May/June 2002:
Powerful Choices We Forget We Have
This is your IdeaShape newsletter, May/June 2002,
with ideas on leadership and life for executives, managers,
consultants, and executive coaches.
By Pam Fox Rollin, IdeaShape Coaching & Consulting
http://www.ideashape.com
Contents
A. Big Idea
B. Action Challenge
C. Resources
D. Note from Pam
KNOW ANYONE WHO MAY ENJOY THIS?
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A. Big Idea: We have more choice than we tend to remember in the moment
"To decide, to be at the level of choice, is to take responsibility for your life."
- Abbie M. Dale
"Choices in a meditator's life are very simple:
he does those things which contribute to his awareness:
he refrains from things which do not."
- Sujata
As I consider my choices and assist clients in making their own,
I've noticed a set of powerful choices we tend to overlook.
Which of these choices would you be wise to consider?
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B. Action Challenge: What powerful choices do you tend to overlook?
1. The choice to let go and move on
2. The choice to confront our beliefs with data
3. The choice to see the game and offer to change the rules
4. The choice to go for something bigger
5. The choice to support others in doing things their own way
6. The choice to admit ignorance or fatigue and ask for help
7. The choice to call a time out and regain perspective
8. The choice to get real about our fears and hopes
9. The choice to speak a difficult truth
10. The choice to accept fully what is
Let this list be a starting place for you...
What types of options do you routinely overlook?
Which choices could make a big difference to your success and happiness?
How will you remember to step back in the moment and consider those choices?
Note that you may neglect to consider consciously certain types of choices
because you have conflicting -- and perhaps outdated -- beliefs.
For example, do you have a belief that top players never call a time out?
Explore when that belief serves you and when it does not.
What beliefs are you willing to challenge to expand your range of choice?
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C. Resources
Play to Win: Choosing Growth over Fear in Work and Life
by Larry and Hersch Wilson, 1998
-- Check this out for an excellent map of choices that matter
plus simple, yet useful processes for exercising choice.
Inner Game of Work, by Timothy Gallwey, 2000
-- Like the Wilsons, Gallwey encourages the discipline of stopping
in the moment to consider your choices. Gallwey focuses on the
powerful choice of where to focus our attention.
Wisdom of the Enneagram, by Riso and Hudson, 1999
-- The Enneagram is the most useful framework I've seen for
sharpening our insight into the places we tend to get stuck. This book
does better than most in suggesting some healthier roadmaps for
getting unstuck.
Are You Deciding On Purpose, an interview with Richard Leider
Fast Company, February 1998
http://www.fastcompany.com/online/13/ldrplus.html
-- Leider has asked more than 1,000 senior citizens what they would
do differently. Near the top of the list: be more courageous,
take more chances.
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D. Note from Pam
Recently I spoke with a VP who wanted to make a difficult
organizational change appealing to his staff. He was tying himself
in knots trying to come up with a spin that could sell the change.
Until we stepped back and looked thoughtfully at his options,
he hadn't considered saying, in essence,
"This is gonna be tough. It makes much of what we do harder.
After we all take a little time to absorb the news, let's get back together
and see what we can come up with to make the best of this."
Just recognizing this option gave my client the mental breathing room
to catalog a few benefits that could come out of this and then
go deliver an honest message that his team could work with.
This guy is smart, capable, and effective in leading his team.
And still he forgot that he doesn't have to solve every problem and
that he can lead his team in facing a difficult reality and moving through it.
Are you and I any different? I think all of us get locked into ways of
seeing the world and start to act as if that's the only way. For me
it's a red flag when I notice myself pushing quite hard for one way of doing something. Chances are there are choices I'm neglecting.
What's the red flag for you to step back and consider your choices?
You receive this email every month or two with ideas and resources
you can use to shape your success. Some of these ideas may
strike you as obvious... I invite you to step back and look at
how this is actually working in your life. Others may seem
far out... I invite you to consider how much choice you
actually have. If you'd like to get in touch about any of this,
please email me. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Warm regards,
Pam
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WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU TO...
Expand your capacity to take on bigger opportunities?
Lead your organization to bring out the best around you?
Be your most creative, focused self in your work?
Shape a life that consistently fulfills you?
Contact us for coaching, facilitation, leadership development,
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®, and related services that help
executives, fast-trackers, teams, and professionals
achieve their goals faster and more easily.
TO CONTACT US
To offer feedback, submit ideas for articles or resources,
or explore working together, pamfod@ideashape.com
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