JOLT Challenge helps win Gold

We got a lovely email from Kaye Jackson 2009 World Masters Squash Champion. Kaye won Gold in the over 60's category and credits the teachings of JOLT Challenge of helping her go all the way. She writes...

"I want to thank the Mind Warriors team for changing my attitude to life, and for contributing to the success I enjoyed in my sporting endeavours during 2009. I bought the JOLT Challenge book and hadn't got past the foreword when I read the passage "Why change is difficult" which has changed my way of thinking and behaviour completely.

I have found this paragraph so helpful in helping me deal with certain areas of my life that weren't to my liking. I would get very down but kept dwelling on something I couldn't change – and even though it was painful, it was what I had gotten used to, and in a perverse sort of way, comforting.

I then realised I needed to change my way of thinking, and not slip back into the same "poor me" mentality and it has worked. The chapter on "Mastering Your Emotions" and "Inner Voice" gave me personal insight and as a result I am a much happier person and am enjoying whatever every day brings to me.

Being a professional sportsperson, I have played in many national and international competitions. In September 2009 I was playing in the Australian Masters Squash Open and I spoke to one of your JOLT Challenge trainers and said "I am really going to try and win this competition." His reply shocked me when he said, "Well, my bet is you won't". I asked why not and he said "Listen to you, you are really going to TRY and win this competition." What you should be saying is 'I am GOING TO WIN this competition'." He reiterated the importance of having an empowering inner voice and using the right language to program your mind.

Needless to say, when playing in the final, I was struggling, and my inner voice started criticising me. At this crucial moment in the game, his words came back to me, and I stopped "trying to win" and went out and won. I again used the wisdom of JOLT Challenge a month later at the World Masters Games and won the Gold medal. So thank you Mind Warriors and keep up the good work."

Kaye Jackson
2009 World Masters Games Squash Champion

Malcolm wants a different role

When I was doing the work around Values in JOLT Challenge, it became very clear to me that that there were certain aspects of my role I didn’t like and was being pressured to do more of. I sat down with my manager who was also on the program and we discussed the issues that were affecting me. JOLT Challenge made it clear to me that I wanted to move to another role within the organisation. The program gave us both a shared language that made this discussion easier. I’ve ended up in a role I’m happy in, the team is happy for me and my manager filled my position with someone eager for that role. My manager said it was the most bloodless conversation he’s ever had about moving someone on and it was a classic win-win-win outcome; for us individually and collectively as an organisation. Thanks JOLT Challenge!
Malcolm, workout participant

Chunking saved my life!

As someone that was very new to a role and an excitable person at the best of times, I had a lot going through my mind of what I wanted to personally achieve and what was important to those around me. This had become somewhat chaotic and after reading the chapter on chunking, I knew I’d found a tool to take away the noise. I implemented this into my work life immediately, not even stopping to do the exercise in the journal. Chunking helped me gain complete clarity on my priorities! I even went a step further and chunked these into the big 3 and then chunked down from there. I’ve already been able to share this tool with others and it’s particularly good for those who find it hard to see the wood from the trees.
Amanda, workout participant

Interview with Chris Rickards

Manager of Westpac Bank, Queen St branch

Overview:

Chris did the JOLT Challenge program from 16 September to 18 November 2008 along with 14 other participants, managers from Consumer and Business banking. The purpose behind running the JOLT Challenge program was to bring these two traditionally siloed teams together.

Mind Warriors (MW) caught up with Chris Rickards (CR) at his branch on 8 July 2009, almost eight months later to discuss any long term changes and benefits as a direct result of delivering the program into the organisation.

Interview:

MW: What were your expectations before you embarked on the JOLT Challenge?
CR: I was looking for enlightenment around self improvement. I’m very keen on practical applications and there are a lot of books out there that have the information but lack the practical aspect.

MW: What, if any, benefits did JOLT Challenge have for you personally?
CR: The first thing that comes to mind is the visualisation and memory techniques. Also understanding what part of the brain triggers different emotional behaviours. The mental rehearsal has benefited me immensely in my sporting life. Just last week I got man of the match in a soccer game and I constantly use the mental rehearsal techniques on and off the field. I can use it immediately prior to action so there’s no limit to where it can help me. It’s a real benefit to m y presentations. Recently I had to give a presentation and I sat in my office and ran through the presentation in my mind using the techniques and it went really well. I remembered everything so although the program doesn’t specifically teach memory techniques, I’ve found I can use the mental rehearsals and visualisation processes for that. Also the concept of ‘Anchors’ helps my memory. Doing little things to remember important things. One thing I do now is to turn my phone upside down to remind me to do something. The water bottle on my desk reminds me to drink water. The STOP tool was useful for me and the program helped me better understand how failure is beneficial and necessary for the learning journey.

MW: Have you noticed any long term benefits as a result of the program?
CR: I’m definitely more robust as a person. Before the program whenever I was in a situation that was fast escalating into an altercation, the emotions would kick in. Now I have the ability to take a break because I understand what part of the brain is working and know the best way to approach conflict. The program has aided my ability in conflict resolution.

MW: In what ways are you more robust?
CR: Well, not just in my ability to control my emotions more but also in my body. Sleep and physical activity is the engine room of my productivity. The work around sleep cycles helped me figure out that I’m a 7-hour sleep person – that’s what I need to be at my best. If I get the sleep and exercise right, the nutrition follows as I have to fuel my body. If I don’t exercise, then I don’t eat well. I’m much more aware of the mind/body connection as I’m mentally sharper, more robust and cope better when I exercise. The importance of proper breathing is also underrated. I practise the breathing techniques and use them in high tension situations. JOLT Challenge has also helped me understand the importance of writing goals and helped me find balance in my life.

MW: Apart from the visualisation and mental rehearsal techniques, were there any other success strategies in the program that have proven useful to you?
CR: Chunking has been particularly handy, chunking up and down. We get the communication from head office and it’s a 16-page document. I chunk it up for the staff before I even show them the document. I give them the big picture so that the frontline staff better understand the promotion, what’s required of them and why they’re doing it. Then we go into the document with all the detail.

MW: What results have you noticed?
CR: One result is that what we’d do in home loan referrals in a month, we did in two days.
Gratitude was also very important. Gratitude in a recession is important as it keeps motivation up. In a 360 degree report I had scored low on reward and recognition and then we did the piece on gratitude in JOLT Challenge. It got me thinking and I brought in a reward and recognition into the branch to express gratitude for the staff and it’s had a very positive response. The staff get to nominate each other and it keeps motivation levels high.

MW: So the benefits haven’t just benefited you personally. It’s flowed down to your team?
CR: Absolutely. Everything I do as a business leader is viewable by my staff and customers. That’s why JOLT’s work around optimism and drive was important to me. I’ve also taken some of the exercises from the JOLT Challenge workouts to bring laughter and optimism into the branch. It has set a benchmark for all our training – it has got to be interactive and experiential.

MW: What changes have you seen in your staff as a result of you doing the program?
CR: JOLT Challenge has had a positive impact on my team, even though they didn’t do the program because I replicate the behaviour from the book. I help them succeed by either helping them grow in their role or professionally by moving up in the bank. I’ve helped the team leaders in the branch to break patterns, be more open to change and doing things differently. And we can’t underestimate having fun. You hear the music playing in the branch? That’s John Mayer. That’s not typical branch music. You saw when you first walk in the door; we’ve got a staff member in a red T-Shirt sitting at the table with some boxing gloves on it, ready and willing to give you a free mortgage appraisal. My team of forty staff now challenge the status quo, are more motivated and we’ve shifted from 70 to 86% on our engagement scores.

MW: And what about the people you did the program with? Have there been any changes there?
CR: I was relatively new to the bank at the start of the program so it sped up the whole process of getting to know the others for sure. We’re not in silos now. It defragmented the whole silo mentality and now we’re all just a bunch of people who we work with.

MW: Before we finish, I notice you’ve got three business books on your shelf – where’s your JOLT Challenge book?
CR: (laughs). You want to know why it’s not on my shelf? It’s because it’s on my bedside table. Seriously. My wife loves it too. We dip into it and for me it keeps the learning fresh. I need to. The staff look at me, how I look physically and listen to the tone of my voice in everything I do. Every time I walk through that door I jolt myself. I have to jolt myself even when I’m feeling down as I have to set the tone for the business.

END