It’s customary and even necessary for leaders to reflect on the end of the year. But unlike British and American voters in 2016 – nostalgic for some golden age of greatness and prosperity – effective leaders must selectively forget the past, improve on the present and create their own future.
A good example is Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who unveiled Vision 2030 for Saudi Arabia while recognising that the ‘good old days’ are over, and new thinking is required for KSA to prosper. Powerful envisioning requires leaders to face inconvenient truths and ask themselves challenging, sometimes uncomfortable questions.
The usual activity of yearly goal setting can sometimes be too narrowly focussed on the ‘what’ which leads to tweaking or transactional changes. Best case – incremental changes are made, but worst case – you’re re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. Instead, try using these four actions ‘lenses’ to help expand and deepen your focus for the year ahead.
Slow down
My clients are often chronically busy, or in my opinion ‘doing the wrong things right’. We need to slow down and listen more effectively to what is going on around us. When you are moving at high-speed, your surroundings are a blur which makes it hard to connect meaningfully with anyone who is not travelling at the same pace. If you are unable to engage all your senses, you risk missing potentially useful information. Instead, ask yourself, “Where am I madly rushing to? Am I not really listening? Or missing opportunities to learn”.
Move in
Male energy moves into action by default – doing something is better than nothing. This can become a standard habit of escape from facing uncomfortable or unfamiliar internal emotional landscapes. But leaders must get used to facing what Joseph Campbell calls ‘monsters’ – the fears that shackle us to the status quo and our comfort zone. My male clients are often ’emotionally compressed’ in this way. I coached one client who’d just heard he was being moved from a project that he’d spent two years on. While he was obviously devastated, in his words he was ‘a bit disappointed’. Guard against this by asking yourself, “What monsters am I avoiding and how would it serve me and my system to confront them?”
Wake up
If you can reduce your pace in life and give yourself permission to experience your full range of emotions, clarity often emerges. Having slowed down and accepted his legitimate emotions, a CEO client of mine had a startling realisation that his whole operating paradigm had been passive-aggressively clothed in a relaxed, friendly demeanour. With such insights, leaders can liberate new thinking and change behaviours. The first step to that is asking, “In what areas have I been sleep-walking in 2016, and how do I intend to be more conscious and aware in the year ahead?”
Stand out
With new-found clarity, the challenge to lead can be purposeful, authentic and courageous. But not without risk. Actor Peter O’Toole decided he would not be ‘a common man’ and instead would ‘stir the smooth sands of monotony’. CTI’s Leadership Model encourages leaders to ‘take full permission while simultaneously taking responsibility for impact.’ We can only go as far as the stories we tell ourselves will allow us. As leaders, our companies, families and communities need us to be bold and re-write our unique transformative leadership stories for this year and the next. Ask yourself, “What is the story I currently tell myself about what I am capable of?” and “Where will I create friction in my world in 2017. In which areas do I commit to being purposefully provocative?”
Tom Young is the first executive and leadership coach in the UAE to attain the Master Certified Coach accreditation from the International Coaching Federation. More information: springcoaching.biz