The other day, in response to a diagnostic score, I was asked, “is this normal?” There are often benchmarks associated with diagnostics, but I had not given much thought to what is normal and avoid looking at things in absolute terms. In the last 10 years, there has been a proliferation of business diagnostics designed to give you, your team, and your company rapid feedback either as a score or report that includes a crisp snapshot of information.
Once you have the input, what will you do with it?
- Do you believe it?
- Will it help you be better?
- Will it result in positive actions?
- Or will you do nothing?
There is no real reason to review diagnostics unless it is to spur action. The following are guidelines I use when taking a diagnostic:
- Set a clear expectation for taking the diagnostics.
- Be free of negative emotions when you take the diagnostic.
- Accept that your intuition will be in play rather than data-driven responses.
- Avoid dwelling on the questions; there is no right or wrong.
Once the results are in, then:
- Shut down the inner voice if the results are unexpected.
- Commit to 1% improvement every day, no matter the result.
So, circling back to “is this normal,” for this individual, it was. The diagnostics aimed to measure the ratio between sabotaging behavior/sage mindset and to identify and rank top sabotaging behaviors.
I have now designed a package to help this individual, including mental fitness training and executive leadership coaching. This is a story about what I do to help busy professionals go from self-sabotaging behaviors to financial freedom.
I discovered the value and importance of mental fitness in my 2nd Act. What will your 2nd Act include?