During our coaching sessions at Archetype, we have noticed that many people look for the reasons for their successes and failures outside of themselves. We therefore believe it is important during this training to make people aware that they have more control over things than they imagine.
In the 1950s, American psychologist Julian Rotter brought to light the concept of “Locus of Control” and distinguished between an “internal” locus and an “external” one. People favouring an internal locus identify their own behaviour and actions as major factors in what happens to them, whereas the emphasis on an external locus will focus on an explanation linked to external forces. The Locus of Control principle is present in our daily lives and at all levels of an organisation. Salespeople, for example, have very different opinions when it comes to what they can and cannot influence. A timeless anecdote illustrating the principle is that of a Belgian shoe manufacturer. Thirty years ago, he identified that his local network was saturated. He then sent two salespeople to the African continent to study the market. When the first salesperson came back, it was obvious to him: “Disastrous. Everyone is barefoot, there is no business opportunity for us there”. A little later, the second salesperson told a different story: “Fantastic! The possibilities for our company there are infinite, everyone is barefoot.”
How do we proceed?
At Archetype, by fostering awareness, we help people strengthen their internal locus. Self-confidence plays a major role in this. The process takes place in two stages:
- Raising awareness
The first step is to make people aware of their own point of view. If, during a training session, I ask two salespeople what they think they can control and what they cannot, the answers will be considerably different. Luc will say that 80% of his life is determined by what is external to him and 20% by what is internal to him, whereas this can be the exact opposite for Jean. I was once asked to help an industrial oils salesperson, convinced that the prices applied systematically caused the failure of a potential sale. When I went to the client with him and the client quickly brought up the price, the salesperson then directly entered into a negotiation process. He did not try to open the conversation about the product, the client’s needs, etc. The salesperson did not correctly identify his role in the sales process. An external opinion can help identify flaws and make attitudes obvious.
- Practising and taking ownership
After this awareness process, people can exercise their internal locus. They can first learn to focus on what is within their power. As the Stoic Marcus Aurelius once said: “You must show courage to change what can be changed, serenity to accept what cannot be changed, and wisdom to distinguish between the two.” We are convinced that people can do much more than they think, if they are willing to sweep their own doorstep: Have I done everything I could? How can I do things differently? Before wanting to change others, let us question our own attitude towards others. This is possible through frequent exercise, rituals as reminders and the introduction of visualisation, etc. It all comes down to taking ownership of a new attitude, with a strong internal locus, so that it becomes automatic.
During training sessions, we systematically encourage people to step back from themselves, fight the right battles and take things into their own hands. In our philosophy of promoting human capital in organisations, we believe that everyone can do more than they think.
Marc Diamant.
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