 As interviews with key decision makers ensued, Sylvia and Bala were sharpening their view of strategy they needed to employ. Gathering the team over a drink they liked to keep things informal. Hunkering down with flip charts and I-pads to discuss findings from their numerous interviews, this would pave the way for the entire Culture Alignment program.
Overall their job was to help employees understand their operating system;
All food for thought that would leave them reflective for some part and raring to go at other times. Real life stories of success stories would be the centre of discussion. Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius, the man who defied all odds and shattered his physical limitations, sentenced to five years imprisonment for culpable homicide. Tried for the murder of his girlfriend, South African model Reeva Steenkemp this was a widely publicised case. As the case went on and his life was laid bare, a striking paradox surfaced from this man’s public persona. It appeared that for all his superhuman feats, he was also a very vulnerable and insecure man. The sad thing was that many people commented on his ‘aggressive and reckless behaviour’, unfortunately after the fact. They also made observations of his pattern of ‘possessiveness and control’ over Reeva and previous girlfriends. It was obvious that unconscious patterns of behavior were driving him. The worst part? He didn’t know what they were. Suffice to say that metaphors like this would be enough to open the door of employees to the workings of the unconscious mind. Many human tragedies stem from this type of emotional programming. This was just one which happened to get huge coverage in the media. From a more human, practical and day-to-day perspective, we as a society could avert such negative endings by getting to know ourselves better and healing from these occurrences. This of course seen by corporate people is a result at the extreme end of the scale. Consequences produced by corporate people probably rest at a more moderate level. But then again we never know. Cases of ultra horrible bosses who abuse their people emotionally over years which may not sound as bad but have a hugely negative impact on employees. This is where Sylvia and her team were going to make a massive difference. All trained in Neuro Linguistic Programming, a model effective for interrupting emotional programs, they were set to make a difference. With many years of corporate coaching experience they could easily spot patterns and mental programming in people. A truly valuable resource to have, inherent also in leaders and parents, this ability to recognize patterns of at the workplace was fundamental. Change tools would then eliminate these patterns swiftly and replace them with new, more empowering ones. Most people did not realise their operating system, let alone examine if it was helping or hindering them. A boss dictator, a timid colleague who can’t say “No”, a friend who never offers to pay the bill or a parent who claims to know everything. They all had one thing in common. They were driven to behave in a certain way by some belief, idea or value which most likely was installed at a very young age at school or in the family. The dictator boss could have internalised a belief that if he / she was not strict, people would take advantage of him. The timid co-worker could have learnt to say “Yes” to requests because his Mum did that. The friend who never offered to pay a bill could have come from a family tight with money. It was no surprise that they were subjected to parents’ conditioning! There was no escape! From birth, everyone was bombarded with well-meaning albeit erroneous conditioning from parents, teachers, society, religion, culture. It was time to be accountable and face up to these patterns. The faster the better for then the future was ahead and the sky was the limit. The power lay in being aware of these patterns. It was easier than most people thought. Sylvia and team got such a buzz when they saw people turn around results right in front of them. They had been down this path. Today they were fueled by fulfilment, satisfaction and contributing to others. The question for each employee was this. Do you live in a set routine where your programmes control you or are you aware that the choice is yours to make good decisions and live the life you want? Sylvia Fernandes is the Founder & CEO of VIA Frontiers established in Sydney in 2002. She is a corporate NLP trainer and consults in creating effective people in the Asia Pacific Region. She is also the author of Bye Bye Black Cat – Turn Your Luck Around to Realise Opportunities – launched in major bookstores in Singapore on the 23rd October 2014. Go to www.viafrontiers.com or email [email protected] for more information.
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 Sara started to feel uplifted. It was coming to the end of a year when the world stopped for a pandemic. Living life in normalcy had been a luxury. Those who had life turned upside down were in strife at the new landscape they were facing. Many worked from home. Sara knew though that her winning mindset would have her do anything and everything to make things happen. She was an adventurer at heart who took on challenges in life as they appeared.
She had lost her job in the pandemic and had to find options to reinvent herself. She realised many aspects of her life needed to be refreshed. She charged on with acquiring self management skills. Zoom courses made it easy to upskill from home. These would augur well to heighten her behavioural flexibility and give her adaptive capabilities for whatever eventuated. It would also help her journey down a path to self-actualization. Coaching resonated with her. She could see the value of being coached. It would accelerate her journey to clarity. She also realised the fulfilment of being a coach. Living life helping others step into their personal power must be the most gratifying feeling, she thought to herself. So she hired an NLP coach and signed up for an online NLP course “Create Your Future Now” at the same time. She wanted someone who would teach her how to accelerate outcomes with a winning mindset and learn models fast through a course. While most people thought change was a long and arduous process, Sara’s NLP coach begged to differ. The best part about NLP coaching Sara thought, would be to work fast via her 5 senses. She was told these processes produced profound results. Now after a mere 4 weeks, she came out on the other side and saw the world through different lenses. Abundant options and possibilities were in front of her. She had learnt how to create from nothing. The mind map that she produced at the end of the course would be a metaphor is guardian to her journey. She would continue her NLP journey through to the Practitioner course to add to her repertoire of tools she had already acquired. Her relationships at home and work that had been under the spotlight, made a turnaround after she stepped into her NLP coaching mindset. Many aspects of her life were cleaned out so it was a short path to deciphering what she would focus on in 2022. She was establishing her business and would be ready to see coaching clients as soon as the year began. Her winning mindset got her here fast. She realised many of her friends would have the big question lurking in the forefront of their minds.What to change next year! She knew her friend Deborah was still in a quandary as many others in their cohort. They were still wondering what to do in 2022 having not done much in the pandemic. In a way Sara felt losing her job was a blessing in disguise as it forced her to look at the future with discernment and urgency. More than anything relationships had changed. Working from home and social distancing had pushed people apart. This was not a natural way to be. Human beings needed the connection. Many were struggling internally and didn’t know where to turn. Having now acquired coaching skills Sara felt on top of the world. She had self management tools and was confident too about wearing her new hat as a coach. An idea struck her! Perhaps she could help her friends gain clarity for 2022. She sent an email out about her offer to do some group coaching sessions. Would anyone be interested? A few hands went up. So she set on her way to take the group through steps that would clear the way for decisions. Zoom sessions from home made it so convenient for everyone to attend; THE SET UP Sara briefed the group in their first session. This phase would involve diagnosing where they were currently, in their life, individually. What did their life look like now? Sharing a few self management diagnostic tools she helped them identify gaps. She could see relationships were a big gap with most. CLEARING MIND COBWEBS Next Sara explained that unless past negativity was cleared, it would not augur well to focus on the future. This was a fundamental part in accessing a winning mindset. She helped the group identify their blockages. Whether it was negative self-beliefs like “I am not good enough” or fear and anxiety, they flushed it out. RE-DIRECTING THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND Most people were unfamiliar with their unconscious. Questions popped up. What was it? How did it work? Were there ways to maximise its use? Sara began by having everyone set goals. This was the way to re-focus the mind to what they really wanted. She then facilitated a process to install these goals in their unconscious mind. ACCELERATING RESULTS Now that they were ready to blitz their performance, Sara shared many self management processes they could use to signal their unconscious mind to success. Most important was for them to use their 5 senses and imagine that the outcomes had already manifested. It all seemed easy enough having these mental NLP models. In fact as weeks went by each of them were beginning to experience changes. They were clear as to what they would focus on and doubt fell on the wayside. They had stepped into a winning mindset. The few weeks of group NLP coaching had given them a forum to discuss their progress as they journeyed on different roads together. There was so much power in having buddies to challenge and be challenged. They had each other to fall back on. Sara had done them a good deed. They were living life now excited at the prospect of 2022 approaching. “Bring it on” was their posture, rather contrary to how they had begun.  Working from home was a concept that was considered a no-no for many non-technology companies, until Covid-19 hit. The year 2020 was phenomenal in forcing a mindset change to many ways of operating, one of them being the whole idea of working from home...
Hearing first-hand from employees that their company revenue metrics surged despite the workforce working from home, the truth homed in. It was evident that with less travel time and expenses, employees had improved work productivity. Further to that, workers reported that they were well rested hence felt reduced stress and hopefully on the way to a healthy life. While many were resistant to a mindset change in the past, especially when organisations organised corporate trainings, the great re-set was proof that change happens fast when the need arises. So, being open to new ways of operating is all that is needed, to lead a directed life towards reduced stress and improved work productivity. If you are one who has the option to continue working from home, good for you. As a Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) Trainer, I say this with my hand on my heart. Understanding how to make profound change easily and fast is what I help people do. The only thing I look for is that the person is open to learning new things and come to the fore of their own accord, without any pressure from family or Colleagues. So what I share in this article is from an NLP perspective. In many ways these tips will help direct your mind to great results like reduced stress and improved work productivity. Healthy Work-life Balance Tips for Working From Home (WFH); 1. Keep the connection with others It is an important time to relate and communicate with colleagues so keep the corridor of conversation open. Human beings need the emotional connection to balance IQ, EQ and SQ. Don’t feel guilty to pick up the phone and have a chat to a colleague when you need a break. However you do need rules around how long you chat for. This refresher is important for reduced stress. 2. Set daily rules based on your Circadian rhythms If you are a morning person, schedule activities that require your greatest focus. Working with your natural energy patterns will yield improved work productivity. Observe your patterns and plan your week based on this. Do this so you create work-life balance which leads to a healthy life. You will see results within a few weeks. 3. Create time for yourself Working from home can get serious so it is fundamental that you build space in your schedule for some personal time. Whether to hang on the phone with a friend or listen to music, this is rejuvenates energy. When we are joyous we feel good. This cycle allows for energy to top up and give you a refreshed feeling. Laughter is the best medicine. An old adage that still holds true which leads to reduced stress. 4. Choose a practice you love To create work-life balance we must rejuvenate from the mind, body, spirit angles. A physical exercise regime to swim or jog at a certain time of day, augurs well for the unconscious mind to engage rigorously. From the spiritual dimension, whether prayer or meditation are your choices, that is up to you. These are important practices to have a sustainable and healthy life. 5. Anchor your workspace When working from home, this is probably the most important point to generate improved productivity. Your unconscious mind is an obedient mind. If you give her orders, she will know what you want. So, give her orders by working from the same place daily. Write proposals in one part of your home and take calls in another. Do the same activity in the same place every day. 6. Be outcome driven Set goals for yourself daily and weekly. Acknowledge small wins that encourage you to achieve even more. This is how you strive to achieve a mindset change. Directing your unconscious mind is gravely important. It forces you to focus and this is where resilience is built. When working from home this is a fundamental practice to set and achieve work-life balance. I hope you realise now that the unconscious mind is fundamentally where a mindset change occurs. Knowing how to work it to the fullest, yields reduced stress hence a healthy life in the long run. With mental health eroding globally, many people suffer from anxiety that is exacerbated further by working from home. A work-life balance is easily achieved if you implement some of the tips I have shared.  Diagnosis, the starting point of everything. When done well, we are able to chart steps forward. As an NLP Coach and Trainer, I find this the most important step in helping my clients.
This is where experience comes in. Akin to a doctor who diagnoses and prescribes medication, I understand a client’s mind and know exactly what they need. To have them settle in with comfort to the interaction, I get them to take a stab at their Wheel of Life. What are segments in their life that are important to them and if they were to dissect the Wheel, what percentage would they allocate to each segment? Are they in front of me because they have to make more progress in their career or relationships? How is it one segment has more success than another? These are simple yet profound questions that have clients dig deep for answers. It is also important to know where they are in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. If they want to self-actualize at the highest level, how are they going to get there? What resources are needed and do they already know where the gaps are? Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) has many diagnostic tools that then progress a client to the next step of making the actual change. One of my clients was adamant that she could not be a success in life. Her teacher had alluded to that when she was 10 years old. At the time her results reflected it and she was totally convinced. It took a few sessions and webinars to have her realize that she had programed her mind to believe that. Removing her beliefs that limited her, she saw the future with new eyes for the first time in her life. The rest was history! As NLP works beyond conscious thinking, results are accelerated and clients access their inner selves for the first time. It is likened to an activation of sorts. Would you like to be activated? This is the start to create a life that you love…. |
SYLVIA FERNANDES
Sylvia is a qualified Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) Master Trainer. She started her business in Sydney and is now based in Singapore. Archives
October 2025
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