3 Tips on the What of Exquisite Leadership, Not the How
General George S. Patton said, “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”
“Please just tell me how...I don’t know what to do.” I hear this too often from many of the leaders with whom I work. These words come from unexamined thoughts such that don’t expand us, but rather contract leadership practices.
When leaders don’t think about how thoughts and emotions are tightly woven, it holds us back from creative solutions. I understand - it’s easy to get stuck in just wanting to know the answer right away or for someone to say what to do. One reason is that the pressures of leadership demand the use of our skills in interpretation or evaluation. However, without noticing how our emotions and thoughts are driving these demands, we get stuck in a Groundhog Day situation. Recurring stuck-ness ultimately cheats out of the deep thinking needed to expand our minds, evolve our practice, and improve how we serve communities. Let's expand our creativity! These three tips help to put an end thinking ruts:
Question productivity: Go deeper with your practice instead of feeling like you have to do more. The feeling of wanting to do more is based on feelings of scarcity. Addressing this may mean undertaking purposeful focus and going methodically slower. As the saying goes “go slow to go fast.”
Guide your thinking: Solitude and reflection never go out of style! What kinds of questions can you ask yourself now to guide your thinking and inspire you? Observe your mind at the moment and/or journal. Consider questions like, “How can I be of best service considering all that’s going on in my community?”
Try something new: Think of something that expands you emotionally - not contracts you. Since writing slows your mind down - take some time to write about it. Handwriting is better because it taps into creativity and slows you down even more so that the interaction between your intention and emotion becomes more clear.
Sometimes we can’t notice the interaction between our emotions and thoughts - it is these emotions that impact how well we meet our goal. For the action-oriented among us, yes us leaders, we want to jump into action and change things yesterday. Sometimes (oftentimes) we need to be thoughtful. Of course, figuring this out on your own is possible, but it takes longer - to expedite this, great leaders work with coaches.
With the help of a private coach, learning how to observe how our thoughts and feelings impact our desired outcomes, taking action becomes exquisitely easier. Be well!