Étiquette : Coaching

Catégories
Coaching Project management

How to Keep Fostering Joy in Learning?

joylearning

How to Keep Fostering Joy in Learning?

Learning is not just about acquiring knowledge — it’s about the joy of discovery, the spark of curiosity, and the satisfaction of growing step by step.

Joy in learning starts within ourselves.

And that’s often the hardest part.

With so many opportunities around us, how do we choose what to learn next?

There are so many good options to choose from!

One practice is to go back to the vision – of who we want to become, as individual or as a team.

Connecting our learning goals to that vision helps define a clearer direction. With a clear purpose, choices become easier – and learning gains meaning.

Then comes the second challenge — how to make learning enjoyable.

Joy in learning grows when we enjoy the process itself and when we see progress.

Creating the right process for learning is key: allocating time, creating the right conditions, and setting achievable goals helps establish the habit of learning new skills.

Let’s also be frank – learning often means unlearning: changing thoughts, believes or long-held assumptions. This can be uncomfortable, even painful sometimes. Frustration, fear, or anger can all arise along the way. Far far from JOY!

Yet, it is important to remember that these exact emotions are part of the process itself – and deserved to be welcomed as signs of transformation and changes.

That’s why going back to our vision – set at the very beginning – matters. It helps us stay centered and remember why we are going through this process – this journey.

Evaluating our progress is equally valuable – not to judge, but to nurture motivation. Progress can be visible to only ourselves. It can be shared with others to exchange ideas, celebrate wins and get inspiration to go further.

When learning is both strategic and joyful, challenges turn into opportunities, mistakes into lessons, and persistence into progress.

Because in the end, learning is not only about what we learn — it’s about who we become while learning. And in project management, this mindset keeps us curious, adaptive and ready to grow.

Catégories
Coaching Project management

Every Project Has an End Start With It in Mind

ben wicks awzhssr ed8 unsplash

Every Project Has an End

Start With It in Mind!

Every project has a beginning, but also—just as importantly—an end.

It is never easy to speak about the end, especially if it has not been planned. Yet, it is essential to imagine it, to define it and deliberately build toward it.

Too often we dedicate energy to the kick-off, but fail to design what happens at the final stage: closure, delivery, handover, or even decommissioning.

Stephen Covey’s famous advice to “Start with the End in Mind” applies beautifully to projects. By defining what the end looks like from the very start, teams remain concentrated on their objectives, avoid scope drift, and know when to declare success.

A project is more than a list of tasks. It’s a journey with a purpose. Its true measure comes at the end:

  • Did we deliver what we promised?
  • Did we capture and share the lessons learned?
  • Did we archive or retire what no longer serves us, so the next project starts on solid ground?

Without a planned end, projects tend to drift, leaving behind unfinished work, confusion, and lost motivation.

But when ends are clearly designed, projects leave a legacy: a meaningful outcome, captured knowledge, and clarity for those who will build on it.

Project managers are like gardeners . They cultivate growth but also prune when needed, ensuring that what remains is relevant, sustainable, and ready for the next season.

Just like the seasons, every project has its own cycle: planning, executing, validating and closing. Each phase has a start and an end. The key is to capture lessons at each closure, so the next cycle can be stronger, lighter, … differently new. This is life. Let’s enjoy the rhythm of beginnings and endings – until, eventually, the final end.

So next time we begin a project, let’s pause and imagine its last day: What do we want to hand over? What do we want to retire? And above all, what legacy do we want to leave?

Picture from Ben Wicks – Unsplash

Catégories
Coaching Energy Sector

Take Aways from the 3rd EAGE Global Energy Transition 2022 for the EAGE Coaching initiative

picture blog

The 3rd EAGE Global Energy Transition took place from 7th to 9th November in The Hague. I had the chance to participate with Esther Bloem and Lucia Levato, in the organization of a workshop to provide some activity examples and an overview of the coaching program, “Navigating career challenges”.

Survey Results

Following EAGE 2022 in Madrid, where we presented first our initiative, a survey was conducted to grasp some insights on how some EAGE members can feel about career goals. The majority of the answers reveals that most members expect changes in their career in the next 5 years. In the meantime, they don’t particularly feel fully prepared to face these challenges on their own. The results also show clear needs to understand better strengths and values, to define next career move aligned with their strengths and values, and to understand how to maintain energy level and motivation. Developing opportunities and growth within the energy transition were also identified as a key point of interest.

Interest and Engaged Participation

About 60 people, about 25% of the conference attendance, have decided to stay and to participate actively to the workshop. Quickly the participants picked out a profile among the 9 proposed profiles (from Positive Intelligence by Shirzad Chamine) and created groups. They took then time to share some thoughts about their choice with some commonalities. We saw engagement, smiles and even heard some laughs.

Another activity was to fill a dashboard with satisfactory level for 4 areas in life, such as health, work, hobbies and family. Participants were asked to identify one challenge they would like to tackle. It is an easy exercise: we have always problems in our lives. Some issues stick with us for some times, some are popping up out of sudden, … Sometimes, we wish that one day, we will have no problem at all. However, in life is, there is a constant: Problems never stop. The goal is not not to have any problem, but it is to solve problems and to choose them. As solution to today’s problems are the foundations for tomorrow’s problems (Manson, 2016), let’s take the habit to enjoy the process: solving problems today to resolve better ones tomorrow.

Finally, using solution brainstorming, each participant in turn suggested one action to help a little bit in the resolution of the challenge. This exercise goal is toward the power of exposing and exchanging ideas, listening to others’ views in order to bounce many ideas, to call imagination and to find a better solution together than on our own.

The Coaching Program

The coaching program was presented as organized around 5 contents.

The 1st week starts with the context understanding to make a clear snapshot of the current status and to focus on the question who are you. Participants are asked to take a director position which means to take the decision power, along with full responsibility of actions and decisions. You have the right and power to decide.

On the 2nd content, the focus is on where we want to go with the clarification of our vision and strategy. By defining strategy and visions based on our own values, you are asked to take a leader position, who is defining a personal North pole or ultimate goal.

The 3rd content is on managing your career, balancing your resources including energy and action to answer the question how you want to go and to progress. You are asked to take a project manager position who understands how to plan and prioritize

based on time, resource and quality.

These first 3 contents are aligned with the idea of self-awareness and improvement taking full responsibility, setting goal and defining a plan.

After planning, what is usually happening? Often, we see the mismatch between the plan and the outcome. This is the time where we can face all types of misunderstanding, mistakes, errors and even feeling of failure or lack of success. This could be a phase high in emotions with some loss of motivation and even some discouragement. Through the interactions with others, we learn quicker and more efficiently. It gets clearer what we can do and what we could improve. Identifying challenges and setting the inspiration to overcome them, helps us in improving ourselves and our interactions with others. So, in the 4th content, the focus is on building the awareness of the quality of our interactions with others.

Finally, the last content is dedicated on adjusting and learning to improve what and how we do, by revising our strategy. We will see how to go further, how to synergize, through cooperation, opportunity seizing and even opportunity creation.

To summarize the course is organized in 5 contents to help in activating the spiral of being, learning, doing, and becoming as well as the cycle of adaptation, evolution, monitoring, resilience.

EAGE, GET2022, Coaching, Energy, Transition

Feedback & Actions

We receive encouraging and supportive feedback, which motivates us to go ahead, pushing this initiative further. In the future, we are considering using LessonUp app to get anonymous feedback in real time during our sessions.

Don’t hesitate to contact us, Esther Bloem, Lucia Levato or myself for any question or suggestion which could benefit the program and the EAGE community.

EAGE, GET2022, Coaching, Energy, Transition

Finally, we would like to thank the EAGE for the interest and support in this initiative.

Catégories
Coaching Digitalization Energy Sector Environmental Sector Project management

How proactivity can improve momentum in your project

max bender yok0d5sz3e4 unsplash

The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old but on building the new – Dan Millman

The map is not the territory. This also holds true when it comes to managing projects. Misalignment of where we are and where we want to go, with where we think we are and how we can reasonably get there, is common in both life and projects. We work with assumptions, of which we should remain aware and sometimes remember to revisit, in order to improve project outcomes or momentum. Proactively revisiting the assumptions upon which our operations are based, and which can prove incorrect or obsolete over time, will benefit the eventual advancement of our projects.

Let’s adopt proactivity as habit

We manage challenging situations by balancing our behavior and our attitude. For instance, when running behind in project delivery, some tend to rush decisions and let anxiety about the situation influence the actions they take. Others will procrastinate and become absent-minded. We all react according to our various experience and relevant skills.

Proactivity involves only oneself. We don’t need anyone else to improve our own proficiency. This is a personal challenge to overcome, which has only the individual as stakeholder. So, there is simply no excuse not to start improving our own proactivity and to monitor the change in momentum and outcomes wherever it is applied.

Sometimes we’ll believe what we see, but sometimes we’ll see only what we believe. The way we see the problem can be a problem in itself or can create new problems. Alternatively, the way we see a problem can bring solutions or changes to project momentum. Often, changing position or perspective helps us to see a situation differently and grasp new possibilities. By changing or adapting our mindset, we can see from multiple viewpoints and consequently we can self-correct for biases and learn to adopt different practices to maintain project momentum and outcomes.

Habit is at the core of

·       knowledge – what and why we act the way we do,

·       skills – how we act the way we do,

·       desire – the outcomes and results that drive what we are doing.

So, to achieve new outcomes, we should be proactive about the acquisition of knowledge and skills, enhancing our ability to change the way we see, believe and act.

How does proactivity help?

Classification and focus

Projects are full of problems to resolve and dealing with them all at once is simply not possible. The good news is that categorizing the types of the problems at hand will help in managing some of them and resolving others. Learn to face problems by asking yourself the following questions:

1.     Type I – Is this problem directly under my control, my management, my area of expertise?

Yes, the problem is directly within your area of influence. You know what to do and how to resolve it. It is now only up to you to prioritize its resolution based on your resources, the deadline or urgency, and the potential impact of the resolution on your project or its strategy. Resolving this “direct control” type of problem brings both satisfaction and confidence, thus expanding your capacity to influence; it demonstrates your expertise and knowledge while improving the practices involved in your project.

2.     Type II – Is this problem indirectly under my control? Does it involve other people: stakeholders, partners, clients, collaborators?

Yes, the problem is within your area of concern. However, the solution does not depend solely on you; you are reliant on others to either play a role in addressing or fully addressing the situation at hand. This could be due to a lack of expertise or knowledge on your side, or to sequential or time dependencies on the project or process. Resolving this type of problem is complex.

3.     Type III – Is this problem outside your control and outside your team’s control?

Yes, the problem is outside your direct or indirect control. There is nothing which can be done at this moment by you or any team member. While it may be difficult to do, take a deep breath and smile: there is nothing you can do in this moment. Accept it and move quickly on to a problem within your reach and your area of influence. It is liberating to be able to move on and leave problems outside of your control behind.

Past mistakes fall into the last category: outside your control, you can’t undo a mistake. However, you can accept it, acknowledge it, correct it, and learn not to reproduce it. This is also an example of proactivity when dealing with mistakes.

Proactivity helps in resolving two of the three problem types identified, i.e., type I and III, the “direct” and the “outside your control” types of problems.

Choose your response and act responsibly

When responding to stimulus, our behavior is sometimes reactive (rather than proactive). If the response to the stimulus is too fast and lacking due reflection, then we are in a reaction mode and not necessarily taking the decisions or actions in our projects’ best interests. This is not often the ideal response in conflict resolution: being reactive could trigger negative behavior that leads to a drop in team morale and poorer outcomes.

The good news is that we can learn to add reflection time between a stimulus and a response; a time to pause and choose to act more intentionally. Adopting the necessary behavior befitting the level of seriousness or not of the problem. We can learn not to be reactive, but to respond with due consideration and with a focus on solutions in mind.

Be mindful of how you speak

One way to evaluate our response in the face of a challenge is through the language we use toward others and toward ourselves. Careful attention to our choice of words could help identify where we sit on a scale of reactivity versus proactivity. Types of language such as “there is nothing I can do”, “I have to”, “that’s the way I am”, “I can’t”, suggest a high level of reactivity. On the other hand, phrases such as “let’s look at the options”, “I could choose another alternative”, “I prefer” indicate a high level of proactivity. In this second example, the person makes a habit of considering different options and choosing an appropriate manner in which to respond.

How proactivity improves project

Proactivity improves momentum in your project in multiple ways. It helps you to keep your energy focused on solutions within your control and avoids wasting energy on problems beyond your influence. A proactive approach will ensure you remain focused on what you have the power to address and keep your energy for progress and momentum.

Improving your behavior prevents you from creating additional problems unrelated to your project’s objectives. Further, demonstrating the ability to respond proportionally to the problem at hand helps your team to feel safe, empowered to take decisions and show initiative, and to focus on the overall goals. This ensures higher team spirit, energy and willingness to collaborate and drives momentum in your project.

Enjoy being proactive

In summary, be more proactive:

1.     Classify the problem type: direct, indirect or outside the circle of influence, and focus on what you can do now

2.     Be empowered and empower your team by choosing the best or most appropriate response to problems

3.     Be mindful of your choice of words when addressing others and yourself

Take action and get practicing! Enjoy the mapping process alongside the opportunity for continuous understanding and improvement. Remember that for a problem outside your circle of influence, the key action is to accept what you can do now: breathe, smile, accept, learn to live with the problem and move on. Focus on resolving problems within your circle of influence, skills and experience.

The map is not the territory. Nonetheless, mapping is a never-ending activity that can be improved with continuous understanding and a conscious and intentional examination of one’s own habits, relations to others, and the ensuing project outcomes.

If this article has been useful or you would like to learn more about generating momentum in your projects, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Reference: Covey, S.R., 1989, The seven habits of effective people.

Catégories
Coaching Project management

Synergy at the EAGE Annual Conference helps to leap into the new energy era

202207 madrid
Madrid EAGE

Synergy at the EAGE conference

Meeting at the EAGE Annual Conference is always exciting: It is a fantastic opportunity to learn from the geoscience community on the latest research topics, newest applications, and recent developments in the energy industry. It is also an occasion to connect and meet with colleagues, clients, and collaborators, to help us to further align our activities and business. After two years of the pandemic, meeting in-person to exchange ideas on our projects and areas of research was a great and very uplifting feeling.

Listening to industry leaders to confront a « new energy” era

The EAGE Forum sessions focused on the challenges and opportunities specific to this time of uncertainty. From changes in the geo-political energy supply to the urgency of finding solutions for climate-related events, we were all keen to understand how we could better contribute to an efficient system, while protecting our environment and acting sustainably. How to adapt our operations and business is a concern for all of us, as it requires difficult decisions and significant changes. Listening to the experts and leaders in our industry weigh in on this topic was not only insightful and inspiring, but also reassuring.

Subsurface storage a subject of great attention

Within the geoscience area, geological storage is critical to ensuring sustainable solutions for carbon capture, utilization, and storage. Unsurprisingly, across the technical program, no less than seven technical sessions focused on geological storage. These seminars covered carbon capture, gas, hydrogen, waste, and general fluids. On the other hand, the number of technical papers covering underground hydrogen storage were limited to only a couple of cases. Given the promising developments in balancing the energy fluctuation from intermittent renewable solar or wind energies, the number of presentations on this topic will likely grow. However, most presentations for subsurface storage targeted carbon capture and CO2 storage alongside a variety of topics, including monitoring of submarine volcanism for carbon storage prospect.

Few geothermal case study examples

Geothermal energy was covered by a dedicated session featuring case studies exploring Soultz-sous-Forets and the Madrid basin. This session was nicely complemented by sessions on carbon efficient reservoir management and heat extraction. Additionally, some geothermal case studies were also presented during the near-surface characterization session with geological modelling and flow diagnostics for geothermal and heat storage applications alongside a case study on the hydrothermal field on the Southwest Indian Ridge.

Mineral exploration essential to the energy transition

Mineral and metal exploration matters are seen as essential for the energy transition, as discussed during a forum session. This understanding may push the exploration and exploitation to new areas, such as deep-sea prospects, in view of a potential permit for ocean bed mining in Norway. This interest could lead to further refinement of geophysical methods to better understand how we can reach these new prospects while minimizing environmental impact. For the moment, the presentations on the current trends in mineral exploration detailed recent progress in Angola, Canada, and Australia.

Energy transition side by side with digital transformation

On the exhibition floor, as per last year, the digital transformation area was dedicated to sharing new solutions for data management and knowledge sharing to increase value in our daily activities. New for this year’s conference was the dedicated area covering energy transition, with topics oriented toward renewable energy sources and the role of energy storage. This was a clear signal of where the energy community’s focus is leaning.

Navigating career and life in a new era!

Lastly, the Women in Geoscience and Engineering group dedicated a session to navigating career and life. The choice of the term ‘navigating’ resonates particularly with the idea of proactively defining our destination and the choices that are necessary throughout our careers and lives – which can be squiggly at times! Navigating also inspires notions of using tools – like a compass – and the habit of reviewing and updating our maps on a regular basis, which is necessary as our understanding of the landscape or environment changes as we progress. Finally, as in any exploration, there is no pre-defined path; we simply need to embrace the fact that we may not always know where we are going, but we can learn to clarify and steer in the direction that makes the most sense for us. Again, listening to various geoscientists and engineers with different careers and backgrounds helped as we reflect on our own paths, clarify doubts and uncertainties, and learn from each other. It also gave space to gather outside perspectives on our different options, ideas, and opportunities.

This EAGE Annual conference was particularly rich on insights and knowledge sharing. We are ready more than ever before to leap into a new era. One where we contribute solutions from the geoscience community that deliver affordable, sustainable and zero-carbon energy.

Catégories
Coaching Project management

Start with the end in Mind

romanpath

Start with the end in Mind – Which legacy should we prepare?

As recommended by Stephen Cover in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, we should take the habit to start with the end in mind in our life and our activities. This brings the question which legacy we are preparing to the next generations.

Sometimes, a system designed a long time ago continues to prove itself a remarkable solution even in view of today’s modernization. The first major Roman road constructed runs between Rome and Naples is some 200 km long and was built three centuries B.C., from which the roman roads that came afterwards took inspiration and parts of which remain visible and usable today. What makes the Roman road system so sustainable?

Designed with one Purpose in Mind

First, it was designed with one purpose in mind: with a maximum daily travel of 30 km per day, the idea was to follow a straight line. This required not only precise land surveys to define the most direct routes, but also bold decisions in engineering, with the construction of bridges, digging of tunnels, and traversing of steep and hilly terrain.

Engineering of durable and sustainable

A second aspect was the engineering of durable and sustainable solutions. From trench digging with small retaining walls on the side of the road to the various foundation and surface stone layers, along with efficient water drainage, these roads were built to last with minimal maintenance needs.

A third characteristic was relevant and efficient signposting: stone pillars gave information regarding the nearest towns and the next and best places to stop, making the road system user friendly. Security was also reinforced to encourage travelers’ confidence in the road system. Accordingly, the solution proved worthy of expansion and scalability as seen through its extension around the Mediterranean Sea, across Europe, and even up to Britain with the installation of Fosse Way.

Finally, this solution was profitable. On parts of the road system users were taxed, while collaboration between users and institutions ensured rest stops, food and shelter for travelers and horses. All in all, besides being an inspiring example of the development and deployment of sustainable solution that connected communities, resources, and was adaptable to a multitude of environments and conditions, the roman road system is an example of how the past continues to shape the present.

Example of Unfortunate Path Dependency

However, sometimes past decisions shape our present inconveniences over an enduring horizon. Let’s take our daily keyboards as an example. They were designed to be inefficient: when using typewriters, it was key not to type too fast as the spokes carrying the metal letters to the paper could get tangled. Nowadays, nothing theoretically prevents us from revisiting this initial design to adopt a better solution, adapted with today’s technology in mind. Unfortunately, from this initially inefficient design, sub-branches or alternative solutions co-exist, making the standardization of approaches even more difficult. In France, the AZERTY keyboard swaps the A&Q and Z&W keys (from the QWERTY alternative), the M key sits directly to the right of L key, and while numerals 1 to 0 live in the same place as the QWERTY keyboard, they require the shift key to activate. As an aside, I challenge anyone to correctly type their passwords on an AZERTY layout, having established them on a QWERTY board! This illustrates how difficult it can be to move away from unfortunate path dependency.

In our everyday work, we persist with technology which could be improved or replaced. From character limits for seismic volume names, to various ways to run a data processing step with 10 to 15 year-old algorithms, somewhat ironically named “Fast”, many tools and solutions could be replaced by newer ones. Yet, we face reluctance to upgrade to new and better solutions for multiple reasons: economic considerations, competing priorities, lack of know-how or resources, alongside an unwillingness to let go of any pieces of information on the off chance that they prove useful in future, no matter how inconsequential they may actually be.

Toward the Future, let’s be Expert Gardeners

While we should respect past approaches, legacy tools and collected data, isn’t it equally our duty to be rigorous, diligent, and accountable for the legacy we will leave? Should we not pay attention both to the creation and updating of data, but also to the archiving and deletion side? Determining a process for retiring or even deleting irrelevant data with confidence, and decommissioning obsolete tools could better serve us moving forward, than doggedly clinging to the past with no concrete rationale or decision framework.

While a complicated process, as the definition of obsolete will itself be subjective, surely we don’t want to leave (or be left with) a legacy of an ocean of insignificant data, multiple iterations of algorithms and irrelevant solutions? We would do well to become better curators of our data solutions and information management systems, capable of taking proper care of knowledge and tools with their differences and original functions, whilst being brave enough to prune – like expert gardeners – removing dead branches and noxious weeds to give space for better solutions.

Let’s keep challenging our current practices to best cultivate the landscape of the next generation of solution development and delivery.

If you are interested in applying the 7 habits of highly effective people in your projects, don’t hesitate to contact me. I would be apply to understand the problem you are facing and explore how to find solutions.

Article initially published in First Break May 2022 in WhatsUp! section.