April 2003:
When is it time to back off and slow down?
This is your IdeaShape newsletter, April 2003,
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
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A. Big Idea: Sometimes, you gotta go slow to go fast
"I took a speed reading course and read War and Peace in twenty minutes. It involves Russia."
-- Woody Allen
For my exec clients, speed = survival. Speed to market, speed to decision, speed to cutting losses and moving on.
Speed is often essential to strategic success and personal victory,
especially now when survivors of downsizing are each doing
what used to be two or three jobs.
Yet, my most effective clients also know how to slow down.
They recognize when it's time to ease up, and they are actually able to do so. The art is knowing when to shift gears.
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B. Action Challenge: Will you recognize when it's time to ease up?
Consider turning down the flames on yourself and your team...
1. When you see only pieces of the puzzle
If you've consulted a while, I bet you've noticed that the problem you're hired
to solve is not the real problem, maybe 80% of the time. The leverage point
for effective change is often just out of scope of the project.
Usually, parts of a system have gotten out of alignment, wobbling more and more over time. When the performance impact of that wobble hits the numbers, suddenly "something must be done... fast!" Then, like that "whack-a-mole" screen saver, a problem-focused task force whacks at whatever part of the problem is visible from their conference room.
Taking the time to understand the system at work is nearly always a smart
investment. And a robust systems view rarely emerges from a quick chat
with a few of your usual suspects. Viewing the situation from a whole-system perspective requires conversations with people throughout the system. And, yes, that takes time.
2. When you need to bring others with you
We admire leaders who set high standards, right? And do everything in
their power to 'model the way' by driving hard themselves?
The "pacesetting" leader sounds great, until you actually work for this guy.
Compared to five other common leadership styles, pacesetting ranks
far behind the effective Authoritative, Coaching, Democratic or Affiliative styles, nearly tying with Coercive for negative impact on organizational performance. (See the Goleman article in Resources, below.)
Moving faster than your team feeds a cycle that destroys morale, squashes
initiative, stunts skill development, and keeps you working weekends.
(I know, I've done it.)
3. When you want to influence others
When was the last time you changed your views on something important?
Who influenced you? How? What helped you be open to new views?
We tend to be influenced successfully when the person doing the
influence has built credibility with us by demonstrating they've heard
and understand our concerns, by offering useful information, and
by repeatedly acting reliably and in good faith. They invested time
to earn the opportunity to influence us. How are you earning the
opportunity to influence them?
4. When you want to change your behavior
Think of something important you've changed in how you act.
Could be eating more healthfully, listening more carefully, whatever.
Right now, take a minute, and think of something.
How long did it take for you to make that change?
You may have committed in a moment. Yet, how long did it take until the
new behavior was as ingrained and natural as the old? Usually, months.
You're on a journey, from what some call Unconscious Incompetence to
Conscious Incompetence to Conscious Competence to Unconscious Competence. During that time, you may need to be patient with yourself and give yourself more time to build skill in working the new way.
5. When your life is so out of whack that your body (or family) threatens to go on strike
Truly, there are limits to human endurance. Last year's third-place Eco-Challenge team swore they were going to win by not sleeping. Worked great until one guy slipped into a near-coma. Far less dramatic but just as costly is the sleepwalking I see in some of my most ambitious clients. Or colleagues sorry for a coworker's cancer but jealous of the "down-time." Talk about a wake-up call!
When has slowing down worked for you?
What would you gain from shifting gears -- up or down -- more deliberately?
When you choose to shift gears, what signals your mind and body to do it?
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KNOW ANYONE WHO MAY ENJOY THIS?
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C. Resources
-- "Leadership that Gets Results", by Daniel Goleman, HBR, March 2000
http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b02/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=R00204
-- The Randori Principles, by David Baum and Jim Hassinger, 2002
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0793148626
-- "Slowly I turned... " by Seth Godin, May 2003
http://pf.fastcompany.com/magazine/70/sgodin.html
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D. Note from Pam
"There is more to life than increasing its speed."
-- Gandhi
I love to move fast, work fast, meet fast, drive fast, read fast. I like to
make things happen and then keep moving to make more things happen.
And then I had a child. Turns out there are no extra points for
hugging fast, bathing fast, or reading Dr. Seuss fast.
As I've needed to go slow more often at home, I've become more aware
of when it's time to go slow with clients, too. And I'm learning more about
how to consciously shift gears. How about you? How are you becoming
aware of when to change pace?
You receive this email every month or so 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
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or explore working together, pamfod@ideashape.com
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