Although existential analysis is quite naturally part of my counselling, I am often asked – and that in many different contexts – what exactly it is. This text is intended to clarify the term as such and to explain the positive effects existential analysis has in the economy and in organisational development.
One really striking feature is that the human being is viewed holistically here – not only at a psychotherapeutic level, but above all at a philosophical level. The term “existence” is derived from Latin “ex-sistere”, which may be translated as “to step out” or “to step forth”. Thus, the core idea of existential analysis can be described as the ability of people to appropriate life, to shape it through dialogue and active action and to deal with the circumstances of their world in a potentially free, authentic and autonomous way. ¹
The question of how we want to live and work with others, how we want to get involved and come to terms with them, is essential for our well-being and our behaviour towards others. It is, therefore, important to also engage with existential questions. What makes for a good life? How does a good life work? What can and must a person do to lead a fulfilled life? And what does a person need to achieve it?
Existential analysis in a business context
As an executive coach, I support managers in working authentically with their teams using genuine dialogue. In this context, I consider existential analysis to be more than just another method in my toolbox. Rather, it is a phenomenological approach that focuses primarily on understanding, on one’s own attitude and outlook on life. What is it all about and what do I actually want? What is the most important thing, here? And what does a good life mean – both in a professional and private context?
Executive coaching and counselling provide space for developing your own way of dealing with issues that often seem impossible to resolve and emerge as recurrent patterns. In this context, it is also important to discover, and eventually to live, one’s own values, which are referred to as person-related values in existential analysis. For only those who have a clear personal attitude can provide clear leadership. In an organisational and business context, existential analysis can, therefore, help to sustainably improve management culture and communication by asking questions such as these: How can an adequate, individual attitude be developed in complex situations? How can leaders and their teams make sustainable decisions?
Step by step towards a new way of working together – an example from my day-to-day coaching using existential analysis
One of the most important features of existential analysis is trust in the process itself. We tend to look for solutions and present them as quickly as possible. Here, it is worthwhile to see the journey as a means without losing sight of the goal. I would like to use a practical example to illustrate the astonishing results that my trust in procedural dynamics has brought to a medium-sized company with around 3,500 employees in the pharmaceutical industry.
The situation: External factors such as demographic change at the company location and the general shortage of skilled labour had led to a loss of motivation at management level and among employees. Internal company problems such as bad recruiting and inadequate succession counselling had caused a rift among the staff. In the nine-strong team I was advising, I observed communication difficulties between Generation Z and established managers.
Time to discover a person-related approach
Once I had gained a good understanding of the situation and the challenges facing the company and the management team, it quickly became clear that it made sense to give plenty of space to recording personal impressions as part of the process.
We took the time to work out individual motivations in detail. What is decisive and what does it stand for? What is my own voice on a topic? What is valuable to me, here, and why am I doing this?
I have often found that it can be invaluable to give teams time rather than jumping at the first solution that comes along. There is usually little time for such moments of reflection in everyday business life. However, they are crucial for entering into dialogue and reaching mutual understanding. I have experienced several times that the solution presents itself almost automatically when enough space is given to the experiential phase. In the case I am describing, each member of the management team was given time to describe what moved them about the current situation, how it was experienced and what was important for each individual.
With a clear view to new goals
After this intensive time of joint reflection, we were able to focus on the aspect of exploring our own opinions on the situation. Surprising things about the discussion culture could be observed here: while people usually interrupted a lot, listened little and often made assumptions, the focus was now on listening to others, developing one’s own stance and expressing it clearly.
Of course, familiar communication patterns did break through: there were interruptions, sentences like “Yes, I already know what you want to say”, and there were long monologues without personal statements. My role as a facilitator was to keep reminding people to be in the moment, to listen, and to feel how they were experiencing what was being said. In the course of this, we also focussed on psychodynamics, on sore points that cause people to lose their composure. At this point in our work, we had a special moment of reflection and being touched. The solution seemed to be within reach. Everyone was motivated to practise listening and experiencing – as difficult as that can sometimes be.
The result: looking at successful communication
In the case I have just described, there was a clear aha moment: the problem was not due to a generational conflict. There was a disruption in communication. The next step for the team was, then, to focus on “existential communication”. ² Together, they agreed to consolidate the new skills and continue practising them. Overall, I was simply impressed as a coach by how much this very diverse team got involved in our work. I felt that everyone enjoyed working in the company and wanted to improve cooperation. All participants experienced the added value and were able to understand how communication had changed for the better. In a nutshell: a genuine dialogue at eye level was established in which mutual concerns were heard and, thus, really discussed.
My plus points when using existential analysis
Since I have been studying existential analysis and integrating it into my daily work, I have acted more freely and have gained a sense of ease. I enter the conversations trusting that my coachees will find their answers. When we work together, I am in the here and now, which means I can achieve much more and provide better support. Together we create a space in which managers and teams can try out dialogue and authentic action. For being seen is the key to encounters. When everyone involved gets the opportunity to clarify their stance and position themselves, it is much easier to take action to set concrete goals for the collaboration.
Bibliography
Kolbe C; Dorra H (2020) Selbstsein und Mitsein: Existenzanalytische Grundlagen für Beratung und Psychotherapie. Gießen: Psychosozial-Verlag
²Kolbe C (2022) Existenzielle Kommunikation; in: Existenzanalyse 39/2/2022, 33-39
¹Längle A (2014) Lehrbuch zur Existenzanalyse: Grundlagen. Wien: Facultas
Längle A; D. Bürgi (2020) Existentielles Coaching. Wien: Facultas
Photo @ Angela Lubic “Desert Tunisia”
What actually happens to the projects we’ve always wanted to do? What happens to the business idea that has accompanied us for so many years but has never been implemented? You know the answer: probably nothing. But then, other people just put it into practice. That is why I like the motto “Doing is stronger than wanting to do”.
However, there is no need to always take big steps – those that turn your entire life upside down. It is enough to train your skills of improvisation. For improvisation has a lot in common with “Just do it!”. Both call for knowledge, skills, competencies, confidence, and courage. The bigger our toolbox, the easier it is for us to start working. What, then, should we do to “Just do it!” ever more often?
People who proactively embrace change, deal with it, and make the best of it are those who develop something new. This always reminds me of the recent German past: the fall of the wall. It was an incredibly special time full of surprises. Life was turned upside down; there was a spirit of optimism, and Berlin, at least, experienced a kind of anarchy. An enormous amount of creativity was unleashed during this time. People had an almost unbridled desire to try something new. In line with the motto “Just do it!”, they created projects, companies, and ideas.
Half your life is improvisation
No matter how well we prepare and examine our own thoughts and feelings, life always gets in the way somehow. However, you still need to decide how to put the different pieces of your life puzzle together and what kind of signature to develop in the process. This is where improvisation comes in: a fine art based on sound knowledge, expertise, and experience. Catching the right moment, improvising if necessary, and giving space to the new and unforeseen also has to do with trusting the world – a concept that is relevant in existential analysis and logotherapy (as promoted by Viktor Frankl, Alfried Längle, and Christoph Kolbe).
Personally, I associate trust in the world – also known as basic trust – with being able to let things flow and giving time and space for new things to emerge. For new space, I must be able to let go of old things, including existing texts, ideas, and thoughts. Only when you leave something behind is there room for something new. I call this “cleaning up the hard drive”.
I take what I need from my various training programmes and methods and “garnish” it with something new. This can perhaps best be compared to developing your own culinary creations from existing recipes by varying the ingredients. The most important spices for me are curiosity and a thirst for knowledge as well as a willingness to continue learning – in short, a certain fundamental openness to everything that life has to offer. This, then, goes hand in hand with recognising the right moment: when to use which spice, or, in my case, which method to employ at what time.
The “Just do it!” approach has helped me in developing my freelance career and as a manager in multinational companies. After all, work life is always “just” about contributing ideas and trying them out, convincing people and supporting them in their further development. Here we go, then: Just do it!
Do you need support with defining your vision or honing a new idea? Or are you looking for a sparring partner when it comes to implementing your idea? Please, write to me!
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“It’s not what I do, it’s how I do it” – this sentence by engineer Moshé Feldenkrais, which seems rather simple at first, explains why I consider the method he developed so useful for any kind of relationship. People who practise Feldenkrais get into touch with themselves and, in this way, become clear about what they do. And those who are clear about, and aware of, themselves will – quite obviously – also be clear about, and aware of, their fellow humans.
But what exactly is the Feldenkrais method? Simply put, Feldenkrais is a learning method of exertion through movement – a method that triggers a complex process of experiencing physical and mental agility. In his method, Moshé Feldenkrais combined the know-how he had gained from his many different activities in physics, martial arts, anthropology and engineering. He used anatomical, biomechanical, neuroscientific, and developmental psychology findings.
The basis for this holistic approach was the assumption that everyone who concerns themselves with their own body image will learn to make better use of their own body. Unlike other training methods, Feldenkrais is not about rehearsing specific movements, but about discovering new, individual patterns of mobility. Movement is not imitated; it is explored. This also enables the mind to free itself from ingrained patterns.
Perceiving differences, discovering new things
Those who try out the Feldenkrais method will experience that movements can be performed more and more effortlessly, elegantly, and also more efficiently. This is because new things emerge from the perception of differences. You train your awareness of your own body; the mindful perception of how your own movement is performed leads to balance, orientation, and reorientation. This, in turn, translates into a different, better way of dealing with challenges in many life situations.
Why I think, and even recommend, that leaders should also engage with the Feldenkrais method? Well, the reason is: experiencing yourself in your own physicality expands your consciousness. Those who know their habits and patterns of movement know what is harmful and focus on what is good and can be made easier. The experience gained in this way also has a positive effect on mental strength.
Physical exercise in line with the Feldenkrais method also teaches you that there are a multitude of possibilities for you to try out new things in order to reach your goal. In leadership, too, there is not just one right way or one true style. The Feldenkrais experience encourages you to define your own individual leadership style, a leadership style that suits you.
Mindful of yourself, clear with others
Another important aspect is the perception of your own power reserves. If you pause, take a break, or just bide your time, then you will strengthen your own attentiveness. After all, working proactively rather than seeking support only when pain has already set in is a clear sign of foresight. If you build in moments of recovery, you avoid injury and illness – whether you are training for the next half-marathon or standing your ground in your day-to-day leadership routine.
Figuratively, this also means having the foresight to deal with relevant issues at an early stage and to see the processual aspect itself. For working with the Feldenkrais method reveals development – it involves continuous growth and is never complete: “If you know what you do, you can do what you want.” (Moshé Feldenkrais)
You are interested in the relationship between the Feldenkrais method and leadership and would like to learn more about it? If so, please, contact me – I look forward to discovering aspects like these together with you in an executive coaching context!
Thank you very much, Ulrike Worthmann, for tackling the Feldenkrais method together with me both verbally and non-verbally. Feldenkrais Somatic Experiencing in Berlin – Ulrike Worthman (ulrike-worthmann.de)
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Thinking up ideas during the lunch break? Enquiring about possible mentors in the canteen? In other European countries, opportunities for networking are used much more incidentally and naturally. Here in Germany, it is rather unusual for HR staff to meet top management for lunch to talk about personnel development. From my own work experience in France, all I can say is, ‘What a pity to waste such an opportunity!’ I am a firm believer in networking events and in exchange that goes beyond conference rooms. For many of my clients, I designed and implemented networking events as part of talent management.
“Meet the management” – in line with this motto, young talents have the opportunity to meet leaders on an equal footing, off the beaten track of offices and conference rooms. Managers, on the other hand, can discuss things in a relaxed setting and get an impression of their employees without creating an atmosphere like in a job interview. Yet, in addition to being perfect for discussing positions that need to be filled, the events offer also many other opportunities.
Why networking should be practised as an important leadership quality
Networking is an art – an art you can learn regardless of character and preferences. Having relaxed conversations at business level that go beyond work-related topics requires practice. Offering young talents such an opportunity is a good and simple investment in the leaders of tomorrow.
Once they reach beyond the level of classic small talk at a networking event, managers and young talents are likely to have an exciting conversation about interesting topics. In this relaxed setting, the future leaders learn particularly well how to keep cool in such situations and control the conversation.
A conversation in a conference room, which is about clear facts, is quite different from a networking event. In the latter, new levels of discussion may contribute to ongoing substantive challenges.
The advantages of networking for top management
Outside the office world, conversations can be held differently and bonds can be strengthened. What is more, top management gets a good overview of the talents in the company.
In a relaxed setting, the inhibition threshold when talking to managers is lower than in everyday office life. Here, it is easier to get to know new employees.
In fast-growing companies, physical distances can be a challenge. Events are a good way to reduce such distances and to maintain and strengthen contacts.
What is it about and who participates?
To give everyone a chance to talk to each other, management should invite only eight to ten young talents.
Good events offer new opportunities for exchange on both sides. Employees get a chance to ask what they have always wanted to know from the executive board. Top management, on the other hand, can share their messages directly, communicate strategic issues, listen, and gain new ideas.
Extraordinary conversations develop particularly easily if the event is associated with a special theme. A keynote speech of about 15 minutes given by one of the managers can provide exciting ideas for discussion. The quality of the event depends very much on good facilitation – ideally implemented directly by colleagues in HR development. This creates space for qualitative exchange.
What environment is most suitable for networking events?
Unconventional formats such as a shared breakfast or evenings in front of an open fire have proven successful with many of my clients. Getting together in a relaxed atmosphere for two to three hours, eating finger food at a round table – this promotes exchange and has a lasting effect.
Wouldn’t networking as part of talent management be an interesting option for your company? You would like to get started straight away but are not quite sure how best to prepare the events? Please, get in touch!
Photo(detail) © Minyipuru Pangkalpa 2015, Nancy Nyanjilpayi Chapman
Mentoring plays a crucial role for a successful talent management. Used in the right way, it lays the foundation for highly committed new leaders. However, mentoring can only work if certain basic tactical prerequisites are observed. First of all, it is important to find the perfect match of mentor and mentee, to make sure they are well prepared, and to support them with regard to their first meeting, when they should define together the process as well as the guidelines and principles that suit them. Furthermore, it is essential in this initial phase that both parties clearly specify what they expect from the coming relationship. The HR department can occasionally provide guidance and support for the process.
The fresh perspective of the mentee
It has proven successful that the mentee structures the process and is involved in planning the development. Active listening, well-prepared questions for the meetings, and a subsequent summary of the results lead to a high level of involvement in the mentoring process. Someone who uses mentoring should be willing to accept feedback and be challenged. Then they will particularly benefit from the professional and personal support as well as from the wealth of experience of their mentor. In the best case, they will gain permanent support for a long-term career within the company.
However, the role of the mentee is also to question and analyse with an open mind existing ways of working, possibly to bring in and share other references, without losing track of their own development.
Communicator, career coach, promoter: the roles of the mentor
In addition to integrating the mentee and promoting a deeper understanding of the corporate culture and structure, the mentor offers support and asks the right questions at the right time to stimulate thought processes in their counterpart. Their critical view of the gap between experience and skills is an important driver for the mentee. The mentor supports strategic thinking, reveals different options, and helps the mentee to set goals and make informed decisions. In this connection, the mentee should be allowed to speak to their mentor in confidence at any time. As a career coach, the mentor also acts as a potential role model. With the help of the mentor, the mentee can establish contacts in the company and expand their network.
Well-managed mentoring: a win-win situation
Experience shows that, if the above conditions are met, the mentor-mentee relationship will be positively challenging and enriching for both parties. Leaders and top management pass on knowledge and experience, are involved in the development of talent, and can further develop their own leadership skills. The fresh perspective of their mentee enriches their daily work and expands the company’s international network. Many examples from my practice and current research prove the positive effects of this fruitful concept.
I’d be delighted if the second blog post on the topic of “mentoring” in my talent management series has given you a few exciting ideas for your company. Please, get in touch, should you have further questions.
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A Teams call in the afternoon. When Isabelle joins the call, Fiona, who works from home, smiles into the camera. She has great news: she completed her Scrum Master certification with distinction. It was through the initiative of Isabelle that Fiona did a Scrum Master course in the first place. Isabelle is Fiona’s mentor. She works in a thriving software company as head of e-commerce. The two have been a mentoring pair for almost a year. Isabelle supports Fiona in her development, guides her when she has to make decisions, and answers questions. But Isabelle also benefits from the mentoring relationship: inspired by Fiona’s fresh perspective on things, she has already adjusted some of her processes for the good of her department. Moreover, Isabelle can well imagine Fiona succeeding a colleague from management whose promotion is coming up soon.
Many of the mentoring processes I have supported so far take place in this way or in a similar way. The case of Fiona and Isabelle demonstrates what a successful exchange between mentor and mentee might look like. I hear many success stories from my clients after we established mentoring as part of talent management in their companies. This is no wonder, because mentoring really is an invaluable development tool. It enables different generations to engage in fruitful dialogue, guarantees knowledge transfer across immediate company hierarchies, and brings exchange of experience to a new, direct and – at best – partnership level. The mentee learns from the mentor and vice versa. New knowledge and a fresh perspective on processes and structures can be very valuable also for executives.
Knowledge, corporate culture, and motivation for the leaders of tomorrow
Research shows that mentoring has a positive impact on corporate culture and lays the foundation for a new level of leadership that is deeply involved in content issues. This makes mentoring an important element in talent and leadership development. It furthers strategic thinking and assists the development of a shared mindset besides paving the way for extraordinary personal relationships. In this way, young talent can be motivated remarkably well, supported in their development, and tied to the company. Top management gets to know the leaders of tomorrow and is strongly involved in their development. Mentoring also promotes a commitment to diversity within the company.
If mentoring is successful, it can develop into a true learning partnership that offers future leaders deep insights into the organisation of the company, promotes personal development, and teaches new skills. It gives mentees the freedom to develop their own solutions under the guidance of professionals and experts. This creates an extraordinary level of trust, which ensures honest and open feedback. Mentoring also furthers the development of a wide and more international network within the company.
How can mentoring be successfully established in a company?
The first step is to bring together promising mentoring pairs in cooperation with the HR department. Ideally, the make-up of the pairs cuts across departments, countries, and functions. Once the pairs have been put together, the mentor is informed about the mentee’s needs and their level of development. At the beginning, both jointly determine the goals, rules and circumstances of their individual processes. For all other meetings, the mentee should ideally take the initiative and assume responsibility. These meetings take place regularly for a maximum period of twelve months – either face to face or as a video call. The HR department accompanies the process in close cooperation with both partners. If successful, the programme is an enriching and rewarding way for both sides to gain new insights – in the company and at a personal level.
Might mentoring be an interesting approach for your company? In this case, you are invited to read the next part of my blog series about this topic: here, I will take a closer look at the role models of the mentoring process and their relationship. You don’t want to wait? Let’s consider together how we can develop a suitable mentoring concept for your company.
You want to keep a strategic eye on the talent in your team? To do this, there is a somewhat unconventional method we know from team sports: the player card. This allows you to compile a well-structured profile of the members of your team, showing their skills and potential at a glance. In development meetings, you can then use the player cards to gain a very special view of your company’s team and to focus your tactics almost playfully.
Taking a look at the team together: development meetings
At regular intervals, management, HR business partners, and the company’s talent managers should all put their cards on the table. Selected talents are presented, and the 9-box grid is used to check and confirm their performance and potential. On this occasion, the participants also determine any development needs and look at the succession situation.
This method provides an impressive opportunity to present high potentials to the top management and to develop strategies that can be used to promote employees. Cross-functional and cross-national job changes get things moving and are excellent incentives for further development and gaining experience.
Outside the playing field: classical methods
Of course, traditional tools such as regular employee and annual appraisal interviews are at least as important as an external perspective when setting up a strategic talent management system. Looking back together on the last months, giving qualified feedback on the cooperation, and setting new goals: these are important elements of the continuous staff development cycle. A target system or performance check can help with the overall assessment – and with expressing feedback in an appreciative and constructive way.
Moreover, efficient programmes can be integrated into the company’s daily routine. In this context, mentoring is an exciting move, because a one-on-one relationship between mentor and mentee holds enormous potential for development. Another important component is networking events, such as the so-called talent table, where members of the board of directors meet high-potential candidates. I will present the two ideas and best practice examples in the next two blog posts on this topic.
You are interested in developing a tailor-made talent management strategy for your company? Please, get in touch: mp Executive Coaching & Organisational Development – mail@marion-pohl.com.
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Do you want to know exactly which paths your employees are taking? Dismiss that idea! Your ace in the hole is agility. People change. They discover new interests and talents. Restrictive structures and inflexible job profiles hamper further development and stifle potential. In other words, successful talent management is not about setting or planning careers, but about top management enabling its employees to learn and develop. The keyword is “co-creation” rather than “waterfall model”.
Co-creation focuses not only on a transparent exchange between managers but also on dialogue between equals. For example, companies that offer exciting further development options such as cross-functional and cross-national changes open up interesting challenges that can help talent gain invaluable experience. In this way, a systematic talent management can be built up successively in which personnel development concepts gradually take shape.
Room for talent and transparency
Anyone who is currently looking for talent knows how important it is to render their personnel development modern and attractive. In this context, it is important to keep one’s eyes open internally and to maintain an exchange between management, the HR department, and employees so as to identify, promote, and retain talent at an early stage. Only then can companies increase work performance and job satisfaction, and counteract fluctuation. While the opportunities for staff should be flexible, it also helps to provide a systematic process and diagnostic methods. I refer to this as the talent pipeline, but it could also be conceived of as a cycle.
At the beginning (and again and again in the course) of agile and systematic personnel planning, the question should be where highly qualified staff will be needed in future. Keeping your eyes open within the company allows you to identify and attract talent from inside and outside the company in the long term. The next step involves preparation and development: what do your employees need to develop their full potential? Later, these talents can be successively deployed and supported in those positions where their strengths are well suited to the work requirements. This matching of strengths and requirements should be checked again and again through evaluation and further development. Such a comparison of actual and target is necessary to constantly readjust the talent management process.
Planning individually and specifically
Companies differ in terms of content, working methods and culture. It is then all the more important that the talent pipeline matches the company’s qualities. The talent management process, thus, starts with the definition of an individual strategy that specifies workforce structure, staffing needs, and key positions. To facilitate such processes, there are tools such as McKinsey’s 9-Box-Grid, which helps to define talent in terms of potential and performance. Equipped with such an overview, you can design programmes to further develop the selected employees and make them visible.
To ensure a successful implementation, you should involve all stakeholders in this process: managers, the works council, communications and operational HR. Top management in particular should endorse the strategy and actively promote its implementation.
You can read how such a strategy can be implemented in my next blog post on this topic. You don’t want to wait? Please, get in touch: mp Executive Coaching & Organisational Development – mail@marion-pohl.com.
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How you identify and promote talent in your company
Almost every company can relate to the struggle for talented professionals. For some time now, companies have been facing the challenges posed by demographic change, global competition, structural transformation as well as technological advances and digitisation. Here, as elsewhere, Covid-19 has acted like a burning glass on an existing deficiency, leading to loss of sales in many industries. How can companies prevent this? Well, proactive and strategic talent management is the right approach.
The basics of professional HR development
However, talent development and retention cannot be integrated into a company structure from one day to the next. After all, it is not only budgets that need to be planned, but also a clear communication strategy at all levels of the company. What good are the best measures if the employees don’t know about them? There is, then, need for a finely tuned interaction between managers, the HR department, and potential talent.
But first it is necessary to identify candidates with potential, and this task clearly lies with HR and the managers. Current literature specifies four criteria as crucial for recognising the talent of tomorrow: potential, performance, volition, and ability.
Let’s start with the skills of your employees. In addition to cognitive, emotional and social competences, they should also have the ability to manage staff in the current work context. This ability can, then, be used as a starting point to monitor performance, derive an actual status and observe it over an extended period of time. On such a basis, you can better assess the potential in future situations and identify development opportunities. If, on top of that, there is a desire to develop, then you are almost certainly dealing with a high-potential employee.
Much more than just a good nose
There are quotes that people remember. Mostly, these quotes are practice-related. In this specific case, a superior once said to me: “The most important thing in talent management is to recognise people, assess them correctly, and, in this way, get meaningful results.” As simple as that sounds, it is complex – like everything that has to do with people. Once this has been achieved, it is “only” a matter of appropriately matching these employees with the requirements and needs of the company. Placing potential candidates successfully within the company can be one of the most difficult tasks.
So much for the theory. You can read how this might look in practice in my next blog post on talent management. You don’t want to wait? Please, get in touch: mp Executive Coaching & Organisational Development – mail@marion-pohl.com.
Foto: ©Frank Petzke – Australien
What a year was that which we have left behind us! And what a year will be this budding 2021? How will things go on? Anyway, I wish you a safe, happy, and successful new year – and I would like to start this new year with a fresh idea.
Those who move develop new ideas and insights literally step by step. They strengthen the cardiovascular system and, thus, also the mind. As the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche stated in 1889: “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”
This is confirmed by scientists of Stanford University who found out that movement improves the ability for what is called “divergent thinking”. This includes both quantitative and qualitative innovative thinking, which gives us unusual, even crazy ideas. Movement clearly boosts creativity. (Oppezzo, M. & Schwartz, D.L., 2014, Stanford University)
Another advantage of thinking while walking is the change of perspective that comes about automatically, step by step. Those who look at a problem from a different angle find new solutions and understand their counterparts better.
This is why I like to use the concept of Walk & Talk in coaching. For Walk & Talk triggers creative processes that lead to new ideas. Scientists have proven that looking at things from unusual angles and new perspectives enhances a person’s mental flexibility. As research shows, people who had been walking tended to be much more creative than those who had been sitting.
Physical activities influence our perception. When walking, time and space disappear and we can let go of whatever is otherwise blocking us, make room for new thoughts, and release fresh energy.
In a nutshell, walking is a strategy easy to implement to generate unusual and novel ideas. A noteworthy side effect: in times of pandemic, there is probably no better Covid-19-compliant opportunity for coaching or staff talks than walking in the fresh air. It is, thus, the perfect time to take advantage of Walk & Talk! Give it a try – I’ll be happy to support you!
Source: Oppezzo, M. & Schwartz, D.L., Give Your Ideas Some Legs: The Positive Effect of Walking on Creative Thinking, Stanford University, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 2014, Vol. 40, No. 4, 1142–1152
Photo: ©Marion Pohl in Sumatra
