Episode 152
Ep 152: Helping your members take action - part 2
You've got planning calls, maybe even some accountability built into your membership. So why isn't it working for everyone? In this episode I dig into why a one-size-fits-all approach to productivity falls flat for so many people, using a framework I use with my 1:1 clients to understand how they respond to expectations. I'll also share a bit of neuroscience that explains why your members can make a plan and still not follow through on it — and what that means for how you support them.
Make sure you're subscribed to Unfrazzle so you don't miss part 3, where I share a framework you can use to help your members take action.
In case you missed it, here's where you'll find part one of this series for membership owners.
Listen to the episode about Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies here.
Take the quiz to find out what's getting in the way of your productivity
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Transcript
Foreign.
Speaker A:Welcome to Unfrazzle, a podcast for solo business owners with a big vision who are ready for a kinder, more sustainable approach to productivity.
Speaker A:I'm Louise Miller and each week I share bite size insights to help you step away from the hustle, stop faffing and stay focused so you can make your brilliant ideas happen and make a bigger impact in the world.
Speaker A:Before we dive into today's episode, if you enjoy what I'm sharing here on Unfrazzle and you'd like to support the podcast, you can buy me a cuppa by going to buymeacoffee.com louisemiller and making a one off donation.
Speaker A:I'll pop a link to that in the show notes.
Speaker A:Okay, grab yourself a cuppa and let's get started.
Speaker A:In part one of this three part series, I talked about why your members might be struggling to take action on all of the brilliant things that you're teaching them and how giving them space to pause, reflect and choose is key to helping them move forward.
Speaker A:So you might already have planning calls or some kind of accountability built into your membership.
Speaker A:So why isn't that always doing the job?
Speaker A:First of all, if your planning sessions are focused solely on your membership, they are unlikely to work.
Speaker A:And that is because these sorts of plans don't factor in all of the other things that your members are dealing with.
Speaker A:All the other life stuff that is easy to forget about when you're feeling all inspired and excited, but but that will trip people up and prevent them from doing the things they say they'll do.
Speaker A:And another thing I see quite often, you know, in my experience and the experience of my clients, the planning sessions offered as part of a membership don't allow for people's differences.
Speaker A:So I had a client once who was told to break projects down into tasks and then decide when she was going to do those tasks using a very rigid spreadsheet.
Speaker A:And she spent hours doing that and then she never looked at that spreadsheet again.
Speaker A:And the membership owner who suggested that to her had very good intentions.
Speaker A:They thought they'd done their job in helping her take action, but all they had actually done was give her more to do that didn't help her in the slightest.
Speaker A:So just to be clear, I am not blaming or judging the membership owners who do that sort of thing.
Speaker A:You didn't start your membership because you're an expert in helping people get things done.
Speaker A:But I just want to take a moment to explain why having a prescriptive approach like that just doesn't work.
Speaker A:So much of the conversation around productivity, and I see this particularly inside memberships.
Speaker A:So much of the conversation focuses on accountability, but accountability doesn't work for everyone.
Speaker A:So if you're one of the people for whom that approach doesn't work, if you are a rebel, for example, no amount of accountability is going to work for you.
Speaker A:And if you are a rebel, your natural instinct is going to be to fight back against it.
Speaker A:So actually that accountability might end up being counterproductive.
Speaker A:I ask all of my one to one clients to take Gretchen Rubin's four Tendencies quiz when we start working together.
Speaker A:It's a framework that shows how different people respond to inner outer expectations and it's fascinating.
Speaker A:I've got a whole podcast episode about that.
Speaker A:I will include the link in the show notes.
Speaker A:I may repeat some of the things I'm about to say now, but it is worth a listen.
Speaker A:So my clients are often questioners and rebels in Gretchen Rubin's framework, and they require a whole different approach than obligers.
Speaker A:And obligers are the only people who need accountability in order to meet expectations.
Speaker A:So that well intentioned membership owner who asked my client to break things down into a spreadsheet, in Gretchen Rubin's framework, they were an upholder, meaning that if something is written down or in their calendar, they will do it no matter what.
Speaker A:And that person didn't understand that just because that's what works for them, that doesn't mean it's going to work for everyone.
Speaker A:And in fact, upholders make up a very small percentage of the pro of the population.
Speaker A:Another person I once worked with couldn't understand why no matter how hard he tried to get organized and create a structure for himself, he was never able to follow through or stick with it long term.
Speaker A:And when we realized that he's a rebel in Gretchen Rubin's framework, suddenly it all made sense.
Speaker A:Of course he's not going to follow through with the structure that he set for himself.
Speaker A:The motto of the rebel is you can't make me and neither can I.
Speaker A:So once we've figured that out, we could try some different approaches to help him get the important stuff done.
Speaker A:So obviously I know you can't provide bespoke one on one productivity support in your membership.
Speaker A:That's not the point of running a membership.
Speaker A:So that's not why I'm suggesting.
Speaker A:All I'm saying is that if you are offering support with implementation in your membership, but it isn't flexible enough to cater for all four tendencies and to allow people to find what works for them within that there will always be some people for whom those things don't work.
Speaker A:And as if that wasn't complicated enough, we've got some neuroscience that we need to talk about here as well.
Speaker A:So most productivity tools and planning sessions are designed to engage your cold executive function, which is the part of your brain that plans and prioritizes and stays focused.
Speaker A:So in theory, if you're talking about productivity, that sounds ideal, doesn't it?
Speaker A:But in practice, it's only half the picture because it completely ignores your hot executive function.
Speaker A:And your hot executive function responds to emotion.
Speaker A:It responds to steaks, not the sort of steaks that you eat, kind of high stakes situations.
Speaker A:It responds to motivation, and it can quietly sabotage your best intentions, pulling you towards easier tasks, more interesting distractions, or just straight into procrastination.
Speaker A:So most standard planning sessions are built entirely around cold executive function systems, which is precisely why your members may make a plan but not act on it.
Speaker A:What your members actually need is a plan that speaks to both systems, to the cold executive function that gives them the structure, the priorities and the consistency, and the hot executive function that gives them an emotional connection to why the work matters.
Speaker A:And when their plan integrates both of those things, your members won't just be organized, they will be motivated to follow through.
Speaker A:So although it's easy to think that all you need to do is include a quarterly planning session and offer some sort of accountability in order for your members to take action, as you can see, it's not quite that straightforward.
Speaker A:And in the final installment of this three part series, I'm going to walk you through what actually does work and share a simple framework that you can use with your own members, whatever their tendency, that will integrate that hot and cold executive function for them.
Speaker A:So subscribe to Unfrazzle wherever you get your podcasts just to make sure you don't miss it.
Speaker A:And I'll see you again soon.
Speaker A:Thank you for listening to UnFrazzle.
Speaker A:If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and share it with a friend who needs a dose of calm productivity in their life.
Speaker A:And I'd love it if you could leave me a rating or a review as that will help more people discover the podcast.
Speaker A:And if you're struggling with productivity right now, take my free assessment to find out what's really getting in the way of you getting things done.
Speaker A:It takes less than three minutes to complete and I'll send you tailored resources and insights that will help based on your score.
Speaker A:You'll find that@louisemiller.uk quiz and there's a link for that in the show notes.
Speaker A:So thank you so much for being here, and I look forward to seeing you next time.
