I’m sure you have heard how the definition of insanity is doing repeatedly the same thing that doesn’t work and expecting to get a different result. Yet, every day leaders spend a lot of effort and time doing things — in meetings, managing businesses, writing emails, making decisions — that don’t translate into the best results.
Today I was working with a couple of people that are very committed to success. They work hard at it. They spend hours talking and fighting about what is not working. The problem is that they have been stuck for months, if not years, in repeating negative patterns of interaction that don’t bring them any closer to success.
Why do you keep doing what doesn’t work?
Mostly because you don’t take time to reflect. You don’t give attention to your thought patterns, or to your habitual actions. You are so busy “doing” that you don’t stop long enough to ask important questions. You keep automatically traveling the same worn out path. You are in a rut.
Although habits of thought and behavior facilitates work and life in certain ways, if left unchecked our thoughts will travel a familiar path unhindered. It won’t even occur to us to stop and consider a different way of thinking and behaving.
Powerful questions
I want to challenge you to ask yourself throughout your day one powerful question: What can I do, right now, that would be the most powerful use of this moment?
To break down this question, here are other questions implied on it: What can I say? What action can I take? What question can I ask? What issue can I bring up? What decision can I make that would have the greatest impact?
Asking these questions — and answering them honestly — is the path to choosing new actions that could bring better outcomes.
And then what?
After asking such a powerful question, you have to be ready to following through on the answers. Only by taking risks will you reap the full benefits of each moment. That takes courage. But it's also what brings the payoff.
There is a short video that perfectly illustrates the risk-reward payoff of courageously using a moment well. Billy Joel was speaking at Vanderbilt University when a young student, Michael Pollack, raised his hand. When Joel called on him, Michael asked if he could play the piano to accompany the musician for a song. A silence followed. Michael had taken a big risk just by asking and you could feel the tension and suspense in the room. After a pause, Joel said "OK" and the video of their astounding spontaneous collaboration has now been viewed over 2.5 million times.
How often have you been in a similar situation, at one time or another, wanting to say something or do something, yet letting the moment pass by? Next time you're in that situation, pay attention to it and take the risk to act.
Remember. . .
Having the courage to ask powerful questions and to take the kind of bold action that creates new opportunities is, possibly, the most critical skill a leader can have. It's why leadership development should involve experiences that hone the courage to ask powerful questions, and the communication abilities necessary to use the answers productively. Take the risks that will shake things up!
Are you using powerful questions to maximize each moment? Do you have the confidence in your communication abilities that are necessary to garner the most productive return? If not, Contact me today for a free, no obligation interview to decide how I can help you develop your leadership through effective communication.
(Ideas taken from HBR blog by Peter Bregman)
Photo by: sergeant killjoy