The biggest factor in how you perform under pressure is one you can’t easily see in yourself: your inner state. At Honeycomb, we call it ‘The Inner Game’. It is invisible, yet it deeply affects our interactions and responses to everything that happens to us.
Most professional development focuses on the Outer Game: communication, analytical frameworks, client management, business development. These all matter, but they are skills that can readily fall apart if our Inner Game isn’t stable.
When the Inner Game is off, the Outer Game follows.
Clients tend to contact me with what they see an as Outer Game problem - perhaps they want their team to communicate more effectively with clients or become more confident at business development. Often, (not always!) they become open to exploring the Inner Game as part of that training. I love it when they do. We are in the business of creating lasting behaviour change, and this can be the best route to achieve it.
It’s for this reason I welcomed the opportunity to work with Andrea Chiarelli recently on some Inner Game content. First, we co-authored an article which published on his excellent The Art of Asking Questions. In it, we delve into the concept of being above the line or below the line:
When you are ‘Above the line’, you are open, curious and
committed to learning; conversely, when you are ‘Below the line’,
you are closed, defensive, and committed to being right.
The article covers what it means, why it matters, and what you can do about it - all in pursuit of mastering your Inner Game. You can read it here:
I then joined Andrea for a live discussion, which has also now published on The Art of Asking Questions. He’s an excellent host and his style ensured we covered a lot of ground in the hour….although I could talk about this stuff for much longer!
I’ve shared the recording above, or you can follow the link to it here:
Hoping you find these resources useful, and always very happy to have a chat if it’s something you’d like to explore further for your team.
The Skilled Consultant is written by Deri Hughes and Colin Mann, Managing Directors of Honeycomb Consulting Skills Training. We help consulting leaders develop exceptional teams with world-class training to support every career transition.
If this discussion raised a question about your own team, do drop a comment below or book a 30-minute call with Deri or with Colin to discuss how we could help you.
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