Let's continue from the prior post and look at the second and third capacities of the new form of leadership arising. We've covered Capacity 1: Shift Perception. That is the gateway to the the remaining six leadership capacities.
Leadership Capacity 2. Point Out the Direction—Most leaders I know think they are pointing out a clear direction: fact is, they are not. They have lots of thoughts. And they think about direction, and they think about pointing out a direction. But they don't, really. I can ask three simple questions and find out where a leader is with the clarity of his or her direction.
Lack of pointing out a clear direction creates tremendous confusion and wasted time and effort. It happens first in the leader's mind, and then is reflected in the actions of the people around them trying to support that (lack of) direction. The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said like this. “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” In this ADHD world we live in, true direction is rare. And it is essential. Why? Because we are literally inundated with things vying for our attention.
I hope you have thought, too, about why I put Shift Perception before Point Out the Direction. Here's a hint: Most people are headed off in the wrong direction because they believe in their mind they know where to go. They have no idea that most of what they think is nothing more than social conditioning and habitual reactions arising from flawed assumptions and beliefs and an uncontained ego. But direction is a matter of feeling, and feeling is correlated to fluidity of perception.
Okay, so now you have a clear direction, and you have pointed it out (that means clearly communicated it, folks) to the people who are trying to support you in getting there. And the direction is a good one because you've learned how to feel and not simply stay stuck in your mind. And you can do that because you've learned to Shift Perception. Now what?
Leadership Capacity 3. Plan the Journey—Most leaders think they have worked out how they are going to "get there." (Of course, that is nigh impossible if haven't pointed out the direction.) And most leaders fall into one of two camps: those who believe thinking about work all the time constitutes a plan, and those who believe a plan is more powerful than planning.
The first camp is full of folks who think they have a plan because they think about their work all the time (which is an absolute waste of time). But there really is not a tangible plan. Meaning written. Or at least with the very next action clearly defined at all times. What we really have in this camp are folks with hyperactive minds who believe that just because they've thought it (about a million times) that it will become a reality. Even though they don't have a plan. An Irish proverb captures the essence of these campers very well. “You cannot plow a field by turning it over in your mind.”
The other camp are very happy campers—except when they are frustrated. They have a plan. Yes. Beautiful, documented plans. But many of them never act. They perpetually plan. Or even if they do act, they are also frustrated because the x-factor of life keeps affecting that plan. Result? Frustration.
To rigidly hold on to a plan as life happens and provides feedback is just about as bad than not having a plan at all. Eisenhower said it well when he said, “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
Ponder on that, and we will get to the other seven capacities in short order. I am enjoying sharing this with you. When you have all the pieces (the seven capacities) in view, I think this framework will make a lot of sense to you.
And when you have all the capacities developed, I think your leadership will be at the next level and that you will be very surprised at who you become and what you become capable of achieving. And that is why I am here, blogging with you. Because I think you have that in you, and I think I have something that just might be useful to you in your journey. I am becoming ever more clear about how to share it.
Next stop, leadership capacties four and five.
