Achieving Peak Performance Through Mental Toughness
In these challenging economic times many staff feel under pressure whether it be because of more demanding targets, their own job maybe under threat or generally being asked to do more with less. Mental toughness is the quality, which determines in some part how people deal with these challenges, stressors and pressure at work.
Mental Toughness as measured by the MTQ 48 questionnaire is the ability of an individual to deal with the ever increasing pressure and demands of organisational life in these challenging and turbulent times!
Developed by Dr Peter Clough head of the Psychology department in Hull University, the MTQ 48 Mental Toughness concept offers individuals and their organisations a powerful development tool which enhances workplace resilience.
If you can get your staff to continue to perform even when under severe pressure then it could put you ahead of your competitors.
How to Develop Mental Toughness
Designed specifically to help people develop Mental Toughness; this workshop has been developed to create an understanding of what stressors are and how people and groups can best deal with them.
It has benefits for performance improvement, behaviour modification, building confidence and the management of stress.
Benefits of Mental Toughness Workshops
The key issues around Mental Toughness for individuals are:
- What causes one person to succumb and another to thrive in the same circumstances?
- Can we identify people’s strengths and weaknesses in these areas?
- Can we develop individuals to enable them to handle stressors like change, pressure and challenge more effectively?
- How can we support individuals better with their specific needs?
Aims and Objectives of the Workshop
By understanding these issues and applying the principles of Mental Toughness in the workplace, organisations are able to:
- Develop strategies and tactics to help individuals perform under pressure.
- Help managers get the best from their people.
- Recruit more effectively around these key criteria.
Our Mental Toughness Programmes
Broadly the content will include:
- Understanding mental toughness – What is mental toughness?
- Putting stressors and challenges into context
- Tools and techniques for managing stressors and challenges
- Tools and techniques for coping with stressors and challenges
- Understanding fatigue and its role in managing pressure
- Team toughness – the role of teams in managing stressors and challenges
- Creating plans that work for developing Mental Toughness
Mental Toughness Questionnaire 48 (MTQ 48)
Research carried out by Call of the Wild’s partners AQR and Dr Peter Clough of Hull University has resulted in the development of a reliable and valid questionnaire MTQ48.
MTQ48 provides a reliable and quick assessment of an individual’s ability to withstand pressure in a range of environments. It measures mental toughness in terms of four core components.
- Control
- Challenge
- Commitment
- Confidence
What is Mental Toughness?
An opportunity to look at the report generated form the psychometric measure and discuss areas for each individual to develop
Action Planning – how can I continue to improve?
Control
What influence do you feel you have over your environment?
How in control of your emotions do you feel?
Challenge
What do you consider a challenge/problem/threat or opportunity?
How do you deal with change and unstable environments?
Commitment
How focused are you on achieving your goals?
How do you react when faced with tough deadlines?
Confidence
How optimistic are you about life in general?
How good are you at dealing with difficult or awkward people?
Evaluation
Outcomes
Measuring mental toughness using MTQ48 allows organisations to:
- Accurately assess the strengths and weaknesses of their people
- Build resilience in them.
- Build teams that can deliver performance.
- Enable effective coaching & development.
This results in:
- Better bottom line performance – stress is one of the largest causes of absenteeism.
- Improved morale and better working environment.
- Better ability to recruit people who can make it.
- Reduced risk of stress related claims and awards.