Session 1: Raising Issues Constructively Resources
Image Management chart: Tool to use when preparing for a difficult conversation or a presentation
The purpose of this exercise: Recognize your anxieties/fears and how they might drive unproductive behaviors if you’re not conscious they’re running the show. Define clear goals and a set of practices to help you show up as your best self.
Delicate Issue chart: Tool to use to help prepare a conversation that you are feeling anxious about.
Suggested Practices from the Session
Session 2: Making Others Good
SFP Chart: Tool to use when you find yourself feeling stuck or dissatisfied in a 1:1 relationship or notice yourself having strong negative judgments of someone else.
The purpose of this exercise: Recognize your contribution to the unsatisfying relationship dynamic and where you have leverage to improve it by seeing where you have built up baggage and judgments about the person, and how that is affecting the relationship.
Resources from the Session:
Session 3: Embracing Learning
Pinch Sorting
The purpose of this exercise: We’ve created the Pinch Sorting chart to help you recenter and act from a creative place any time you feel At the Mercy.
When to use this chart: We can pinch ourselves quite a bit! Use this chart as often as possible to build the muscle of sorting your pinch. Turn moments that you feel At the Mercy into opportunities for introspection. By becoming clear about what’s actually going on, clarifying your activated Ego Drivers, and looking for other factors you may have previously missed; you can regain your creative agency instead of staying At the Mercy of your feelings toward yourself, others or the broader environment.
AFI Shifter
The purpose of this exercise: The AFI Shifter is intended to help you summarize and visualize the unfortunate reinforcing cycle which keeps us at the mercy of continuing our counterproductive reactions. The first step is to disrupt the counterproductive automatic cycle by noticing the cues that launch you into the cycle and reminding you of the costs that you absolutely want to stop creating. Then explore new practices that will help you show up in a different way.
When to use this chart: You can use this chart when feeling “stuck” in or at the mercy of one of your areas for improvement.
Session 4: Working Strategically
UTM
The purpose of this exercise: Recognize how you unconsciously prioritize what you’re comfortable with over what’s most important. UTM can help you identify C- items, and the Power Hour is a good tool to make progress on those items.
When to use this chart: When you find yourself procrastinating or avoiding particular items on your to-do list, or as a weekly/biweekly exercise to guide the way you allocate your time.
Mattress Light
The purpose of this exercise: Re-connect with your hedging mechanisms (thought patterns and behavioral tendencies) and the fears/anxieties they’re rooted in, in order to guard against falling into them. Recognize the costs of those mechanisms. By recognizing the mechanism at play, it helps you find compassion for yourself and alleviate feelings of performance pressure.
When to use this chart: When you start a new stretch role or activity, where there is a risk of failure or set back.
Power Hour Companion
The purpose of this exercise: Close your exit doors to make progress on your most important work.
When to use this chart: When you find yourself procrastinating or avoiding particular items on your to do list.
Diversions
The purpose of this exercise: Free yourself from the obsessive mindchatter or compulsive activity, thus saving time and energy, and instead identify the issue you were actually anxious about and need to spend time on.
When to use this chart: When you find yourself in a familiar loop of mindchatter or feel spun up (i.e., obsessing, perseverating, doing things compulsively, etc.)
Learning Frontier
The purpose of this exercise: Capture in one chart a summary view of what you’re working on, what gets in the way of your progress, what’s most important to you and what inspires you to keep growing and learning.
When to use this chart: Review and update quarterly as a way of celebrating the practices and goals that are working, recognizing progress on skill gaps and counter-productive behaviors and re-adjusting as needed as you continue to grow and learn.