What is Mental Toughness?
Mental Toughness refers to an individual’s resilience and an inner drive to succeed - particularly when the going is challenging. It explains why it is possible to place two individuals into the same working environment and to see that one finds it difficult to cope with pressure and one thrives.
Mental Toughness also illustrates a strong link between Stress Management and Peak Performance Development. The latter cannot be achieved without the former.
The mentally tough person tends to be:
- Sociable and outgoing
- Being able to remain calm and relaxed, they are competitive in many situations and have lower anxiety levels than others
- With a high sense of self-belief and an unshakeable faith that they control their own destiny, these individuals can remain relatively unaffected by competition or adversity
For further information on MTQ48 please download the brochure.
Use and Applications
The key issues around Mental Toughness that individuals and organisations need to understand are:
- What causes one person to succumb and another to thrive?
- Can we identify people’s strengths and weaknesses in these areas?
- Can we “toughen up” individuals to enable them to handle stressors more effectively?
- How can we support individuals better with their specific needs?
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.
MTQ48 Development
Research in the Psychology Department, at the University of Hull, under the direction of Dr. Peter Clough C.Psych. identified four key components of Mental Toughness:
- Control
- Challenge
- Commitment
- Confidence
In 2002 Dr Peter Clough and Keith Earle developed a reliable and valid questionnaire that measured these four different performance characteristics - MTQ48.
What does MTQ measure?
The four sub scales are:
1. Control
Individuals who score high on this scale feel that they are in control of their work and of the environment in which they work. They are capable of exerting more influence on their working environment and are more confident about working in complex or multi-tasked situations.
This means for example that, at one end of the scale individuals are able to handle lots of things at the same time. At the other end they may only be comfortable handling one thing at a time. Ongoing development of MTQ48 has enabled the identification of 2 subscales to this scale:
1.1 Control (Emotion)
Individuals scoring highly on this scale are better able to control their emotions. They are able to keep anxieties in check and are less likely to reveal their emotional state to other people.
1.2 Control (Life)
Individuals scoring higher on this scale are more likely to believe that they control their lives. They feel that their plans will not be thwarted and that they can make a difference.
2. Challenge (Sometimes Called Change Orientation)
Describes the extent to which individuals see challenges as opportunities. Individuals who see them as opportunities will actively seek them out and will identify problems as ways for self-development. At the other end challenges are perceived as problems and threats.
So, for example, at one end of the scale we find those who thrive in continually changing environments. At the other end we find those who prefer to minimise their exposure to change and the problems that come with that - and will strongly prefer to work in stable environments.
3. Commitment
Sometimes described as "stickability", this describes the ability for an individual to carry out tasks successfully despite any problems or obstacles that arise whilst achieving the goal.
Consequently an individual who scores at the high end of the scale will be able to handle and achieve things to tough unyielding deadlines. Whereas an individual at the other end will need to be free from those kind of demands to achieve their goals.
4. Confidence
Individuals who are high in confidence have the self-belief to successfully complete tasks, which may be considered too difficult by individuals with similar abilities but with lower confidence. Less confident individuals are also likely to be less persistent and may make more errors.
For example, individuals at one end of the scale will be able to take setbacks (externally and self generated) in their stride. They keep their heads when things go wrong and it may even strengthen their resolve to do something. At the other end individuals will be unsettled by setbacks and will feel undermined by these. Their heads are said to "drop".
4.1 Confidence (Abilities)
Individuals scoring highly on this scale are more likely to believe that they are a truly worthwhile person. They are less dependent on external validation and tend to be more optimistic about life in general.
4.2 Confidence (Interpersonal)
Individuals scoring highly on this scale tend to be more assertive. They are less likely to be intimidated in social settings and are more likely to push themselves forward in groups. They are also better able to cope with difficult or awkward people.
MTQ48 Reports
Once the questionnaire is completed the software immediately generates 4 different reports, which all contain detailed explanations and instructions for their application.
For the Individual
Candidate Report provides clear straight forward feedback of test results, including an overall narrative and a break down of results for each of the four major scales.
Sample Report
Development Report provides clear feedback, as above, plus development suggestions and actions to improve performance on each scale.
Sample Report
For the Coach/Manager/Guide
Assessment Report designed for recruitment, gives clear feedback on four scales and at least five questions on each scale to enable managers to probe specific scores more effectively.
Sample Report
Coaching Report gives clear feedback on 4 scales plus suggested coaching & development actions designed to compliment the development report and assist the manager/coach in guiding the individual more effectively.
Sample Report
Applications and Context
This tool is particularly applicable for Senior Management, Entrepreneurs and Business Owners and people who are placed in stressful situations, or manage those who are.
There are three major areas where this new measure will add considerable value.
Firstly as a tool in Recruitment and Selection – enabling better fit with a critical area for good job performance. It is now widely used in Assessment and Development Centres.
It is also invaluable in coaching/development and in personal counselling – either to help people identify and cope with problems or to show people how they can be more effective in key areas.
The challenge lies in identifying what might be the causes of stress and pressure for each individual and to help the individual to become aware of these. Awareness leads to understanding, which, in turn, can lead to positive action – and improved performance.
Finally, in organisational development, where the organisation and one's peers/managers become aware of the potential causes of stress and pressure they are more able to plan and to act to minimise their impact.
Mental Toughness Development Programmes
Designed specifically to help people develop Mental Toughness; the programme has been developed in conjunction with Dr Peter Clough and his team at The University of Hull. The concept creates an understanding of what stressors are and how people and groups can best deal with them.
It has applications for Peak Performance Development and Stress Management.
The programme is available in two basic formats – delivery as a group workshop or for application on a one-to-one coaching basis. Both formats are supported by a comprehensive workbook, which contains the entire programme content as well as descriptions of tools and techniques.
The content includes:
- Understanding 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
The programme takes a particularly proactive and applied approach to development. It makes use of:
- MTQ48
- A personality measure
- Two fatigue questionnaires (state and trait)
- Biofeedback equipment and techniques, including GSRII units (Galvanic Skin Response)