Global Creative

WSJ ran an article in early April 2010 on adults and ADHD.  It was informative and accurate but hardly useful for the typical WSJ reader.  The title, “Mind Games: Attention-Deficit Disorder Isn’t Just for Kids. Why Adults Are Now Being Diagnosed, Too”, implies that the diagnosis of adults is a recent phenomenon.  It is neither recent nor a phenomenon.  While I appreciate seeing educational articles about ADHD reach WSJ readers, the author Melinda Beck, had a unique opportunity to share the ADHD experience of professionals, executives and leaders in high stakes work environments.  It’s time for a new dialogue about the challenges and opportunities facing professionals struggling with ADHD.

Luckily we at Global Creative have unearthed the missing paragraphs that hopefully we will see in articles in the future.  So you are welcome to insert this anywhere in Ms. Beck’s article (psst! You too Melinda!)

The dynamic and intense work environment of the typical WSJ reader poses added challenges.  But with thoughtful planning and implementation, one can also make high impact gains. Two factors in particular can wreak havoc on a professional’s best laid intentions: transitions and overwhelm.

On the Outside: Transitions

Think about the number of demands, actions, requests a creative professional cycles thru each day.  Moving from one task to another an individual must pivot and change direction and their mode of work.  Shifting from strategic planning to rapid action completions to deep dives into complex projects requires flexibility, dexterity and a keen sense of timing.  These pivot points are temporal, organizational and spatial in nature.

Transitions are particularly challenging when one has an executive function system that shifts attention too quickly or locks on to a task for too long (hyper-focus).  Individuals with ADHD can expend huge sums of energy to activate for a task and then move on to a new task.  In addition, a transition is a process and for many Global Creatives processes can have chameleon-like properties, very difficult to discern from the general background.

On the Inside: Overwhelm

Where transitions fall into the category of a ‘necessary move’, overwhelm is a state of dire consequences.  Overwhelm is a phenomenon you don’t hear a lot about in general ADHD literature.  Yet overwhelm is a very real and challenging condition that will hobble the best laid plans.  It is unique for every individual but typically it occurs when one has too much on their plate and they are not adequately addressing basic ADHD management practices.  With too many inputs to field, overworked Global Creatives can reach a tipping point sending the pre-frontal cortex into shut down mode.  The victim then must resort to ‘latest and loudest’ tactics and be vulnerable to their cave man brain.  No learning. No insights.  Just basic emotional responses to the important inputs that make up a workday.  Pressure and stress are huge players in contributing to overwhelm too.

So  note the essential transitions in your workday and keep an eye on overwhelm.  Prioritizing projects, timely completions and communicating, collaborating and delegating with key individuals will go a long way to limit the damaging effects of overwhelm and bring a sense of success in the workday.  Reestablishing self-care practices such as exercise, sleep and eating well will help manage the stress which in turn helps to manage the ADHD symptoms.  Look for more tips on managing transitions and overwhelm in the near future.

Cameron Gott PCC

ADHD Coach

Washington DC, Virginia and The World

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Covey Habits I – III

Thoughts on Dependence to Independence

As I review these 7 Covey Habits, I notice an implied sequence – to get to Continual Improvement you need to master Interdependence and to master Interdependence you need to first master Independence.  It may be my own brain wanting to create a sequence so I’ll let Covey off the hook here.  I am noticing how my ’sequential perspective’ on implementing the habits is really limiting for a Global Creative.

I suggest we take a global approach on these excellent work attributes.  Developing Interdependence (Habits IV-VI) and committing to self-renewal/’sharpen the saw’ work (Habit VII) can both help develop Independence (Habits I-III).

We can all agree on the workplace value of independence.  When you exhibit excellent responsive skills, it’s not always easy to work independently.  Responders rely on others (other people and other things) to help shape the structure they work within.  Reviewing your choices (I), vision (II) and priorities (III) with someone else can look a lot like dependence.  It is not. It is about being responsible and resourceful.  Global Creatives have brains that benefit from timely reviews.  Whoever said you needed to go into an isolation chamber to clarify and reinforce choices, vision and priorities?

Reviewing these important items can feel a lot like picking over the “Day Old Muffin Bin”.  No fun.  Yet tearing apart a day old muffin can reveal some valuable insight.  Clarity here will help neutralize overwhelm and take us one big step closer to matching action with intention.

If you want to move your agenda forward find creative ways (accessing Interdependence) to review choices, vision and priorities and to move them to completion points.

Cameron Gott PCC

ADHD Coach

Washington DC, Virginia and the World

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Covey’s Seven Habits Deciphered

3rd Habit: First Things First Reframe

First Things: Rename, Recall, Revisit

First things first really means establishing priorities and then reestablishing these same priorities once the crisis fades away.  The challenge for the global creative is coming back to their priorities.  Coupled with the necessity of creating their own structure to define, implement and finish the priority it’s no wonder innovative professionals with ADHD struggle to complete to what is first for them.

First things first is good but it doesn’t go far enough to guarantee consistent execution.  Priorities are rarely urgent so they need some help to get our attention in the middle of a busy work day.  In my reframe of Covey’s third habit there are three distinct parts to maintain a priority as a priority.

Rename (Reframe)

Priorities are often ill-defined and bland such as ‘develop marketing plan’.  Renaming your priority to get your attention and underline the value of giving time, energy and resources to this endeavor.  Notice how ‘connect with key players’ has a little more positive energy.

Recall

This is straight out of Remember to Remind the Brain.  Reminding ourselves of what is important is a key first step to making time for it.

Revisit

This is the big distinction from Covey’s 3^rd Habit.  The dynamic nature of our divergent processing style draws us to an experience rich in variation.  Even though we like to mix things up we can still spend time on the things that count.  It’s really about revisiting priorities and getting quality time with them.  We often lack creativity in how we get back to the game changing actions.  Guilt and fear can ride shotgun on these return trips.

“I should have been working on this months ago!”

“Andy,  Meet Douglas!”

Mixing a little flair with your determination when you return to visit these priorities can go a long way.  Imagine Andy Warhol at the side of General MacArthur when he returned to the Philippines.

So the forced disciplined response of “I shall return” becomes something more generous and creative , “How shall we return, Douglas?”

Your big rocks deserve your most creative and enthusiastic work.  Most important, your big rocks deserve your time.  So make an effort to get creative and revisit them often.

Cameron Gott, PCC

ADHD Coach

DC, Virginia and the World

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Covey’s Seven Habits Deciphered.

Habit 2  - Begin with the End in Mind

We can all agree on the value of keeping the end in mind.  David Allen speaks of the importance of successful outcomes.  There are many potential obstacles to  ‘ beginning with the end in mind’ but for now I’ll focus on one.   A challenge for Global-Creatives is not necessarily maintaining a vision of the ‘end line’ but all the points between the beginning and the end.  The flip side of seeing multiple opportunities is seeing multiple paths to a final destination.  In addition, distractions can multiply the number of side trips (tangents) one takes.   It reminds me of Billy from Bill Keane’s Family Circus (not a fan, thanks) wandering around the neighborhood when he is asked to do a simple task for his ever patient mom.  Keane so eloquently illustrates this behavior with a thick dashed line indicating Billy’s circuitous route.  Hmmm. Did Billy have ADD?  And why is he still 5 years old?  I digress…

Where we can get into trouble is not choosing to commit to one path to completion.   In the search for that golden key we can take extreme measures to move the ball forward often overlooking tried and true actions that have gotten us to the goal line in the past.  This is only exaggerated when there is a sense of urgency.

When our mind (and attention) is focused on extraordinary feats (or chasing stims), we will literally overlook the actions that will move the ball forward.  I like to refer to these actions as baseline actions – the minimum daily actions that when repeated will get us to our desired outcome.  The key word here is ‘minimum’.

I can hear you say “Cam, you want me to spend my whole day doing this mundane stuff?”

I’m talking about a couple hours a day.  Imagine, though, if you string together baselines over several weeks or months.  What all will you accomplish?  Here is the best part.  Real energy (not stim energy) is in these completions.  The baseline becomes anchor in your week.  Best of all a baseline completion helps to remind the brain of the end line we are striving for.  Baseline minimums are not just useful for work actions.  Self-care items like exercise and sleep respond well to a baseline approach.

For example a goal may be 5 cardio workouts a week.  Adding a baseline of 2 per week provides an additional safety net to maintaining best practices.  Five workouts are not always feasible but 2 certainly are.

How do you identify your baselines for work?  You need not look far beyond your bottom line.  What actions will contribute to sustaining and growing your bottom line.  If you don’t like the actions then you may want to find a new line of work.  If you can delegate these actions (such as billing, etc) then do so.

Amidst the fog of overwhelm our vision can falter and we can lose our way to our final destination.  Along with opportunities we want to identify and address our minimum expectations for each and every day.

Cameron Gott PCC

ADHD Follow-thru Coach

Washington DC, Virginia and the World

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Covey’s Seven Habits Deciphered.

Habit 1  - Be Proactive: Principles of Personal Choice (Part II)

Circle of Influence/Circle of Concern

Covey distinguishes the Circle of Influence (the focus of proactive people) and the Circle of Concern (the focus of reactive people) suggesting individuals can freely and willfully choose one or the other.  This is absolutely true but for the individual with ADHD the choice is not always so cut and dry.

Covey defines the Circle of Influence as “things we can do something about: health, children, problems at work”.  He defines the Circle of Concern as “things over which we have little or no control: the national debt, terrorism, the weather”.

Serenity Prayer

It seems as if Covey has drawn inspiration from the Serenity Prayer which in the final line speaks to the having the wisdom of distinguishing what one can and cannot control.  In highly dynamic settings with wavering attention systems and fallible memories, GC’s can lose sight of their Circle of Influence and wander into regions beyond their control.  In making far reaching connections the global brain does not always discern subtle boundaries.  I’m not talking about wandering from problems at work to terrorism.  I’m talking about highly complex work projects with multiple team members and infinite possible outcomes.  In the midst of numerous exchanges (through phone, email and meetings), it is easy to lose sight of our own priorities and wander into someone else’s especially if they are in our area of expertise.

Regarding the Circle of Concern, with a lifetime of struggle and inaccurate information as to the cause of those struggles an individual with undiagnosed ADHD will tend to fill in the blank with self-damning self talk.  ANTS (Automatic Negative Self Talk) can keep us camped out in the Circle of Concern indefinitely.  In addition, a global creative responder can develop a nasty rescuer identity.  In part because the clarity for them is outside their own brain but unfortunately beyond their own Circle of Influence (notice how it’s easier to look at other people’s problems?).

Covey is right that every moment provides a new choice.  When we can get objective about our areas of influence and concern and recognize the triggers associated with them then we move a step closer to intentional choice.

Strategies

Identifying and Remembering the Remind the Brain of our Circle of Influence is a regular exercise for the successful GC.

Just as there is a proactive posture, Covey speaks of a proactive language.  Notice your language.  It doesn’t have to all be proactive.  What’s more useful is consistent accurate language.

“I have been successful here in the past, I will be again”.

Spend time getting strategic (reflective)about your choices.  The idea of intentional choice is really resonating with me.  With this consider two perspectives:

The absence of completion (consequences) – “What happens if I don’t complete this?”

The presence of completion (opportunities and payoff)- “What happens if I do complete this?”

Awareness is the starting point to developing better proactive habits.

Cameron Gott, PCC

ADHD Coach

DC, Virginia and the World

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Covey’s Seven Habits Deciphered.

Habit 1 - Be Proactive: Principles of Personal Choice

In Habit 1, Covey espouses the importance of personal choice, distinguishing a proactive life full of responsibility and choice from a reactive life full of blame and struggle.  Certainly we all need to take responsibility for our lives but for the Global Creative with ADD, a posture of choice and pro-activity can be challenging to sustain.

I’d like to address two areas Covey suggests we need to move away from – being reactive and focusing on the “Circle of Concern”.

First a word about being reactive.

Global Creatives are not reactive out of choice but more out of necessity.  “Being Proactive” requires an ability to build and sustain structure to operate through – to make plans, map visions and goals, and execute consistently.  The primary ingredient for building structure is time. Like a master woodworker’s intimate knowledge of his wood medium, building structure requires intimate knowledge of the chararistics of time – how it moves, how it works and how it doesn’t work.  For innovative ADD individuals with their global (non-sequential) processing preferences, time (the definition of sequential) is like running water always slipping away.  So building and sustaining structure is extremely difficult for the non-practiced GC, especially when dealing with overwhelm.

Our creative approach to getting things done is to set up structures outside ourselves so all we have to do is respond or react to make things happen.  Where GC’s get in trouble is not always being proactive about the things we respond to. This is when a Global Creative can fall prey to the “latest and loudest”.  Worse yet, GC’s are allowing others to prioritize their daily action items.  How often do you look at your email first thing in the morning?  And yet you have plenty of important items to address.

Event Planner

A useful intervention is to develop short but effective proactive planning sessions mapping out structure points or events to react to.  A good friend of mine first signs up for a triathlon (the event) then begins to train.  The key is to stake the event far enough in advance and chip away at the preparation.  Likewise with work projects, staking events such as planning meetings with colleagues on a regular basis can create some necessary structure and accountability to get the task done (and you get credit for being the proactive one setting up the meetings!).

Proactive Posture

Remembering to remind the brain (R of REBEL) of a proactive posture can be helpful too.  GC’s can easily slip into a reactive posture on their heels playing defense and waiting for the next input to respond to.  This posture or stance can lull one into a false sense of general contentment.  Noticing your posture and shifting into a more proactive one can be encouraged by simple questions and our old friend the Fire Chief.

• What do I need?
• What may I be missing? (What do I not know?)
• What do I know?
• Who can I tap?
• What does a proactive stance look like here?

Next week we take a look at “Circle of Concern” stuff.  If you have time brush up on the Serenity Prayer.

Cameron Gott PCC

ADHD Coach

Washington DC, Virginia and the World

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Global Creatives love their gurus especially productivity gurus like Stephen Covey and David Allen of GTD fame.

We especially love their elegant yet simple principles for greater productivity (and happiness).  Yet with that love comes a raw frustration, too.  Take Covey’s 7 Habits.  Nothing makes more sense to an innovator with ADD yet is so challenging to consistently implement.  Ever wonder why?

Here they are as a refresher.

• Habit 1: Be Proactive: Principles of Personal Choice
• Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind: Principles of Personal Vision
• Habit 3: Put First Things First: Principles of Integrity & Execution
• Habit 4: Think Win/Win: Principles of Mutual Benefit
• Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: Principles of Mutual Understanding
• Habit 6: Synergize: Principles of Creative Cooperation
• Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw: Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal of body

From Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Would you believe that ADD disrupts the development and implementation of every single habit from Covey’s list?

Every single habit!

Over the next few weeks we’ll take a look at each habit, how ADD throws a wrench into the game and more importantly what a global creative can actively do to neutralize the negative effects.

In addition, I will introduce a new category called “Guru Talk” where I translate guru principles and suggestions so we can consider them with ADD in mind.

Cameron Gott PCC

ADHD Coach

Washington DC, Virginia and the World

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Not the greatest at nudging the ‘big rig’ into gear, innovators with ADHD can really struggle with inertia.  Many professionals come to coaching seeking to develop tools for consistency and  momentum.  A handy formula I created a while back is a simple reminder of what is essential for momentum.  Hope + Reserve = Momentum.

Those with ADD are a resilient bunch so hope (or attitude) is often in abundance.  Our rosy outlook in the face of countless setbacks is a unique characteristic of ADD.  The distracting nature of the disorder that takes us off our game also can insulate us from the worst harm and pain.  We tend to get up and look forward again.  Attitude is really the present tense of hope.  Attitude is a huge player in activation for task.

Reserve is another matter.  Trying to hold together multiple commitments of a high level job,we are susceptible to overwhelm (the real bad guy in ADD management).  When we are pushing the limits, reserve is often the last thing on our minds.  Yet reserve, like fuel in the tank, will take us to our destination.

Building reserve takes forethought and patience.  It wont happen overnight but the pay off is huge especially in stress reduction.

Start with a little space and fill that space with some rewarding self care.  Two areas I focus on are exercise and sleep.  Start with these two and you will see a difference in your reserve levels almost immediately.

So hope on the front end and reserve on the back end will carry us forward!

Cheers!

Cameron Gott PCC

ADHD Coach

Washington DC and Virginia

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Many global creatives (innovators with ADHD tendencies) can really get stuck on timely execution.  ”I can’t seem to pull the trigger, Cam!” is something I often hear.

Many coaches and productivity gurus like Covey, not familiar with ADD, tend to exacerbate this situation by focusing on ‘just pulling the trigger’.  They speak of discipline, desire and necessary risk.  This is understandable when clients are dealing with just hesitancy or resistance.  ”Just Do It” is an effective strategy to move clients into action.  As an accountability and completion specialist, I often resort to this approach especially when clients get stuck in the “Why?” hole of excessive thinking.

Brain Perspective

When we hyper-focus on the act of pulling the trigger we can fail to notice the trigger itself.  In considering ADD, we have to appreciate the underlying neurobiology.  ADD makes us less aware of processes .  Moving into action or pulling the trigger is but one phase of a process (time is a process too).  How can you pull the trigger when the trigger has not been assembled!

So when you get stuck around pulling the trigger, pause and take a look at your trigger! (Expand the Mind from REBEL)

• Map out this action as part of a larger process.  When we get curious about something (even processes)we tend to find out answers .
• Let go of the “this will be boring” self-talk.
• Set aside 15 minutes to look at what goes into a reliable trigger.
• What resources have you not thought of yet?
• Better yet, look at this with someone who appreciates the value you add to your organization.  Brainstorming with others can be greatly beneficial.

In conclusion, use your global creative skill set to look beyond the trigger to pull the trigger and “Just Do It!”

Comments welcome or email me to maintain confidentiality

Cameron Gott PCC

ADHD Coach

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A good friend who is also a global creative is a small business owner running a service company out of his house.  Ted is a one man operation so if he is not working he is generally not making money.  He is also an amazingly generous individual – almost to a fault.  If a friend makes a request, Ted will often drop what he is doing and help his friend in need.  To exacerbate the situation Ted owns a pick-up so people are always asking him to haul and drop off stuff.

You can see how these two identites compete for Ted’s attention with ‘generous friend’ often winning out over ’successful business owner’.  This is not an uncommon challenge for global creatives in general especially if they are master responders allowing others to dictate their daily intentions (more on the Responder here)

Covey and Allen refer to these as roles but I prefer identities.  Identities speak more to who you are (father, husband, professional, provider) than a role that you play.  I’ve been focusing on rediscovering and reinforcing identities with my clients recently.  CG’s have a tendency to not only forget the name of the game in the middle of a good hunt (or distraction) but also forget their best identities.

A number of factors can contribute to this.  A fallible memory and limited inhibition (impulsivity) certainly do not help.  Throw emotion  into the mix (would you rather help a buddy or bill a customer?) and you can see how we arrive here.

Best Identities also help to reinforce our level of confidence reminding us that indeed we are up to the task.  They also give us a better option than less-than-stellar identities that can step in when our guard is down (Shiny Object Chaser, Day Dreamer, Walk-by completer)

Steps to Reinforcing Identites

• Name your best identities with appropriate qualifier (successful business owner, for example)
• List attitudes and actions that support this identity (confidence, vision, cultivating new clients/work, billing customers)
• List what happens if you do not regularly step into this identity (stagnating business, loss in visibility)
• List what happens if you do regularly step into this identity (regular completions that contribute to building business)

Posting your best identities prominently to remind the brain (R of REBEL) is a good idea.

Some of mine

• Add Value Coach
• Successful Business Owner
• Knowledgable Trainer
• Generous Collaborator
• Loving Husband and Father
• Olympic Biker (well not really, but it gets me on the bike!)

These are identities I strive for.  I am not successful all the time but having these accessible gives me useful  focal points.

Enjoy!

Cameron Gott PCC

ADHD Coach

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