Trig Ghosh PMP Functional Manager CGI Federal March 13 2012 Background Mental Blocks Symptoms State of mental impasse Unable to respond to a situation or need Unable to find the drive to complete a task ID: 411919
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The Psychology of Mental Blocks
Trig Ghosh, PMP
Functional Manager
CGI Federal
March 13, 2012Slide2
BackgroundSlide3
Mental Blocks
Symptoms:
State of mental impasse
Unable to respond to a situation or need
Unable to find the drive to complete a task
Impacts
Loss of individual productivity
Loss of team productivitySlide4
3 Quick case studies
3 levels of mental blocks
What do I do next?
I am just not good at Math
Get a life !!!!
Get a beer !
Get some practice !!
Gee ! I know the stuff, but I don’t know about the testSlide5
Causes of Mental Blocks
Intimidation
Lack of Knowledge
Confusion
Boredom/Distaste
Complexity or appearance thereof
Lack of Self-ConfidenceSlide6
Techniques of Overcoming Mental Blocks
The techniques for overcoming mental blocks fall into these categories:
Physical
Intellectual
EmotionalSlide7
Contents
Causes of Mental Blocks
Case Studies
Your Experiences – Do you relate?
Techniques to overcome
50 : 50Slide8
What’s in it for me ??
Will all of your mental blocks disappear?
NO !!
But they will be more fun !!!!
AWARENESSSlide9
Case Study 1
The pilot of a plane has a heart attack and is unable to fly the plane. A stewardess gets into the pilots seat in an attempt to land the plane.
Slide10
Imagine you are the Stewardess
How would you feel?
Level:
Physical ?
Intellectual?
Emotional?
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Case Study 2
A project manager is face-to-face with ten members of senior management including the CEO and the CFO, and has to explain why a multi-million dollar project failed. Slide12
Imagine you are the PM
How would you feel?
Level:
Physical ?
Intellectual?
Emotional?
Slide13
Case Study 3
A project lead completed writing performance reviews for eight of his reports. The next review is about an extremely poor performer. Though the PM has all the facts he needs to write the review, he finds it extremely difficult to work on the task.
Is this an example of a mental block?Slide14
Imagine you are the PM
How would you feel?
Level:
Physical ?
Intellectual?
Emotional?
Slide15
Team Exercise
Think of a situation where you had a mental block.
Which of the above reasons can you attribute it to?
How did you overcome it?Slide16
Overcoming Mental Blocks - Physical
Create changes in your physical and mental environment, by simple actions, in order to improve the clarity of thinking. Slide17
Overcoming Mental Blocks - Physical
Take the first step !
Relax
Brainstorm
Organize your thoughts
Set GoalsSlide18
Overcoming Mental Blocks - Intellectual
If you practice things that are new and difficult, the capacity of the brain to do those new things increases. In technical terms, neural networks re-organize themselves, and newer networks develop to support the newer ways in which the brain is used. Slide19
Intellectual – Rewire your BrainSlide20
Overcoming Mental Blocks - Intellectual
Transform information into knowledge
Lateral and vertical thinking
Welcome changeSlide21
Vertical and Lateral Thinking
Edward de Bono popularized lateral thinking – an unorthodox way of arriving at solutions to seemingly intractable problems in ways you would not logically think about. Lateral thinking encourages looking at problems from different perspectives you would typically not think of pursuing.
While lateral thinking focuses on generating a wide variety of ideas, vertical thinking focuses on the depth of thinking and analysis on a selective set of ideas. The selected set of ideas is analyzed, accurate conclusions are made and further analyzed to arrive at the solution. Slide22
Words of Wisdom
“You cannot look in a new direction by looking harder in the same direction” – Edward de Bono
“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change” – Charles Darwin Slide23
Lateral Thinking Exercises
If you have two coins totaling 11p, and one of the coins is not a penny, what are the two coins?
If you were alone in a deserted house at night, and there was an oil lamp, a candle and firewood and you only have one match, which would you light first?
What can you put in a wooden box that would make it lighter? The more of them you put in the lighter it becomes, yet the box stays empty. Slide24
Mental Blocks Revisited
Symptoms:
State of mental impasse
Unable to respond to a situation or need
Unable to find the drive to complete a task
Unable to perform at your full potential
Impacts
Loss of individual productivity
Loss of team productivity
Accomplish less than you canSlide25
Overcoming Mental Blocks - Emotional
By far, the subtlest and most powerful impacts to performance come from psychological attributes that are typically intangible and subjective. Developing these attributes will go a long way in helping you overcome intimidating situations. Slide26
Overcoming Mental Blocks - Emotional
Attitude
Emotional Intelligence
Self-confidence and self-worth
Ownership
IncentivesSlide27
Attitude
Attitude is defined by how you would naturally react to a situation. An example would be, when faced with a daunting task, would you react as “There is no way I can do this” or by “let me give it my best shot and see what I can achieve”.
“The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same” – Carlos Castaneda Slide28
Emotional Intelligence
EI dictates the way in which you choose to respond to a situation that challenges your emotions. If you are interrupted repeatedly by a client when you are trying to make an important point, would you become irritated and shut down, or would you take a step back, try to understand his point of view and re-phrase what you are saying?
“You’re most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning” – Bill Gates Slide29
Are you a people person?
“The higher you go, the more your problems are behavioral”
- “What got you here won’t get you there” by Marshall GoldsmithSlide30
Self-Confidence and Self-Worth
People who have a high self-esteem and know their self-worth can face challenges head on, make big strides in their careers and command higher salaries. Both of these attributes can be developed by willingly taking up bigger challenges and overcoming them. Typically, when faced with a sink or swim situation, people are able to call on their inherent abilities they did not know existed and find that they are able to swim. Slide31
Ownership
A feeling of ownership magnifies the commitment people have toward a task manifold. Ownership dissipates mental blocks by creating an urgency to complete tasks and brings out the ingenuity required to accomplish those tasks. Slide32
Incentives
Incentives give you the drive to overcome any negative emotions or physical hurdles associated with a task. Slide33
Team Exercise - Incentives
What incentives drive you to put your best foot forward?
Think of a daunting task you completed successfully. What was your driving force?Slide34
Team Exercise - Stretch Your Limits
What would you like to do if you did not have any constraints?
Is anything holding you back from achieving your dreams? Are you limiting yourself?
“In all realms of life it takes courage to stretch your limits, express your power, and fulfill your potential. It’s no different in the financial realm” –
Suze
Orman
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THANK YOU
Please keep in touch
Linked In: Search Triguna Ghosh
Email: trig.ghosh@gmail.com