Application Of Mental Toughness For Your Organisation
Mental Toughness is a personality trait, and describes mind-set. It examines what is in the mind of the individual to explain why they behave the way they do. There is an obvious link between mind-set and behaviour, thus explaining why people AND organisations behave the way they do.
You could describe mind-set as both the pre-cursor to behaviour and the explanation for much behaviour
The Mental Toughness model, and its associated measures and programmes, has clear applications for anyone who works in an area subject to stressors, pressures and challenges, which applies to many areas.
There are several areas where the model adds considerable value:
Management & Employee Development / Coaching
Organisational Development
Recruitment & Selection
It can assist in Management and Employee Development / Coaching by identifying how an individual can be more effective in key areas and cope with the stresses and pressures associated with these areas. It can also help an organisation / manager identify how to help an individual or team become more effective in the same way.
In Organisational Development it helps to identify key aspects of an organisation's culture and mindset, to allow development and change to be implemented where required.
As an Assessment tool in Recruitment and Selection it enables the 'best fit' to be found, in areas of job performance which are critical
When an Organisation's leadership team become aware of the potential causes of stress and pressure in the workplace, they are better equipped to plan and act to minimise the impact, or even eliminate the root cause, by utilising tools to improve performance, such as:
Application Of Mental Toughness For Your People
A good deal of the debate on stress has focused on the working environment and its impact on employees. This is an important area for attention, but it is also true that it is possible to place two individuals into the same working environment and observe that one succumbs to the pressures of stress and one thrives!
The difference between the two can be explained through Mental Toughness, why some individuals develop resilience and an inner drive to succeed. Mental Toughness emerges as a key component for individual and organisational performance.
Application and research shows that Mental Toughness is a major factor in most of the important outcomes for individuals and organisations, such as:
Performance - explains up to 25% of the variance in individuals performance. Mentally tough people deliver more, work more purposefully, show greater commitment to purpose and are more competitive. This translates into better output, delivery on time and on target and better attendance.
Behaviour - more engaged. Mentally tough people are more positive, more 'can do', respond positively to change and adversity, show better attendance, contribute to a positive culture and are more likely to accept responsibility and to volunteer for new tasks and activities.
Well-being - more contented. Mentally tough people show better stress management, better attendance, are less likely to suffer mental health problems, sleep better and are less prone to bullying. They can take stress in their stride.
Aspirations - more ambitious. Mentally tough people are open to learning, prepared to manage more risk, see opportunity for learning everywhere, set high standards and manage transition well (crucially important in the current economic market place)
All of these translate into real and tangible benefits for organisations and individuals and, most importantly, all can be developed through targeted coaching, training and development in:
- Communication
- Process planning and problem solving
- Customer and team focus
- Drive and adaptability
- Technical skills
