 Modeling ExpertisePublished Date: 2008-09-02 16:27:35 WorkOnInternet.com
Installing Exceptional Ability Among other definitions, NLP has been called, "the study and application of excellence' and 'the new science of achievement.' The co-founders defined expert behavior (expertise) as 'exceptional ability.' A potent belief system in their exploration of these possibilities was that 'if anyone could produce a result, then the component parts of that ability can be taught and installed in others.' Presuppositions of Behavior Modeling Another belief system or 'presupposition' of the emerging technology they called NLP is that, 'anyone can achieve any outcome as long as that person can break the task down into small enough pieces or chunks, and sequence it properly.' Behavior Modeling, as they understood it, is a primary way that humans learn. Young children "model" or copy the behaviors of the people in their world including parents and other care-givers in particular. School children emulate their heroes and may role-play a whole cast of characters. As adults, successful business people tend to pick mentors and identify with people and values expressed at their own socio-economic, political, and/or educational level. People model behaviors from those perceived as possessing the qualities and abilities they want to emulate. Developing of the Technology John Grinder and Richard Bandler "modeled" what they had learned from cognitive psychology, Gestalt Therapy, systems theory, cybernetics, computer science and other fields, to develop the foundational pieces of what became Neuro Linguistic Programming. With a set of skills and elicitation questions, they were able then to model excellence among some of the most successful people of the time. Although NLP has been applied to business, sports, education and other fields, the co-founders of NLP were both interested in therapy. They modeled Viginia Satir, the family therapist and her 'systems approach' to family behavior. They modeled Gregory Bateson who contributed important foundational pieces of NLP and several other fields from his Anthropological background and writings that include the book, Steps to An Ecology of Mind. They modeled Fritz Perlz, the Father of Gestalt Therapy, and they modeled Milton H. Erickson, M.D., the foremost Hypnotherapist of our time and the primary contributor to the practice of Brief Therapy. Their student, Robert Dilts, modeled Albert Einstein, Nicola Tesla, Sherlock Holmes, Jesus of Nazareth, Leonardo DaVinci, and others in his books Strategies of Genius I & Strategies of Genius II. How Do You Do It? When an expert is asked how they do what they do well, the typical response is "I don't know. I just do it." At some level an expert does know how they do what they do, but these skills and abilities tend to be held at an unconscious level. People do what we do automatically (unconsciously) once a level of proficiency is acquired with regard to a specific ability. The Behavior Modeler elicits information and brings it to conscious awareness. The Modeler has access to protocols for asking the right questions in an order that is useful in eliciting the critical elements of the expertise. She wants to know, what is 'the difference that makes the difference' for this individual in this particular area of expertise. People Love Being Modeled Now, the wonderful thing about Behavior Modeling is that it is amazingly empowering to the person being modeled. What is your favorite topic for conversation? For most people, it is themselves. And, when an expert or exemplar of an ability is modeled, she learns more about how she does what she does well in the process of being modeled. When she can understand at a conscious level how she does what she does well, she does it more consistently. Doesn't it follow, that if you do what you do well more often, you will naturally be more successful? So, even the expert being modeled can improve on her own ability, and universally, people who have been modeled report being incredibly enriched from the experience. People love to be modeled. Attention on the Exemplar Think about this. Wouldn't you love to have someone so focused on you and interested in finding out exactly how you do what you do well. It's very flattering to hear about how well you do something, isn't it. This is similar to how you feel so good when someone tells you that you are pretty or handsome; that you are smart or good at what you do. Yes, it has to be sincere and you need to believe what is said to some degree, and when someone is authentically interested in you, it's just natural to talk and tell more about yourself, don't you think? So, one thing about being modeled is that attention is on the person being modeled. The Map is Not the Territory Excellent Behavior Modelers 'map' the behavior of exemplars. We never really understand what is going on inside another person. We have some idea; but that is a secondary representation of their actual experience they are having. We can, however, make a map of another person's experience. The closer our map of another person's experience is to the actual terrain of what is going on for them, the better the map. Selling Excellence For example, excellent selling professionals map the behavior of their potential customers. They elicit beliefs, values, physiological cues, thinking patterns, and strategies for how a customer buys. The primary skill of an excellent selling professional is first to listen and then to dovetail the criteria of the customer with his or her product or service. When a prospective customer experiences being fully heard by the sales pro, there is nothing to resist in the selling process. Change Unwanted Behaviors As an NLP Success Coach, I not only want to know what outcome you want to achieve, I want to map how you have been creating the behavior you no longer want. For example, when I conduct public Stop Smoking, NOW! seminars, I get really curious about the behavior of smoking. I want to know, "How do you do that?" Some people laugh nervously at this question, but I say,"No, really, I am extremely curious. If I wanted to do this behavior the way you do, how would I do it? What would I do first, and then second?" and so on, untiI I have elicited a specific strategy for how the person achieves the specific outcome of being a smoker. The reason I am interested in modeling the unwanted behavior so I will know exactly where to intervene and interrupt the ritual of smoking. I also want to do some belief change work to make sure my client adopts the identity of being a 'non-smoker' and is now 'tobacco free.' I want to understand the specific order and syntax of the strategies that make up the behavior and then I will know where to intervene to make the most change in any unwanted behavior. Every Outcome is an Achievement In the case of working with an overweight person, I want to find out specifically 'how' the client produced the result of being overweight, and simply change the behaviors that produce the result, that person can readjust the strategy that led to the present outcome to a strategy that produces a different result, like achieving natural body shape and weight. NLP views any outcome as an achievement, even if it is not the outcome desired. Part of the 'how' may include thinking in new and different ways and even moving your body in new and different ways to establish specific pathway connections through the brain and nervous system. Do Something Different Best-selling author and motivational personality, Anthony Robbins reports being depressed and gaining 30 pounds in two months. He says he was living in a 600 square foot bachelor apartment in Venice Beach, California. When Tony realized that he had achieved an outcome that had specific behavioral components, he simply changed the components of his strategy for gaining weight and being depressed and started doing the things necessary to get a result he actually wanted in his life. For Tony, realizing the significance of what he had accomplished caused him to wonder what else he could change in his life. Tony studied with Richard Bandler and John Grinder to learn the specific skills of their technology for personal change. No one else can be Anthony Robbins. However, Tony will tell you that if you can find out how he did what he did for himself and you were to model the critical elements of his achievement in your own area of endeavor, you can reproduce amazing results. If Tony can do it, you can do it too. The Difference That Makes the Difference Another NLP student of Richard Bandler and John Grinder is Wyatt Woodsmall. Wyatt was involved in modeling Greg Louganis, the great diving champion. Wyatt explained to me that Greg practiced differently than all the other divers of his time. In modeling Louganis, Woodsmall elicited what he describes as the 'difference that makes the difference.' When other divers practiced, they were trying to hit the perfect spot on the diving board to give them the perfect dive. Louganis wanted to make the perfect dive from anywhere he hit on the diving board. That small shift in thinking allowed Louganis to develop differently than he other divers and led to greatness in the field of diving. Business Modeling Over the years an experiential base has been formed with regard to modeling highly successful people. Successful managers tend to have similar behavioral characteristics in the way they get results on their teams and with their accountabilities. NLP models extraordinary business cultures so that the core competencies can be installed to create high performance results in an organization. High Performance cultures are relationship-based, committed to excellence, make it safe to hold others to account, appreciate unique contributions, and fully aligned to an outcome big enough to inspire extraordinary achievement. Bill Thomason and the NLP Coaching & Skills Training Institute can help you and your organization model excellence. Bill Thomason is your NLP Success Coach and Certified NLP Trainer. Bill has coached hundreds of top business executives over the last 24 years and helped thousands of people, like you, to install their own patterns of excellence using the techniques of NLP and Behavior Modeling to enhance performance, build confidence, and accomplish more than you ever thought possible. Bill lives in Phoenix, Arizona and offices in Old Town Scottsdale, USA, 85251. Bill can be reached at 602 321-7192 or email nlpskills@earthlink.net and check out his website at http://www.nlpskills.com.
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