ACCOUNTABILITY

Oct

2022

Roadblocks to Momentum Part IV

I was sixteen years old in a Honda Accord. We stopped on a hill. This is typically no big deal, but right now it was.

I was driving a manual (stick shift) car. This was my mentor’s car and he explained to me how I needed to slowly let off the clutch while gently pressing on the gas at the same time. I start the process, then it happened.

The car started violently shaking back and forth like it was having a seizure. Internally I was thinking the car was going to blow up! My mentor remained calm, told me to push the clutch back in and push down on the gas. With a jerk, shimmy, and big lurch I then moved forward.

I don’t know if you have ever had that specific experience, but it reminds me of leading ourselves. The car was either going to go forward or backward even if it stalled. If I put the brake on, then I would be stuck going nowhere.

Leading ourselves can feel like driving a stick shift that has a clutch that is slipping. We don’t know what to do and get stuck out of ignorance or fear. What can we do when we sense this temptation to be complacent?

Set a Goal

I had this statement from my older brother going around in my head saying I wasn’t coordinated enough to drive a stick so I had a goal to prove I could accomplish this. Maybe you are stuck and feeling paralyzed on what to do because of a lack of vision. Take time to ask yourself these three questions:

What makes me excited?
What moves me to tears?
What brings me great joy?

These questions help you identify your passion. Once you have clarity on your passion ask what is one step that can move me in that direction? This will reveal your first goal. Continue asking this to determine the following goals.

Get in Motion

A goal is like revving the engine. Next you must put the car in gear. At this point you know your goal and need to move. Is there someone you need to talk to? Maybe you need to develop a new habit that will get you moving in the direction of your goal.

Take time to determine the first step and then do it immediately! As you move discover the next step and take it. Continue asking yourself what is the next best step to help me get to my goal? This is like putting the car in first, but if we stay there too long we overheat so we shift into second and continue climbing the hill.

Find Accountability

As I was learning to drive this stick shift, I had a person beside me who could teach me and correct me if I was heading in a destructive direction. To avoid the complacency trap, find someone or a group of people who know your goals and will challenge you when you are not moving toward them.

Each Friday I have a business accountability partner call with a friend. A consistent question for us on the call is what did you do this week and what are you doing next week? This forces me to think into how I’m moving the business forward on a weekly basis. When I’m stuck he encourages me and when I’m lazy he is honest with me. A little tough love helps us all move from complacency to consistent action.

Which of these three steps do you need to take? Are you stuck in any of these areas and need someone to come alongside you to help you get unstuck and regain clarity on where you are headed or where you are leading your team? Contact me for a powerful thinking partner session to help you think into your business and go from stuck to soaring. Lead Well.

Nov

2020

Leadership Blind Spots

I was with my boys one night when my wife was out so I decided to do something different and play some sports video games with them. They were ecstatic to get some extra screen time, but I managed to almost destroy a fun time.

During our time I got frustrated with one of my teenage sons and let him clearly know. This turned into a bit of a tense few moments that eventually passed, but I realized something. My frustration was not helping me lead my children effectively. I was blind to the reality I was overreacting instead of slowing down, observing the situation, and then responding.

We all have blind spots. This is a reality of life, but how can we identify them and why does it matter as a leader?

Why It Matters

“That’s just the way I am”

Have you ever heard someone make the above statement about their behavior? This may be true, but does it serve them well and more importantly how does that behavior impact those around

them? If you have a strong personality and confidently share your opinion this may create an environment where others feel unsafe to share their opinions. You may think everyone agrees with you, but realistically some don’t, fail to share, and therefore the best ideas could not be coming forward. This blind spot could ultimately cause you to make a preventable poor leadership decision.

How We Find Them

Instead of sharing our opinion, we listen to those around us we will create an environment to alert us of our blind spots. Honest conversations help us learn and hear what we may not want to hear. Sometimes we become aware of our blind spots while in an environment where we are sharing ideas about a subject. I often create these environments through mastermind groups and facilitating The Leadership Game.

The only way we can truly see our blind spots is by self-evaluation and accepting feedback from others. As leaders we can think we must have all the answers. This pride can lead to a lack of awareness of personal growth areas. While playing with my sons I did not realize the blind spot of my over-reaction until I paused to evaluate myself and listen to my son’s feedback.

What to Do

We see the problem and are beginning to understand our need for change, now what? Change is never easy and I’ve written a few blogs on change, but one specifically about personal change. Two things can help us move forward once we have identified the blind spot.

Accountability . . . Approach people in your life who will use candor and care to call you out on the area you want to improve. We know that when people inspect our work we perform at a higher level. The same is true with personal changes in our behavior.

Action Plan . . . Once we see the negative impact of the problem, we need to determine a way to change. Accountability will be one part, but work with that accountability partner or others who have fought a similar fight to learn what has helped them overcome or neutralize the challenge.

We all have blind spots and when we increase our self-awareness enough to see them, we are able to neutralize or even conquer them. We cannot do it alone though. Some people may need a thinking partner to think deeper into the impact it has and any limiting beliefs that keep the negative behavior in place. What blind spot have you become aware of? What is the first step you need to take in overcoming it? Need help thinking into it? Contact me to schedule a thirty-minute thinking partner session at no cost to you. Lead Well.