Discover Your Inner James Bond

We all admire the way James Bond keeps his cool in any situation. By anticipating where the threats will come from, he can keep his eye on the ultimate goal. It's a formula that leads to success. If only we could predict people's behavior like a spymaster, we tell ourselves, we could accomplish great things, too.

But let me share a secret: there's a little James Bond in all of us. All you need to do is carefully observe the people around you-particularly those on your team-and they will tell you everything you need to know about loyalty, hidden messages, and deception.

The Importance of a Good Surveillance

As an FBI counterintelligence Agent, the first thing I did was put the targets of my investigations under surveillance. You may be thinking that I was hoping to catch the foreign spies I was investigating stealing classified information.

That can, and does, happen-occasionally.

But I put every one of my targets under surveillance for another reason: I wanted to identify their patterns of behavior. Humans have always looked for patterns. From navigating by the stars, planting crops by season, or decoding genetics-we have a desire to understand, and therefore, predict the future.

The better you understand the behavioral patterns of people around you, the more you know about what motivates them. The more you know about what motivates them, the better you can predict their choices.

Tricks of the Trade

It doesn't take training at the FBI Academy to learn how to observe behavior and identify patterns. You can learn to do this on your own. Once you do, you will also be able to more accurately predict behavior-even your own. Once you recognize your own patterns of behavior, it will help you recognize them in others.

Here are a few of the more useful tricks of the trade:

1. Spontaneous Remarks

Gut reactions are always close to home. Top-of-the-head responses reveal the location of strong mental connections. Unexpected, or even stressful, situations often reveal dominant traits. If properly observed and understood, they can explain much of our behavior. Daily life provides hundreds of opportunities to observe how people respond to little doses of stress.

When it comes to learning the tricks of surveillance, start with yourself - It will make it easier to notice what to look for in others. Let's use the following scenario:

You have a busy day-schedule is full, wrapping up projects before 3-day weekend. An employee with a project on deadline calls in sick, what is your first reaction?

How are they doing-empathic and concernedHow will the job get done-goal orientedWho is going to fill-in-organized and structuredAre they looking to make this a 4-day weekend-naturally wary and suspiciousNot worried because it will all work out-an optimist who looks for the best in situationsWhy didn't I know about this sooner-need for control

Notice these gut reactions in yourself - now notice how someone in your team reacts when confronted with a similar situation. If they don't tell you, ASK!

2. Notice Behaviors

Taking the time to think clearly after an event has triggered a response is critical. This provides an opportunity to notice feelings and use them as a reminder of how you respond in different situations.

Always pay attention - Make a habit of paying attention to what surprises you, what makes you feel anxious, and what makes you feel good about yourself.

Never cease collecting information - Where do you not want to listen, where do you insist on taking the opposite point of view, when is your reaction out of proportion?

There is always more to learn - As we keep digging and exploring our potential, we uncover our true self. Looking for specifics will help you pinpoint behaviors.

3. Recognize Patterns

We are creatures of habit. We repeat our patterns of behavior without thinking about them. The most effective way to become aware of these patterns is by looking back with hindsight at our responses to events and situations. As time goes on, we can notice the particular instances when we were panicked, stressed, or angry.

Deliberately step back from your on-going activities and take some time to think about them. Ask yourself questions about your experiences:

Were you happy with your reaction?Do you always react the same way in certain situations?What could have made this a better experience?Did you achieve what you had hoped for?What would you do differently next time?What surprised you about your emotion?

As you continue to practice noticing your feelings in various situations and noting whether your response was in your best interests, you can begin to pull the thread of your behavior pattern.

We can stop negative traits if we take the time to notice where they show up in our life. Once you learn the basics of surveillance, you can start observing the behavioral patterns in others as well.

What patterns of behavior in yourself have you noticed? Can you predict when negative traits will show up again? How do spontaneous remarks help you decipher what people are really thinking?

LaRae Quy is a former FBI and founder of Your Best Adventure. She writes and speaks about what she learned as an FBI agent catching Russian spies in Silicon Valley. Follow her adventures at http://www.LaRaeQuy.com/blog/

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