Thinking ahead requires using one’s mind,
something that fewer and fewer people know where to locate,
much less know how to use.

Not getting the results, happiness or long term satisfaction in your career, relationships and life or from your employees?  Maybe you and they are just immature.

How mature are you or someone you know?

                                                                  California Maturity Index (CMI) ™*

(Rate the following statements about one of your employees or yourself: 1 = rarely; 2 = sometimes; 3 = nearly always)

Thinking

1. I pause before I speak
2. I consider the consequences of my actions before I act
3. I weigh the pluses and minuses of decisions before I make them

Planning

4. I come up with long term goals
5. I develop a plan for reaching those goals
6. I develop a plan for dealing with potential derailers from staying on track to those long term goals

Accepting Consequences

7. I believe the results that I see
8. I accept non-begrudgingly the consequences of my decisions and actions rather than rejecting them
9. I agree to deal with the consequences of my decisions and actions rather than fight them

Being Accountable

10. I accept it is my responsibility to deal with the consequences of my decisions and actions
11. I commit to actions to deal with the consequences of my decisions and actions
12. I commit to a schedule for taking those actions and agree to further consequences of not following through on them by the agreed time

Scoring:

12 – 19: You’re highly immature - it’s nearly impossible for you to delay gratification and is impossible for you to willingly and calmly accept full responsibility for the consequences of your impulsive decisions. You tend to be a hostile, belligerent blamer and grudge holder.  If left unchecked, you run the risk of feeling bitter at the end of your life.

20– 27: You’re immature – you can occasionally delay gratification and although you’re not happy about the negative consequences of your hasty actions, you don’t go ballistic. You’re not as hostile in your blaming, but you have a sizable unforgiving streak in your personality.  At the end of your life, you run the risk of feeling depressed and unfulfilled.

28 – 36: You’re mature – your decisions are more guided by your core values which extend beyond your personal needs and wants to others and when things don’t work out, you’re disappointed, but you rarely blame others (even if they are at fault) and instead focus on fixing problems that arise, correcting your course and moving forward.  You are the kind of person that people feel honored and privileged to know.  At the end of your life, you have the possibility of feeling satisfied, fulfilled and of being respected, admired, appreciated and beloved.

If you really want to help your company and the people in it grow up and perform better, use the CMI with your employees in their next performance review by a) having people rate themselves; b) then rate you on it; c) then rate themselves the way they believe you would rate them. Follow that with asking them why they gave those ratings in those three categories. 

Then ask them what they believe the relationship is between their ratings and a) their performance; b) their compensation; c) the respect, trust and confidence that others have in them.

Finally, have a dialogue with them about what specific behavioral changes they would need to do to improve their ratings (and their rating of you) and then tell them that you and they will revisit those commitments informally every month to see how they are coming along and then formally in their next performance review.

*The CMI™ was created by Mark Goulston and Doc Barham of Xtraordinary Outcomes and was called such because both Mark and Doc live in California and as a state it seems to take great pride in being immature.