Minus interference

Last Tuesday I went to a training session about mentoring.

There are some new processes if you look after a graduate. The session also covered what made someone a good mentor. And the difference between coaching and mentoring.

During the break I asked a question which led to one of the speakers talking about an algorithm by Tim Gallwey.

performance = ( potential - interference )

Tim Gallwey is the author of several coaching books.

Though this algorithm is too simplistic. It’s the type of thing that helps explain a truth. A truth about people, teams and systems.

The idea is that you’re held back from your potential by “interference”.

That is, a team’s performance is as much how well they manage interference as they are their skills and capabilities.

Interference can come in different shapes and sizes.

It can be institutional. Societal opinions. An over-eager minister or competition between teams. Personal demons. Overthinking. Hesitation. Bias.

The higher volume of distraction. The lower the performance.

As part of a team entering into a discovery I’m keeping this concept in mind.

We’ll have many opportunities to distract ourselves. And lots of oversight and influential people watching us close.

But whatever happens, my goal will be to make sure we keep interference to a minimum. And those around us help do that too.

What could you achieve without interference?