Go take a walk
It is easy to hear your own footsteps,
the rustling of the leaves you kick,
the crack of a branch you break.
Listen also to all that is beyond yourself.
The breeze shaking the leaves,
a creak of an old tree,
the quip-quip-quip of an unfamiliar bird.
Be led beyond yourself.
Sense and feel that which is other,
consider from where it comes,
acknowledge, honor, and respect it.
“Shallow”…an important word to consider and internalize regularly.
How much of my work is shallow?
Based on metrics such as # of likes, # of emails sent, hours in meetings, how many people talked to.
How many of my relationships are shallow?
Inauthentic. Transactional. Based on insecurities.
How could we make some of these less shallow?
Leaders live in the tension of making space and taking up space.
Making space: setting others up for success. Setting the table. Strategic plan. Delegate.
Taking up space: leading by example. Clarifying objectives/expectations. Setting a vision. Building momentum. Decision making.
Sometimes one comes easier than the other.
Curiosity as a leadership attribute should be driven by genuine interest.
This drives you to learn and grow and build resilient relationships.
Some people will appreciate the simply ship it attitude. The innovative spirit. The churn and refine. Those people need you to respond with clarity and vision. From me, those people need me to come prepared with succinct yet exciting engagement.
A second group of people will deeply loath the roll the dice, innovative spirit. They want process as usual. Only give me what I ask for. Top down control and oversight. From me, these people need me to come with specifics and clarity. I must do my homework and try to stretch their thinking a little but overall build trust from consistent reliability.
One common theme is that both these groups of people need me to be well prepared. I am an Eagle Scout and from my time in the Boy Scouts, I engrained the motto, “Be prepared.” Recognizing someone’s disposition and coming prepared to speak to that narrative. The narrative and stories we tell ourselves are reality not what we want people to be telling themselves.
While it is important to appeal and curate towards your audience, it is also important to curate your audience. Find people that value what I have to offer and go after them. Realize that what I have to offer is not for everyone. While also trying to stretch that circle of people little by little. Being a little bit of an evangelist for ideas and innovation while also going after the right people.
Overall, I hope to be more prepared and thoughtful in my relationships. Take risks to stretch a person’s perspective and when I do plan to stretch their thinking, I will come well prepared. Because that doesn’t happen with off the cuff interactions. I will also prepare by being thoughtful to realize those whom I can have the most impact. I must clarify who I am and understand who specifically will value and benefit from that.
I have distilled a personal life theme…”Invoking people’s truest selves.” What I must do is come prepared to offer that theme to others while also curating the right people to bring myself to.
This idea came after watching Guy Kawasaki’s TED Talk on the Art of Innovation
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