Moodset for Maximum
I’m in a good mood, how about you? If I ask you to think about what affects your mood, what comes to mind? Perhaps it’s the weather? Or the family? Or work? Or progress? Or perhaps nothing comes to mind because you’re not in the mood to think about it!
Research has shown that happier people live longer, and that mood has a strong effect on productivity. Do you ever wonder how you can set a more consistently positive mood? And when I asked that, did you think of your own mood, or the impact of your mood on others?
When it comes to striving for excellence, my experience and research has shown that whilst we understand the need for a performance method, and we have probably heard about the importance of growth-mindset, very few of us understand the significance of mood or moodset. Mood is the magic in this mix, and it helps us unleash mastery.
Standing on the shoulders of giants I proposed a simple model to help project managers better master the people component of project delivery. The model balances mindset, method, and moodset, while integrating leadership, teamwork, and discipline.
Mood or moodset is where I consistently find so-called “low hanging fruit” or the opportunity for small changes when assessing team climates ahead of transformation campaigns. This fruit could be welfare, recognition, respect, recreational facilities, travel issues, career growth, or just a voice in the conversation! Closer attention to these dials on the performance dashboard can be a gamechanger for teams, but often these climate indicators are ignored by all of us leaders.
Have you been in a family when someone was in a bad mood?
Creating a climate in the house that improves the mood of the majority, helps the atmosphere and keeps us happier most of the time. Happiness leads to productivity, not the other way around! This has been shown in many studies on the subject, and it is why the “pursuit of happiness” has been misapplied by many.
Learning: My impact on the family mood as a parent and leader is 100%. A grumpy mood in a confined space spreads faster than COVID-19!
During lockdown I watched the Netflix series The Playbook. It pulls back the curtain on how some of the greatest sports coaches of recent times have created exceptional performance climates to inspire excellence and evoke flow for their players and teams. I noted the 27 ideas and distilled them to a top five; start with the truth, always be the underdog, seize our opportunities, together as a trusting team, forward to the finish.
Two great books I have read include “The Culture Code” by Daniel Coyle, and “Primed to Perform” (and the idea of TOMO – total motivation) by two former McKinsey consultants. The big takeaways were these: Purpose is vital, but a safe place to play and develop potential is the secret sauce. A moodset or climate which encourages expression and learning.
Learning: Play! Playlists can change the mood in an instant. Playbooks can help us codify what excellence feels like. Playful is the best motivator for TOMO – science backs this up. Play is the number one best way to unlock a good mood!
In the last decade, I have conducted dozens of performance climate assessments in many different areas of the world, on and offshore. Climate is a combination of the environment and the atmosphere. It is the team mood. I learned through immersion to gauge the mood at any installation within about 5 minutes. There were three elements that told me about the prevailing mood, and they never let me down.
1. Are visitors greeted spontaneously by those who see us, or are we ignored?
2. Is the site leader expecting the visitors or is the visit a total surprise?
3. Is there an organised, clean work-site environment, with observable energy in the body language of team members?
Learning: Courtesy, communication, and collaboration are noticeable and predictable indicators of moodset.
In the year 2000 I was a commando captain helping to restore peace in the West African country of Sierra Leone. A rebel army was advancing on Freetown, murdering and maiming hundreds of innocent civilians along the way.
My role was to fly onshore from the commando carrier, HMS Ocean, liaise with the spearhead battalion on the ground, and then lead my Mortar Troop of 60 marines as we adjusted a number of targets to ensure indirect fire protection when the rebels attacked.
During that 6-week campaign in a war-torn country there were many threats and risks outside of our control. But what we could rely on was our training and our trust; trust in each other, trust in the system, and trust in the motivation of the marines on the ground. In other words, we focused on what we could control to lead a successful defence of the capital.
When I reflect on that situation, I realise how critical it was to sustain the right climate for the troops to deliver excellence in a dangerous place; to manage the mood, or moodset, for motivation and morale.
Trust is critical for moodset and despite our geographic spread during that campaign, the troop was positive throughout. Maintenance of morale is a principle of war. Managing mood is a priority during crises.
Learning: Trust provides peace of mind which helps a good moodset. Oxytocin flows when we feel trust.
Do you remember what it was like at school when you had a teacher or a coach who inspired a positive learning climate? He or she created the conditions for growth and grit.
We had a rugby and running coach at my school who dared us to believe that we could defeat our own doubts to rise up and face even the toughest tests of our character. He nurtured a climate of confidence. A moodset for excellence.
In fact, the only time he discouraged our “daring”, and changed his mood, was when anyone showed an active interest in his daughters who were out of bounds as far as he was concerned!
Great parents, teachers and coaches know how to maintain a mood which inspires effort, it inspires energy, it lights a fire inside. The right mood can fuel the fire while the wrong mood can extinguish the flame.
Learning: High-performance climates have inspiring servant-leadership at the heart of them. The leader maintains a balance between the “stand” and the “field” to win the hearts of the team.
In my final year at school I was the anchor for our house cross-country relay team. I was also ranked as one of the best runners at the school. When I received the baton, I felt the overwhelming weight of responsibility to take the lead and finish strong, instead I mis-timed my charge to the front of the field and ultimately failed in my mission, I crawled across the finish line, then collapsed unconscious. I had let the pressure turn to panic rather than staying calm and clear.
I woke up with a drip in each arm and the suggestion that I should not participate in the individual event the following week. My dream of winning the senior cross-country title looked set to remain just a dream.
Thanks to the Sanitorium support, I rehydrated sufficiently for a return to sports in a few days but was initially despondent about my chances in the individual event given my recent collapse.
I felt progressively stronger and more confident as it neared time for the individual run. My mood improved dramatically. On the day of the race I stayed calm and felt grateful for the chance to compete.
I got the strategy spot on and found myself in front with 1 mile to go. It was then a case of hanging on to the lead, crossing the finish line, and enjoying the fulfilment of a dream.
When I look back at that small achievement from my school years, I realise it is a big reference point for how to overcome adversity, find the upside in a downturn, and simply help oneself believe that success can follow disappointment. Inspiration and flow were in balance and my mood was calm and composed. Job done.
Learning: We all have inspirational reference points from our lifetime. Referencing these can boost our mood, especially when facing a new challenge. Serotonin flows from social recognition to help us evoke flow.
Mood is the atmosphere, the background music, the feeling we have about our habitat. It is inspired by the leader which could be our self! Belonging cues and observable behaviours are foundational to team excellence.
Mood can transform performance, we have felt and seen that many times. The leader’s mood affects everyone’s mood. A bad mood leads to lower energy. Lower energy leads to below-average results.
Playlists help mood if selected by the team. In fact, play has been found to be the top direct contributor to total motivation. Giving the team a space and a voice is key.
A rotten apple needs to be removed from the barrel so as not to spread. Rarely but occasionally that rotten apple will be the appointed leader, in which case the mood can be infected until the rot is removed.
A bad habit is also like a bad apple.
A courteous, communicative, collaborative community starts a good mood. Truth, trust, and transparency sets and sustains that mood over time.
Our mood and our effect on others is owned by all of us, all of the time. The way we show up, our language including our body language, who we spend time with, and where we spend our time; all of these factors impact mood!
One of the benefits of being a performance guide is that a bad mood in the work environment is simply not an option due to the role. We don’t have the luxury of being grumpy at work! As a result we need to manage our mood in order to be available for those who want a sounding board and a listening ear.
So, I’ll ask again: Can you set a more consistently positive mood? And can you impact the mood of others? The answer is a resounding yes. In fact it is simple, not always easy, but certainly worth it!
Now set your mood to maximum!
