Business Psychology, Work Psychology for Peak Performance - What is it?

Business psychology and work psychology is a process to educate, accept and practice that there are areas within our mind that can facilitate peak performance. We have developed our programmes so that they take all the scientific evidence from sport and transfer it into the business arena and delivered by executive coaching both in person, workshop and through online training. In sport, if there are 2 or 3 equally matched and talented individuals of the same standard and talent, then the winner will be the individual who has a superior mental strength from understanding and practice of the mental skills.

An organisation’s competitive edge in many areas is that of its people. Vast fortunes have been expended on training individuals in their technical areas and sometimes in inter-personal skills also. However, this is the ultimate step further towards achievement of peak performance often in very difficult situations. Work psychology and business psychology for peak performance delivered by executive coaching understands the linked relationship and congruence of the employee and the company. The investment by the company is to develop that individual to ultimately perform and deliver results and a return to the company.

Business Psychology – Who is it for?

• Senior Executives & Business Owners

• Executives

• Senior management

• Middle management

• Junior management

• Supervisors & team leaders

• Key employees

• Poorly performing individuals

• Sales staff

• Small company bosses and staff

• Front room and back room employees

Business Psychology – Mental skills areas covered

As described elsewhere on this website and in our literature, we have identified 12 core areas that produce a synergistic effect on performance. Management psychology and work psychology for peak performance coupled with our powerful coaching models will develop the mental toughness of the individual.

1.  Goal setting

Many people set goals, however, not many understand why they create them, how they should be produced, different time frames involved, the different type of goals and the link between goal setting and motivation. In the business world the goals of the individual must be congruent to those of the organisation. An example is where the company wishes to build long term relationships with its clients and the goal of the sales member is to sell anything to a client on a one off basis at any cost. The two longer term outcomes will be totally different.

2. Motivation

The individual must understand what style of motivation applies to him and strategies for enhancing it. The company employing him must be aware of the motives that drives this particular individual and to tap into the correct reward system for peak performance. The organisation can also become aware and implement a motivational climate in which the employees conduct business and achieve desired results.

3. Intensity

For ideal performance an individual needs to experience the correct level of intensity. Too much intensity and the results will be physical excesses in terms of heart rate, breathing, cortisol levels in the blood etc. An example is an employee who will suffer from stress in the workplace and this can be very costly to the organisation. Too little intensity and the subject experiences and shows evidence of lethargy, poor motivation and low concentration levels. If this is on the day of a huge presentation then kiss the contract goodbye.

4. Concentration

We need to identify our natural attentional processing style. This is different for all of us and will affect the type of work that we are doing. Our style is also affected by distractions. These can be internal or external distractions. Internal distractors are the thoughts and chatter going on inside our minds which clearly affects what information that we process and how we process it, if at all. An example would be staff members who miss the main items in a meeting or really what the client is saying the problem is. External distractors are noises, movement, verbal interruptions and peripheral vision. They can all distract from your level of focus on the task that you are engaged in. If this is an airline pilot then we have a catastrophe on our hands.

5. Mental Rehearsal

This is the ability to practice your skill or attribute anytime and anywhere. The brain doesn’t differentiate between what we remember has happened and what we have imagined has happened. This leaves great opportunities for performance enhancement. An example would be a forthcoming presentation which could be vital. The individual can create the tape in his mind and continually replay it until it becomes perfect and natural thus facilitating the real presentation when actioned.

6. Team Cohesion & Dynamics

Here we add another element into the mix. We understand the need for the individual and the company to have the same outcome goals but now the individual can also be the member of a team, which can have its own goals and motivations. A team needs to have its own set of goals; everyone needs to have a clear understanding of each member’s role and accept it; the team will have its own motivations and will need to build team spirit. Obvious examples within the organisation will be a sales team who earn from each others efforts and a division or subsidiary from Managing Director down to office cleaner, who will generate bonuses as a group on successful performance.

7. Professional Attitude

This is probably the most important mental attitude to achieve promotion or receive extrinsic rewards. This individual will display a very positive attitude and have large amounts of self belief. They will respect their colleagues and have a can-do approach to work. Their commitment will be high and have a very strong desire to success in whatever they do. They accept whole heartedly an introduction of mental skills training into their lives and thrive from the benefits. They learn from set backs and develop what we know as mental toughness. This attitude can be introduced into staff and will generate huge returns for the company.

8. Emotional Control

The control of emotions in the workplace is paramount. Positive or negative emotions can trigger successes or failures depending on the situation. A very happy emotion can make the working environment feel comfy and yet could be construed as inappropriate with jokes etc in front of a client. A negative emotion can upset a colleague but at the same time could stir an individual into action when they berate themselves. So there is no clear answer until understanding when each emotion would be appropriate. We like to eradicate the outflow of anger as this can never be productive to the person in terms of performance or health issues.

9. Psychological Preparation

Here we can consider routines for consistent and enhanced performance. These routines ensure that our minds stay focused on the task and not be distracted as the routine will have taken care of the mundane. An example would be preparations for presentations or data collection for accounts production. They psychologically work by centering the person in the moment and not focusing on past mistakes or forthcoming activities. This will create a manager or employee who is always prepared, in the right place at the right time and has all the information and equipment necessary.

10. Self-confidence

Many organisations that we have worked in have staff, managers and even executives who demonstrate low confidence levels. This can be in themselves or just in the task that they are involved in (self-efficacy).
What many of them do not know is how they can improve it and what strategies to implement that will raise confidence levels. An example of low confidence levels is getting someone lower in the organisation to meet with important clients when you know that you should be doing it. Over confidence on the other hand can be construed as arrogance and we know that this will affect customers buying from that individual nor will staff enjoying working for them.

11. Positive Thought Control

This has the ability to quickly and easily improve our outlook and performance. From the cognitive-behavioural school of thought we understand that our thoughts affect our emotions which ultimately affect what we do and how we do it (performance). How simple then to change what we think and how we think it. If we think positive and profitable thoughts and deal with negative damaging thoughts as they happen then our whole outlook will be improved. In business an example would be jumping to conclusions on a whisper or hearsay. The start of this process degenerates downwards until it becomes a catastrophe in your own mind. I think Mark Twain once said that the worst disasters in his life were the ones in his own mind.

12. Mental Toughness

This is where we consider the final landing place is to be. Once you become proficient on the 11 core skills above then the final hurdle is putting them all into action. They will ensure that you can reverse any situation that you find yourself in and to learn from the experience for the future. You will be able to handle the moment of most extreme pressure and deliver results at that time. You will have endurance toughness built in now to sustain and keep at bay stressors and to think clearly and be strong enough to deliver results. Finally, you will know when to take the critical risk for victory. Many shy away from this moment, however, the mentally tough individual relishes it, weighs up the costs and benefits of taking action and assesses the correct time to strike. This is what winners are made of and many are born with a degree of mental strength but most develop and enhance their mental skills.

Business Psychology – Benefits to the individual

• You will outplay your opponent

• You will remove stress from your life

• You will achieve your goals and feel totally motivated at all times

• You will control your emotions and be much healthier

• You will enjoy the ‘flow’ feeling of ultimate confidence

• You will progress up the corporate ladder

• You will deal with setbacks

• You will be admired by all those that you know

Business Psychology – Benefits to the organisation

• Less absenteeism and staff turnover

• Improved profits to your bottom line

• A highly motivated, focused and determined employee or team

• Better customer satisfaction and supply chain relationships

• Better working environment

• More creativity and effort from your staff

• Better strategic planning and decision making

• Clearer long term focus

• Goal congruence

• Clearer communication

Business Psychology – How is it delivered?

1. By attending one of our work psychology workshops for peak performance. Further information is available on our workshop page.

2. By purchasing our online training modules. Further details are available on our online training page. We also have a bespoke system where we create a mental skills training package for the individual company or business sector to take account of and cover any specific issues that you may have. Please email us to talk about your needs and a solution that we can create.

3. By engaging us to work personally with you. These are sessions where we get together and help introduce to you strategies that will improve your performance from a business coaching/executive coaching viewpoint. Have a look at our video based online management training system.