outputs and performance that the corporate world demands. You only have to look at the world’s most successful organisations to see that, underlying their no doubt brilliant- and very robust- strategies, systems and processes, there is a fundamental belief in their people, a respect for them and their values, a nurturing of good relationships, meaningful and open conversations, an understanding of the things that make us all tick.

More and more the talk is of “authenticity” “authentic leadership” , “charisma” and “charismatic leaders”– and yet it’s very easy for people in many organisations to feel that they can’t contribute their best, to feel “not good enough” in some way, to feel pressured, stressed and unhappy. People sometimes say things like “I don’t know who I am any more”, or they just simply don’t feel like themselves and don’t understand why. Not good for the organisation- because at the end of the day, we have to have people’s goodwill and passion to be able to improve, innovate and deliver.

So when I read that:

“An Audience with Charisma is guaranteed to increase presence, personal impact, charisma and gravitas to increase influence and engagement. The techniques used are at the frontiers of learning and development – blended from Noetic Science, Quantum Physics, Epigenetics, Control Dramas, Reiki, Kinesiology as well as NLP, Transactional Analysis and Matrix Re-imprinting”

I was both curious and compelled to find out more. It ticked all my boxes! With my organisational head on, I was keen to learn new ways in which to liberate people’s talent and potential and to do what it said on the tin – to help organisations increase influence and engagement. With my research and “let’s prove it, what’s the evidence” head on, I wanted to know just that! And with my therapist head on, I was curious to explore how I personally could combine more of these things to help those I worked with on a one to one basis, both in private practice and with individuals in organisations.

I wasn’t disappointed.

Early on, we learned that hard evidence and a lot of research over a considerable period of time shows that charismatic people are:
• More successful
• Enjoy faster career progression
• Happier and feel more in balance
• Healthier, physically and emotionally
• Enjoy better quality relationships

There was plenty of everything for everybody. We begun, in various ways, by unpicking, getting specific about and understanding just what is charisma. We were shown some amazing hard, scientific evidence and experiments that proved the hitherto hard- to believe.

Like the apple experiment! I won’t spoil it for people by saying any more but it’s pretty mind-blowing.

We used a range of useful techniques and exercises to work with each other and together as a group, on a whole range of what we would badge as development activities in the OD world. But this was different.

Nikki and her team were exceptional. Their knowledge, experience, facilitation, support and care was superb.

People achieved levels of understanding of themselves, others and the world around them, that took them beyond the things they had understood before. We all facilitated each other’s development and learnings, we got some “practitioner” type practice as well and frameworks and tools to take back to the workplace and we all got – and felt inspired, passionate and determined. We got ourselves and our charisma back! And if we hadn’t lost it, we got more of it.

People looked different. We felt different. We took away remarkable tools and memories that, even if forgotten in one of those times that we can all go through of being bogged down, of not feeling like ourselves, are there nudging us to stop prevaricating, use the stuff we have been given and sort it out, sooner rather than later.

I’ll never forget it. Even writing this has prompted me to decide that I need to spend some time on me, right now, this week. I’m going to go back to all we did, to the things I determined to do, to review where I am against my goals, to see what I’m letting get in the way, or not doing enough of, to see what difference I have felt and made.

And to do something about whatever I discover.

Having landed the title of The UK’s Leading Expert in Charisma, back in 2010, people often expect me to be this big, ‘larger than life’ personality who can move and schmooze like a tornado. In reality, I am quietly confident, intuitive and simply have a passion for people.

Margaret Thatcher and Princess Diana were completely different characters yet both women possessed huge charisma. They have both left their mark in history. These contrasting women serve to illustrate why defining charisma is so difficult. And if it is so difficult to define it, how can you begin to replicate it in yourself or others?

The UK’s first female Prime Minister, baker’s daughter Margaret Thatcher reshaped almost every aspect of British politics. Her ‘Iron Lady’ nickname was acquired due to her forthright and assertive manner. Strong willed and armed with a superhuman abundance of energy, she relentlessly pursued national recovery, courting controversy, dismay and delight from every continent.

One of her most impressive interviews, from a dynamic and charismatic perspective, was on BBC Panorama with the late Sir Robin Day. Her direct eye contact and her commanding voice tonality were heightened by her passion and conviction when she responded to Day’s question about whether she believed ‘Thatcherism’ had divided the country. Talking for around three minutes (a long time for television), Margaret Thatcher used this question to deliver a party political broadcast. She appeared to be surrounded by an electro-magnetic force field that even Sir Robin Day could not dilute.

In stark contrast, the late Princess Diana’s charisma, charm and vulnerability touched people worldwide and earned her the nickname ‘The People’s Princess’. Her warmth, vibrancy and compassion comforted many who were sick or dying. She passionately pursued charitable causes that were close to her heart, most especially to the elimination of AIDS and landmines.

Both of these charismatic women highlight that charisma is a powerful presence that enables the individual who possesses it to exert high levels of impact and influence. Ultimately, this leverages the odds of you achieving your desired outcome and accelerates career progression and achievement. You know when you have it, because people notice you; they pay attention to what you say, and gravitate towards you. Charismatic people find it easy to attract and influence others, a vital component in determining your level of success in your career. Charisma is that special quality that can set you apart from your peers, enabling you to create a strong personal impact with your verbal and non-verbal communication.

Everyone has the potential to become charismatic, because it is a natural state that some individuals are able to access more frequently than others. When a person is feeling comfortable, confident and passionate about what they are doing, they begin to radiate an aura of energy that captivates the attention of people around them. Once you have tapped into your own charisma resource you activate its potential to grow and expand.

There is another exciting spin-off to possessing charisma: you’ll notice that with the expansion of your personal presence you’ll start to access your charismatic potential with greater ease. Charisma breeds charisma. This has a foundation of scientific proof from many physicist sources, including Schwartz’s creative experiments, Ghosh’s research and Zeilinger’s astonishing discoveries. They found that the energy of thought has the same effect as the energy of movement outside the thinker’s own body. Thoughts can become physical manifestations or, to put it another way, thoughts become things. If we feel confident and charismatic or if we act as if we are highly charismatic, the intention of these thoughts will manifest more feelings of confidence and charisma.

Business owners often recognise the value of networking especially given that 83% of people do business with people they like and trust. Yet the challenge for high impact and effective networking is to ensure that you stand out from the crowd. The quickest way to do this is to release your natural flow of charisma so people are naturally compelled towards you.

Having devoted over two decades to studying charisma I appreciate that there are many misconceptions about what it is and what it isn’t. Charisma naturally flows within all of us when we are being absolutely ourselves and love what we are doing. You don’t need to be a confident extrovert with a big personality to be charismatic. Charisma is an authentic power that captivates the hearts and minds of others. Here are my top tips for charismatic networking:

1. Operate in the NOW. When I observe people during networking events there are those that strut their stuff with an air of confidence yet during conversations you don’t feel they are really interested in you. It’s as if they are waiting for you to finish so they can either jump right in and impress the hell out of you or ditch you for the next potential catch. According to Nancy Kline, author of The Thinking Organisation “the quality of our listening, determines how intelligently the person responds to you’. Charismatic people are able to connect deeply with others in just a few seconds and are genuinely interested in what the other person is saying.

TOP TIP: Imagine that everyone in the room has an interesting insight for you to learn. When you look at them really see them and focus your concentration on them.
2. Speak from your heart. The world of business has drummed into us that we need to assert ourselves, think logically and trust only the facts and the evidence presented to us. The ability to inspire and ignite interest requires high levels of energy. People who are in touch with their emotions generate a strong electro-magnetic force field around them that is unconsciously ‘felt’ by others. People who disassociate from their emotions also disconnect interest. There is a wonderful piece of prose called The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer that starts with the line; ‘It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing’

TOP TIP: Speak from your heart, be real and recognise that you and the other person are both wonderfully unique people with an abundance of wisdom. Tap into their wisdom by saying what you really feel rather than engaging in superficial chit-chat.
3. Generate balanced energy for communication flow. At the tiniest, subatomic level, in the Quantum Field we are all pulsating atoms of energy, constantly interacting with the energy fields of those around us. In 1997, Cranfield University produced a thought-provoking report proving the impact of energy on performance and contribution. People with low energy are tired, depressed, stressed, angry or ill. In contrast, people with high energy levels are positive, creative, confident, healthy and in-balance. People with high energy are more attractive than people with low energy. Energy is addictive. We naturally crave it to make us feel better and unconsciously seek to steal it from others in 4 main ways:
1. Intimidation – people like to hold the balance of power because the hold the balance of energy.
2. Interrogation – when people fire many questions it is a form of energetic attack that will drain the energy of the person they are speaking with.
3. Aloof – when people disassociate they erect an invisible wall around themselves that stops the flow of their energy towards others. 4. Poor Me – being a victim will often trigger the concern of others causing energy to flow one-way towards the victim.

TOP TIP: Balance your conversation so that your energies flow between you and the other person. If you start to feel drained, take control of the conversation until your energy builds again. If the person you are talking to looks drained, encourage them to talk.

People never cease to amaze me. When we feel safe and secure we allow our protective barriers to fall away and open up to the experience in front of us. People who can create this feeling of safety in others are utilising their natural charisma, a state where everything becomes effortless and others are irresistibly drawn towards. Charisma is like a transcendental power that resides within us all. We don’t need to learn any fancy postures or gestures we simply need to re-connect with the essence of our true self. In a moment we can suddenly light up like a Christmas Tree!

1. Commit to running The Big Apple Experiment within your company. This provides you with a unique and memorable way to highlight the importance of your employee’s attitude. People are often stunned that they have affected the rate of decay of an apple and this then opens their mind to the importance of being positive. For more information about doing your own experiment visit The Big Apple Experiment on Facebook.

2. Recognise that your emotional state at the beginning of the day will affect everyone you come into contact with, even those people you speak to by phone. The best way to optimise your energy and emotional outlook is to take up meditation. Meditation, which is an ancient practice and part of Eastern spiritual philosophy, involves sitting, usually in silence, and focusing on one thing, such as your breathing. According to Mark Williams, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford, brain scans have proved that meditation breaks the loop of feelings that trigger self-defeating thoughts and depression. A positive self-image energises you and others. A negative self-image drains you and others.

3. Operate in the NOW and be really ‘present’ with people. According to Nancy Kline, author of The Thinking Organisation “the quality of our listening, determines how intelligently the person responds to you’. Charismatic people are able to connect deeply with others in just a few seconds and are genuinely interested in what the other person is saying. Imagine that everyone you meet has an interesting insight for you to learn. When you look at them really see them and focus your concentration on them.

4. Speak from your heart. The world of business has drummed into us that we need to assert ourselves, think logically and trust only the facts and the evidence presented to us. The ability to inspire and ignite interest requires high levels of energy. People who are in touch with their emotions generate a strong electro-magnetic force field around them that is unconsciously ‘felt’ by others. People who disassociate from their emotions also disconnect interest. When you listen to your Emotional Guidance System and speak from your heart you become authentic and real.

5. Generate balanced energy for communication flow. At the tiniest, subatomic level, in the Quantum Field we are all pulsating atoms of energy, constantly interacting with the energy fields of those around us. In 1997, Cranfield University produced a thought-provoking report proving the impact of energy on performance and contribution. People with low energy are tired, depressed, stressed, angry or ill. In contrast, people with high energy levels are positive, creative, confident, healthy and in-balance. People with high energy are more attractive than people with low energy. Energy is addictive. We naturally crave it to make us feel better and unconsciously seek to steal it from others in 4 main ways:

• Intimidation – people like to hold the balance of power because the hold the balance of energy.
• Interrogation – when people fire many questions it is a form of energetic attack that will drain the energy of the person they are speaking with.
• Aloof – when people disassociate they erect an invisible wall around themselves that stops the flow of their energy towards others.
• Poor Me – being a victim will often trigger the concern of others causing energy to flow one-way towards the victim.

Balance your conversation so that your energies flow between you and the other person. If you start to feel drained, take control of the conversation until your energy builds again.

6. Identify the influences within your own business that are likely to create resistance in your workforce. For example:

• Have you recently downsized, cut operating costs and/or out-sourced services?
• Have you introduced and implemented significant changes in the last 12 months?
• Have sales revenues dropped recently?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above questions then it is likely your employees are feeling scared and insecure. As a Charismatic Leader your role is to create a working environment where people feel safe. This reduces their resistance and enables them to optimise their performance.

7. Identify 3 issues you are experiencing within your business right now. For each one ask yourself the following questions:
• If this issue was a metaphor, what would it represent?
• How does this metaphor relate to me personally?
• What other areas or occasions in my life have I experienced this metaphor?
• What’s the emotional reaction this metaphor creates within me?
• What’s really the issue here?

Charismatic Leaders accept 100% responsibility for everything that happens in their life. Because we cannot consciously know reality (2 million bits of information every second) the only reality that is true to us is the one we create inside our own heads. If you change your inner reality this naturally changes your external reality. This way of looking at things can be summarised as Perception is Projection. What you perceive you will project onto others.

This week I delivered a half-day session on Charismatic Leadership to The Ella Foundation, established by Brian Chernett, created to inspire more leaders in the not for profit sector to be more effective and successful. Nearly 30 leaders from different registered charities participated in a way that was subtly different to leaders within the corporate sector. These men and women showed a real passionate intensity for their cause that was truly inspiring. Their minds were open and receptive to my techniques meaning that the exercises we did regarding energy were really advanced because their attitude to learning was untainted by cynicism.

Having met Craig Goldblatt, Motivational Speaker, this week, he refers to ‘the need to find our passions and relight our beliefs. That’s why leaders working in the not for profit sector are different. Their driving force and passion for their charity is evident and contagious. Without this, a person delivers a lacklustre performance and the contamination by apathy and negativity starts to spread.

When individuals possess high levels of positive attitude, their resistance to change and personal growth reduces. Equally, when an individual’s positive attitude reduces, this will expand and strengthen their protective wall of resistance towards growth and change.

Within an organisational context, especially in today’s tough economy, employees are being asked to deliver more with fewer resources. Layer this requirement with the threat of redundancy and immediately individuals feel their survival and security is threatened. An aura of fear invades their performance and employees will start to show signs of stress, lethargy and anger. It doesn’t matter what the organisation tries to do to remedy this because the usual corporate influences (new processes, culture, training & development, communication tools) will act like arrows bouncing off a brick wall. According to Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, “what we resist persists”. Fear will have a huge impact on an individual’s self esteem, hamstringing confidence and causing a reluctance to express what they are truly feeling. If an individual can’t see a future for himself or herself they cannot feel motivated.

Organisations know instinctively that workforce engagement is vital for growth and sustainable success and may recognise that they need to tackle attitudes rather than behaviours. That’s why there has been a growing trend for Emotional Intelligence training where individuals are taught the ability to identify, assess and control the emotions of oneself, of others and of groups. Yet the challenge of wanting individuals to become more connected with their emotions is thwarted by the barriers they have erected to protect themselves whilst working in a climate of uncertainty and fear.

Rather than ‘pretend’ organisations can find huge value from recognising that an individual’s attitude can be impacted by working with their internal influences. When people have a positive sense of their self-worth, a clear sight of their future within the organisation they dissolve the barriers to emotional connectedness and inner motivation. This naturally boosts their energy, fuelling levels of positive attitude that naturally reduces resistance to change and growth. This process of internal awareness is the state of charisma, a state when an individual’s true essence can be expressed without fear and their performance and contribution to the organisation expands.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Hungarian Pschology Professor claimed “repression is not the way to virtue”. He introduced the concept of ‘Flow’ – a mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energised focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. Sports psychologists refer to the concept of Flow as ‘being in The Zone’. Organisations refer to this as ‘engagement’. Having devoted over 30 years of my own life to this state, I refer to it as ‘Charisma’ – when an individual is being themselves and they are loving what they do, they shine.

Over the centuries we have become addicted to growth through struggle. Pain is often perceived as a necessary stimulus to growth where individuals adopt the  Friedrich Nietzsche view “what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” Adversity is worn like a badge of honour because people often call on their inner resources to strengthen their resolve. Resilience is now viewed as an essential component for corporate success. Yet individuals are still resistant to change within a corporate context because they feel in touch with fear. According to Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs first introduced in 1943 our basic needs are for survival closely followed by safety and security.

Organisations going through change initiatives often unwittingly perpetuate a climate of fear and uncertainty. Where jobs may be at risk and more demands and pressures are being placed on performance and productivity this can create a choking effect on their performance. Professor Willi Railo, University of Oslow who worked closely with Sven-Goran Eriksson, Manager of England Football team in 2002 states that fear of failure is a crippling form of anxiety, a negative burden of expectation where people become inhibited, take fewer risks and consequently underachieve.

Consequently, in today’s tough economic environment where organisations and the workforce are being tasked to achieve more with less resources becomes unrealistic whilst the workforce feel in fear of the jobs and worried about the future. Despite competent and robust external influences such as the training and development of people, relationships, organisational culture, processes, leadership teams, job roles and responsibilities it is still difficult to penetrate through an individual’s resistance to growth.

Breaking through this barrier to change and resistance to growth can only be achieved by working with an individual’s own internal influences. To put it in a nutshell, the more positive an individual’s attitude, the thinner the layer of their resistance. A negative attitude automatically strengthens the resistance so it becomes an impenetrable wall of protection.

The biggest impact on attitude is based on 5 key areas that coincidentally are the same attributes that determine an individual’s level of charisma:

1. Self-Esteem – the extent to which we see ourselves as a valued, important and respected member of the workforce. The benefits to an organisation of having individuals with high self esteem is confidence, authenticity and mutual trust and respect.
2. Vision – the extent to which we see our future and can align that future to the corporate vision. The benefits to an organisation is that individuals feel inspired and compelled towards their organisational goals.
3. Sensory Awareness – the extent to which we can communicate with our hearts so we feel an emotional connection with the organisation. The benefits to an organisation is that individuals build stronger, loyal and long- term relationships with peers, internal and external customers.
4. Driving Force – the extent to which our work holds personal meaning so we feel enthusiastic and dynamic in pursuing our personal and corporate vision. The benefits to an organisation is that individuals feel highly motivated and possess greater resilience to setbacks.
5. Energy – the culmination of the first four internal influences will affect the intensity, quality and balance of an individual’s energy. The benefits of having a high energy workforce include high performance, improved productivity, higher engagement, reduced stress and absenteeism.

People with a high positive attitude are people with high levels of balanced energy. People with a negative attitude often feel drained, depressed and apathetic leading to illness.

In 1997 Cranfield Business School authored a white paper – Assessing Energy within Organisations that explored the role that energy of employees is recognised as an important factor in their performance and in maximising their overall contribution to the organisation. Yet 15 years later, organisations have failed to grasp and harness the concept of energy on powering their employees productivity.

Every individual has the potential to develop more charisma, a state that optimises their flow of energy, boosting their wellbeing and enhancing their performance. When people feel in harmony with themselves they exude high levels of energy that impacts on those around them.

Organisations who look at the workforce’s internal influences will be rewarded by high levels of engagement, people working with their heart and soul and double-digit growth that can be sustained year on year.

Yet the old rigid dogma in organisational thought leadership will continue to perceive energy, charisma and workforce harmony as spiritual mumbo jumbo until someone can present irrefutable proof that workforce attitudes can be changed in an instant.

During my winter travels I’m often confronted with a variety of misconceptions about charisma; what it is and how does it transform the performance of an organisation.

People hold a stereotypical image in their mind that charismatic individuals are maverick extroverts with big personalities. This contradicts my own theory based on 30 years of research that charisma will only flow when the individual is being authentic and is working with a sense of personal purpose.

These misconceptions spread into an organisational context where leaders feel wary about possessing ‘more charisma’ because it is often perceived as a ‘La La’ skill that could place their business at greater levels of risk. Robert Maxwell, Fred Goodwin and Rupert Murdoch play out these stereotypes creating a negative attitude towards the whole concept of charisma and the value of charismatic leadership.

Yet organisations with challenging performance and productivity targets can find almost instantaneous benefits by developing the charismatic potential of their workforce. The quality of an engine fuel will directly impact on a vehicle’s performance. What we eat will affect our emotions, energy and health. In the same way, when an individual is operating from their authentic self and feels passionately about their work, they stimulate a flow of energy, thereby triggering the utilisation of their charismatic potential.

This unseen ‘power’ can be hugely beneficial to customer service representatives who find it easier to connect with their customers, even over the phone. One major pitfall of a customer service training programme is that individuals often pay lip service to what is required of them and can end up delivering a customer service process as automated robots, going through a script. Customers sense the difference between service delivered from the heart and superficial platitudes delivered from the head. Charisma ignites the customer service process so that customer interventions become unique and special creating a significant difference in customer attitudes towards that organisation.

Additionally, employees who are delivering service from their hearts are more engaged, more committed and more motivated than their ‘going through the motions’ peers. These charismatic individuals trigger a natural process of transmitting their positive energy so that the culture of a department can evolve organically from the mindset and charisma of just one or two individuals. In Quantum Physics this phenomenon is called entrainment – where particles and waves natural synchronise together.

In 2004, in conjunction with Vic Conant, President of Nightingale Conant we embarked upon the world’s biggest piece of sales research ever undertaken. 2663 organisations shared their views on barriers to sustainable sales success and the special ingredient that sets the top twenty percent of sales superstars apart from other sales people. Findings showed that charisma is the difference that makes a huge difference to successful sales people. Since that time I have been able to replicate charisma in any individual by working from the ‘inside out’ so the individual’s authenticity is upheld with integrity.

Early studies conducted since 2008 indicate that teaching people to activate more of their charismatic potential can benefit not just customer service and sales teams, it can benefit project managers, leaders, Heads of Departments and talent.
As many of today’s businesses are feeling ‘forced’ to make cutbacks, go back to basics and keep things operationally ‘tight’ it creates an unconscious chain of fear, pessimism and anxiety within customers who are craving their feel good fix. There is no such thing as ‘business as usual’ because the usual methods will leave organisations floundering under the weight of a tough global economy.

Charisma is a sustainable feel good fix that leads to high levels of productivity, high workforce engagement and customers who become raving fans of that organisation.

A few years ago Emotional Intelligence and Insights Personality Profiling were considered a soft and abstract ‘nice to have’ – today successful organisations have embraced the power of these tools, realising that workforce and customer engagement requires a ‘from the heart’ approach. One day in the short-term future, organisations will accept that this elusive thing we call ‘charisma’ is in reality an accelerated route to sustainable business success. As a pioneer of charisma within an organisational context I will continue to develop further case studies to prove conclusively that charisma directy impacts the bottom line.

Whilst the rain batters my office window with a relentless rhythm, I notice a flock of Canada Geese on the river prepare for their long journey homewards. Their V-shaped formation conserves energy and enables them to keep track of every bird in the group. Synergy and engagement combined with an instinctual sense of teamwork and common purpose. A perfect charismatic example to conclude this week’s blog!

During my sessions for The Academy for Chief Executives, I often see overwhelming numbers of Leaders who complain of anxiety attacks, waking up at 3am full of dread about the future and unbridled rage that they feel out of control.
Interestingly, it is impossible to feel stressed when you are fully accessing your charismatic potential.

When you are being you and you are loving what you do you shine. Charisma is naturally released from our hearts when we feel confident in who we are. Charisma flows when our work has personal meaning so we naturally activate high levels of dynamism and passion. Charisma requires acute sensory awareness whereby you trust your emotional guidance system and listen to your instincts. Charismatic individuals exude high levels of energy and have a compelling vision that stirs their senses so they appear more ‘alive’ that other people.

Often when people are stressed they create a wall of protection, a mask they can retreat behind, aspects of their personality become exaggerated and extreme – the real authentic person disappears and we meet the shell or superficial layer of a person and it naturally unsettles us. Trying to keep up this facade is exhausting. Imagine trying to hold a beach ball under water for hours, let alone days and months – the process of suppressing drains energy and positivity.
Working with peoples’ charisma at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre has enabled me to study the impact of charisma on stress levels and I can confidently claim that it does.
One of my mentors in 2007 – 2009, Les Greve, Energy Therapist, devotes over 60% of his time providing energetic interventions to people suffering from emotional issues that ignite their stress levels. Being a big fan of Les’s work, I’ve asked him to turn up my own energy levels this weekend so that I can become a Reiki Master. As I’ve grown older I’ve noticed the key role energy plays in every aspect of our lives. There is a saying: “Energy flows where our focus goes” – if your focusing on worry, debt, recessions, aches and pains then this is the quickest way to drain your energy and invite in stress.

My top tips for dealing with stress so you release more of your natural charisma:

1. Visit an Emotional Freedom Techniques Practitioner who can unblock your energy and clear your negative emotions.
2. Take up meditation – even for just 5 minutes a day because it will create a chemical change in your frontal lobe and boost your immune system
3. Cut out coffee – it is absolute poison and feeds your stress so it will grow
4. Visit a chiropractor who can let you know how you are manifesting stress in your body (tense, nervous headaches? grinding teeth in your sleep?)
5. Get your chakras balanced – chakras are now a widely accepted term in the scientific community – they are the ‘gateways’ where energy enters and exits the body. If one of your chakras is blocked or sluggish this will place great strain on your overall body.
6. Take up a hobby or pastime that makes you laugh – visit a Comedy Store or take up Laughter Yoga! Laughter boost the immune system and releases serotonin into your bloodstream.
7. Learn HeartMath breathing to help transform everyday challenges into healthier, more resilient and productive energy.
8.Drink more water. Studies have shown that being just half a litre dehydrated will increase cortisol levels.
9. Walk in nature because a series of studies published in the Journal of Environment Psychology, June 2010 conclude that a 20 minute walk significantly boosts energy and vitality.
10. Adopt an attitude of acceptance – stress occurs only when you are trying to swim against the flow. An unpleasant circumstance met with the ‘right attitude’ can be a positive factor in your life. Through acceptance you stop wasing emotional energy and start finding creative ways to make the situation better.
Have a calm, centred and balanced week!