Tag Archives: focus

New Eyes for a New Year — Part Three

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2683_5078_largeIn the past two weeks, we have looked at the “what” and “where” of your leadership vision. In this final installment of “New Eyes for a New Year” it’s time to do a quick screening of the “how” of your vision. Consider it your depth-perception test . . . you know, that part of your eye exam where you look through 3-D glasses and identify which part of the picture stands out the most . . .

 

Your “depth perception” as a leader determines how you see what lies before you. Our biases, experiences and predispositions can make some aspects of the landscape stand out more than others. That is why two people can look at the same situation/challenge/opportunity and see very different things. Do you focus on definitive black and white observations, or shades of gray? Are you looking for similarities to build on or differences to distinguish? Do you expect to see a specific outcome, or are you open to being surprised?

Perhaps most importantly, do you believe/consider valid/judge as reasonable only what you “see” through your own unique perspective, or are you open to considering someone else’s point of view . . . to see the landscape before you with new eyes? Yes, as the leader, it is ultimately your responsibility to cast the vision and set the direction. The question is, do you want to make that decision based only on your own depth perception, or would your organization be better served by you viewing the situation based on the input from a range of people who might see things a bit differently? People who see the big picture and those who focus on the small details. People who strive to make good things happen and those committed to keeping bad things from happening. And yes, even that “disrupter” who can always be counted on see the world a bit differently than everyone else on your staff. In effect . . . would you rather make a decision based on a single piece of information (your own personal depth perception), or on a full range of data that a variety of perspectives can provide?

What you see as “real” in any particular situation may be based, at least in part, on your own depth perception. If you want to see the opportunities before you with new eyes in the New Year, how you go about doing that can make all the difference. Maybe it’s time to take out the 3-D glasses and check your focus.

 

Photo credit: Bernell Corporation

Making Room

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Available Room Sign On Board

As Christmas approaches, regardless of your faith tradition, there are many leadership lessons to be learned from the birth of the Christ child. One that stands out to me at this particular moment in time is the concept of making room.

Jesus was an illegitimate child born to lowly foreigners who were seemingly ill-equipped to care for their child. To say they would be considered an “at risk” family was probably an understatement. And yet, from such humble beginnings came one of the greatest leaders of all time. Can you make room in your concept of who is “leadership material” to open the door to an unlikely candidate who brings something totally new to the table?

Much of the buzz about the Christ child was coming from people who really didn’t grasp the big picture, you know, uneducated shepherds. Granted, there were those wise men, but they were from another country and really didn’t understand King Herod’s strategic goals. Surely if he reasoned with them, they would understand the need to get things back on course . . . Easy to see the flaws in Herod’s approach in hindsight, but can you make room amid your well-laid plans to pivot when an unexpected distraction (um, opportunity) presents itself?

Logical, rational thinking would not have supported the conclusion that people throughout the world would still be talking about this seemingly random, inconsequential (well except for the star thing, but certainly that could be explained away) occurrence more than 2000 years later . . . and yet they are. Can you make room in your performance-based, metric-centric, fact-driven lens to pay attention to passion and potential, to look past probability to see possibility?

It is much easier to say no to making room. Truly, the Inn Keeper had no more space available — at least not what one would typically think of as space that could be used for lodging. Making room often requires a leader to look at things a bit differently than most people would see as typical or reasonable or necessary. Making room requires getting people to change their ways, at times having uncomfortable conversations, and not being certain of exactly how things will turn out.

At its core, making room is a decision of the heart . . . based on values, and mission, and an aspirational vision of the kind of place you want your organization to be. Making room takes courage, and faith in what could be, regardless of how unlikely something might appear at the outset. Making room is really what leadership is all about.

My hope for you this holiday season, and into the New Year, is that you take a moment to pause, look around, and consider where you should be challenging yourself and your organization . . . by making room.

Pieces of Perfection

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Christmas Tree

I have a collection of porcelain Christmas ornaments that I have had for a number of years. They were all gifts that highlighted important moments in my life. Each year, I would carefully place them on our tree, making sure they were secure on the branch. And then one year, one of them fell, bouncing from branch to branch in a seemingly slow motion journey to the floor. After the initial pain of seeing something I held dear in pieces on the floor, I had a decision to make. Throw away the broken ornament and maybe look for a replacement, or try to glue the figurine back together as best I could, knowing it would never be the same?

As I pulled the scarred ornament out of its box this year, and positioned it on the tree so the unrepairable hole in the back was less obvious, I recognized that while it was less perfect than the other ornaments in the collection, it never fails to make me smile. As leaders, in our quest to have everything run perfectly, we can lose sight of the fact that sometimes the most imperfect part of our work can actually have the most meaning. That is where our effort can have the biggest impact.

Maybe your challenge isn’t gluing together broken pieces. It could be deciding whether to replace a fading ornament with something new, or taking a big risk to totally turn the tree upside down without knowing for sure how it will turn out. Too often, we unnecessarily set ourselves up to fail by making perfection the goal . . . in all things . . . at all times. Perhaps the best way to find fulfillment as a leader is to instead look for pieces of perfection . . . which may, in fact, be quite different than what you originally envisioned. It could be

. . . Improvising with Plan B when Plan A fell apart, and having it surpass all expectations

. . .Thinking you could never replace a key player who walked away, only to have an even better fit step to the table.

. . . Falling short on the original goals of a project, but making a connection that led to even bigger opportunities.

Pieces of perfection come into view when we let go of some preordained picture of what success is supposed to look like. Not to lower the bar on the impact you are trying to have, simply to recognize that there may be any number of ways to get there.

My Christmas tree is filled with mismatched ornaments, tarnished ones, and aging grade school creations that make my sons cringe . . . all hanging along side shiny new additions, and of course my porcelain figurines. I’m certain a designer would not call it a perfect tree. I’m equally sure that it is filled with meaning . . . and pieces of perfection.

 

Re-fueling

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RefuelHow are you feeling . . . right now? Are you energized and ready to take on the world? If so, wouldn’t it be nice to know how to maintain that full tank of motivation over the long term? And if you are not feeling so great about your own energy level, or that of your team, perhaps a few tips on how to refuel and get your passion back on track are in order.

Tony Schwartz has written extensively on fueling an organization’s potential, and has identified four basic energy needs that, when met, lead to higher performance: renewal (physical); value (emotional); focus (mental); and purpose (spiritual). That seems pretty self-evident, right? When we are well rested, appreciated, and can focus on things that we are passionate about, both our energy level and our performance are likely to improve. You might be surprised, however, at how much of an impact these factors actually have on fueling performance.

Schwartz, together with Christine Porath, conducted a survey with the Harvard Business Review which demonstrated that when even one of an employee’s basic energy needs has been met (that is, their tank is ¼ full), there is a 30% increase in their ability to focus and a nearly 50% increase in their level of engagement. If all four needs are met — when their tank is full — the engagement levels increase to 125%! In addition, the study indicated that when all four energy needs are met, there is a 72% drop in employees’ stress levels.

Addressing your employees’ basic energy needs isn’t costly. It doesn’t require implementing a complex new program or require a huge allocation of time.

  • Encourage your staff (and model the behavior yourself!) to take 10 – 15-minute breaks at regular intervals where they physically step away from their desk or other work environments.
  • Express your appreciation to others — in detailed, specific ways. Get creative in letting others know you value their efforts.
  • Take steps to reduce interruptions when working on a project. Encourage your staff to put the phone down and ignore the ping of email to increase their focus.
  • Find ways for staff to spend time doing the things that they do best, or find enjoyable, or that make a positive difference.

Renew. Value. Focus. Purpose.

Physical. Emotional. Mental. Spiritual.

Where is your energy level running? How about that of your staff? If the tank is running a bit low, maybe it’s time to step away from the computer and take a few minutes to refuel.

Stop Chasing Rabbits

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HareAs a leader, sometimes your “stop doing” list is just as important, if not more so than your “to do” list. And one of the things that should be on your stop doing list is chasing rabbits.

If you have ever seen a rabbit being chased, they dart to and fro, first heading one way and then pivoting and moving in a totally different direction. The likelihood that one will catch the rabbit is pretty slim, however, the likelihood that the chase will take you totally off course from where you were headed is almost guaranteed. Stop chasing rabbits.

I get it. Rabbits grab your attention. There will often be well-intended individuals encouraging you to chase after them. And once you’ve started down the rabbit trail, turning around is hard . . . after all, you’ve gone this far, maybe what you’re seeking lies just around the next bend, right?!? Stop chasing rabbits.

For nonprofit leaders, rabbits may come disguised as “funding opportunities” that pull you first one way and then another. When the rabbit first caught your eye, you didn’t think it would lead you too far from your intended path — your stated mission. But, once you start chasing the money, each step may take you farther and farther from the trail you set out to follow.

Other times, “experts” may urge you to veer from your course to follow a “trend” rabbit. According to these unnamed experts, everyone is going to have to be doing it. (At which point I hear echoes of my mother asking something about “if everyone jumped off a bridge . . .”) This rabbit is especially adept at changing directions depending on which way the wind is blowing.

And then there are the “quick and easy” rabbits that seem to promise an easier path than the one that you are currently treading. Maybe quick and easy if you’re built like a rabbit, but few organizations are as agile or designed to adapt to the terrain the way a rabbit is (ever take the “quickest” route recommended by GPS only to end up stranded on a dirt road in the middle on no where?).

I am not saying you should not pursue funding opportunities, listen to experts’ predictions or look for an easier path. I am simply saying you should do all those things within the context of your path . . . your mission. Rabbits aren’t thinking about where you want to go. They are following their own trail. If your paths intersect, great! Just don’t forget to look at each new trail based on the likelihood that it will ultimately lead to where you want to go.

It takes discipline and focus to resist the temptation, but sometimes the best way to reach your destination is to stop chasing rabbits.

Avoiding the Vortex

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vortexPerhaps one of the greatest risks for leaders is being sucked into the vortex of the overwhelmed. All of the details, ideas, requirements, expectations, and possibilities that spin around a leader on a daily basis can have a pretty strong gravitational pull. How do you keep this force from dragging you under, or at the very least pulling energy away from your supposed strategic priorities? In the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes, the key is to keep your focus on “the simplicity on the other side of complexity.”

That has a nice ring to it, but how exactly do you do that? It’s a little like trying to stand on one leg. When you keep your focus locked on a fixed spot it is much easier to maintain your balance than if you are looking at everything going on around you. So what is the fixed spot? You guessed it . . . the simplicity on the other side of complexity.

Make no mistake, simple is not the same as easy. It takes a lot of discipline to sort through all the stuff of leadership to identify the one, two or three overriding goals on which to remain focused. And identifying those goals doesn’t mean you won’t still have to deal with a myriad of questions, opportunities and challenges on a daily basis. It simply means making decisions about those things becomes much easier. You no longer feel the pull of every rabbit trail. You know your path forward and have identified which tasks belong to you alone and which you can delegate. And with each step toward “the other side”, the pull from the vortex of the overwhelmed lessens.

It is also important to recognize that passing through the vortex is a daily journey. Just because you were able to focus on your simple goals last week doesn’t mean some unexpected variable won’t pull you off course this week. The antidote? Start each week, each day, by casting your eyes on your point of focus — your simplicity on the other side of complexity.

Can’t narrow your priorities down to no more than three? Way too much on your plate to even consider that? If you can’t prioritize, then the vortex of the overwhelmed has already won. End of discussion.

But for those of you willing to focus on the simple path through the complexity of leadership . . . I’ll see you on the other side.

Side Roads

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Winter road into forestAhhh, best laid plans. They really are amazing, aren’t they? Such a shame that they rarely work out the way we intend. And when that happens (because it will happen . . . maybe not every time, but it will happen), the leader’s response reverberates throughout the entire organization. Do you slam on the brakes and wring your hands over the roadblocks before you, or do you merely take your foot off the accelerator long enough to find the nearest side road to get you where you’re going?

It all depends on whether your focus is on the route or on the destination. Theoretically, it is easy to say we need to focus on the destination, but oh how we love our routes. The plans that we spend months creating, convincing ourselves that we have considered every option and have selected the best course. We have developed the metrics, the timelines, the budget, and even a few scenic overlooks along the way. With so much investment in the route, it seems foolhardy to abandon all that effort, even if you encounter a few red flags or flashing signs along the way . . . right?

I have two words for you. Side roads. I’m not saying you shouldn’t identify a route up front. Fast and easy is always lovely if you can make it work. I am saying that you also have to remain nimble enough to shift gears and take some gravel roads if that’s what it takes to reach your destination. Sure you may have to take a few deep breaths, you can even have a momentary pity party for the demise of your beautiful pre-planned route, but then you need to scan the horizon, consider alternate paths to reach the end goal and then pick one and go.

I’ll let you in on a little secret. Side roads can be filled with hidden gems and opportunities. They may even turn out to be a shorter and faster than the well-paved road you originally identified. Side roads are easy to miss you unless you’re looking for them, but if you listen to your people, it is likely one of them has an idea of where they are located. However, they are only going to speak up if they know that the route truly is secondary to the destination . . . when they know that changing course isn’t seen as “failure” but rather doing what it takes to get the job done. Do your people know that?

I like a good plan as much as (and at times maybe even more than) the average leader, but I’ve also driven enough miles to know that sometimes the side road is the best path of all. So the next time your best laid plan is going up in smoke, take a deep breath and a hard look at where you’re trying to get to . . . and then I’ll see you on the side road.

Little Gifts

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sunrise-2

As I was driving to work earlier this week, there was an absolutely incredible sunrise. The mottled clouds almost glowed with vivid shades of orange and pink. Within a few minutes, the majesty was gone. It was still a pretty sunrise, but nothing like the stop-you-in-your-tracks beauty from a few minutes before.

Our lives are filled with little gifts like that sunrise, if only we take the time to notice. The thing is, they don’t happen on command. If I had been distracted by the multiple lists scrolling in my head or the rehashing of some issue from the day before, I might have totally missed the beauty of that moment. And there is no way to go back and say, “Okay, I’ve finished what I was doing so now I’m ready to focus on the sunrise.” Sorry, you missed it. Can’t get it back.

Leadership is hard work. It takes energy and focus and sometimes there are no easy answers to the challenges before you. Given that, it is all the more important for leaders to soak in the little gifts . . . to fuel them for the tough stuff that might be around the next corner. And yet so often we leave those gifts unopened. We miss the compliment because we are busy thinking about what we are going to say next. We don’t take the time for the potluck or informal social gathering to connect with our friends and colleagues. We totally look past the spring flowers or the fall colors because we have our head down and nose to the grindstone.

Yes, I know, your schedule is already filled to the brim. Here’s the great thing about little gifts. It took me no additional time the other morning to take a deep breath and soak in the sunrise . . . or to take a different route to a meeting so I can enjoy a tree draped in brilliant fall colors. How long does it take to send a text to someone to let them know you are thinking about them, or to glance up at an electronic photo frame scrolling pictures of family and friends? Seriously, I don’t care how busy you think you are, you can spare the 30 seconds for a little gift. In the midst of a lousy day, savoring a dove chocolate and smiling at the message on the inside of the wrapper, “It’s ok to be fabulous and flawed!” . . . might be just the little gift you need to help you tackle the challenge before you.

No matter how hard the leadership journey may be on any given day, moments of respite are available to you . . . if only you take the time to notice and celebrate the little gifts.

Pulling Back the Curtain

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iStock Business Curtain.jpgI am a big fan of counter-intuitive thinkers and writers . . . people like Chris Guillebeau in The Art of Non-Conformity, Daniel Pink in The Flip Manifesto, or Dan Ward in The Radical Elements of Radical Success (hard to find, but worth the effort) . . . because they make us pause and reconsider how we look at the challenges before us. Such authors, in effect, encourage us to pull back the curtain on the expectations, the logic, the “have-to’s” that box in our thoughts and actions, and limit our sense of possibility.

Maybe it’s time to pull back the curtain on business as usual for your organization. How? Passionate focus, and strong-willed dedication.

While passionate focus may sound like something we all aspire to, far too often it gets watered down by the pressure to be “realistic”, by “extenuating circumstances”, or by the rules/expectations/money of those who ultimately want to keep us in a box of their making. Passionate focus really is much harder than it sounds. Dan Ward refers to such people — those with a single-minded devotion to a big goal — as “monomaniacs”, and he notes that because of the energy they devote to that goal, they often discover “the simplicity on the other side of complexity.” I love that! Most of us stop in the midst of the complexity because, well, it’s really complex. What might happen if we didn’t dilute our big, hairy audacious goal . . . if we continued to fuel our passion through the complexity to get to the simplicity on the other side?

Of course, that would take a healthy measure of strong-willed determination. Because I can pretty well guarantee that along the path to achieving your ultimate goal, you are going to run into a whole host of “no’s”, and rabbit trails, and a brick walls . . . things that cause many logical people, with a less clearly defined focus, to turn back. Strong-willed determination doesn’t mean you don’t stumble, just that you will get up, every time, on the way to your goal. It doesn’t mean that you don’t have to refine the plan along the way, it simply means that you don’t stop short of the goal.

Yes, there will be those who pat you on the head and call you an idealist. My advice when you run into them . . . just smile sweetly, pull back the curtain on “conventional wisdom”, and press on.

Master Juggler

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Circus Juggler

Most leaders would prefer not to compare themselves to a circus act, but in reality, part of the job of a leader is to be a master juggler. Whether you are juggling chain saws or glass balls (and I’m guessing at times it feels like you are juggling both) the key to success is the position of your eyes, your hands, and your rhythm.

The placement of your eyes, your focus, may be the most counter-intuitive but also the easiest to master. Don’t watch the ball/project/crisis. Look straight ahead toward your vision/mission/ultimate goal. Think about it . . . if you keep your eyes on the chainsaw you just tossed, you are going to be knocked sideways by the one that is hurtling toward you from another direction. Rather, keep your eyes affixed straight ahead, on the end game. It will keep you from getting dizzy, and your peripheral vision will allow you to remain aware of both the item you just launched, and the next one that is coming your direction.

Hand placement, how and where you connect with a project, is also key. Are you reaching out and grabbing the ball too early, or are you patient enough to wait for it land within your grasp. I’m not suggesting you don’t plan ahead. Remember, with your eyes centered on the right spot you see the item coming — you are preparing for it — but if you intervene too soon, you’re hands will be all over the place and you’ll lose your focus. Likewise, if you hold on too long, you just might launch the project in an unintended direction. Keep your hands patient on the grab, and prompt the release.

It really is all about the rhythm . . . and not letting stress, fear, or someone else’s agenda pull you out of sync. Trust the process. Yes, the swords you are tossing can draw blood, the glass balls can break and the fire on that torch can burn you. All the more reason to stick with what you know works . . . 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3. You know what it takes to function at your peak (food, sleep, exercise, wise counsel . . . it may be slightly different for each of us, but I’m guessing you know what you need.) It’s when we psych ourselves out and get out of our rhythm — when we think we don’t have time for the things that we know work — that this leadership gig gets dangerous.

Juggling is part of the job if you’re a leader. It may look dangerous from the stands, but if you focus on your eyes, your hands and your rhythm, you’ll master it in no time. Let the circus begin!