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Intentional Leadership — M4 — Focus Wrap-up

Another month has gone by; we are now one-third of the way through 2013! Time to wrap-up our thoughts on this past month’s topic: Focus.

My mentors frequently remind me to “spear fish” rather than “net fish” when I’m looking to build my tribe. While I might like to fantasize that everyone will want what I have to offer, and all will hunger equally for growth and learning, it’s not true! Not everyone is interested in growing, stretching, learning, becoming more. And that is ok; it is as it should be. You see, I want to work with a specific sub-set of the population and most likely, you are part of that group, if you are reading my blog.

Here’s where my focus is:

Imagine a world filled with light…light that allows clarity of thought, of beliefs, of values, of purpose, of vision; light that fills you with hope and the expectation of positive outcomes; light that fills your soul; light that allows you to see yourself – the best possible version of who you are truly meant to be.

Imagine this world inhabited by growth-oriented individuals, teams, and organizations seeking greater levels of awareness (of self and others), operating intentionally with thought given to outcomes and implications, striving to achieve higher levels of performance in whatever they choose to do.

Imagine a space that is safe and comfortable, yet stretches you at the same time. A space that is thought provoking and soul-searching. A space that challenges you to be, do, and have all that you dream of and long for.

Welcome to my world. I am the Sunshine and I am here to beam those rays of light on you as you grow into yourself and your potential.

This is my BIG DREAM as defined in the OPUS (my life’s masterpiece) that I am authoring. The whole point of working through the Deeper Path / OPUS process is to gain crystal clarity (FOCUS) on what I want in my life.

Grasping for everyone to work with me will leave me exhausted, frustrated, and likely without the quality clients I desire, and certainly less than the results I seek to achieve. For example, there are a lot of companies out there, many of whom could change their performance in amazing ways with the kind of focus I can facilitate, but they don’t WANT what I have to offer. And, truth be told, I don’t want to work with them, either! I want to work with the ones who want to improve and are willing to do the work to make it happen.

I also consider myself fortunate enough to have clear focus when it comes to peripheral opportunities. About 18 months ago, I was approached by the Executive Director of the state-level of a well-known, reputable charitable organization. She was looking for a new Board member who had communications and public relations background, which I do. She asked me to join her Board. I was flattered to be sure; who wouldn’t be? My expertise was recognized and she believed I could make a positive difference in the future of her organization. But I knew, even then, it was not part of my OPUS. I  knew my future was in growth and development, and perhaps in teaching others to communicate more effectively, but not in being the tactical communicator any longer. And, while I respect the work this organization does, it’s not in my area of passion. The answer to her request was easy, “I’m honored, but no thank you!” No regrets; it was, without a doubt, the right decision for me. And I chalk it up to focus and clarity.

I want to work with people like you, my faithful readers, who are interested in being, doing, and having more in their lives and are willing to take the initiative and make the investment to move forward into your future, your potential.

As a leader, it’s up to you to select the vision most worthy of your time and attention, and fix your gaze upon it. You will encounter numerous distractions on your journey and your ability to focus will determine your level of success and satisfaction with your results.

As we have spent this past month thinking about and working on Focus, what have you discovered to be the greatest distractions for you?

How will you stay focused on your journey, now that your level of awareness has been elevated?

Having talent is a good thing, but it’s not nearly as important as seeing a clear picture of where you’re going and staying focused on getting there.

I will leave you with this parting thought, from Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, which I’m currently reading:

What makes someone the best of the best in their chosen field? Talent certainly helps, but there is more to it than that. And there have been numerous studies focused on figuring out exactly what that something else is.

“The emerging picture from such studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert — in anything,” writes the neurologist Daniel Levitin.

What are you doing to get to your 10,000 hours? Or have you not quite figured out your area of expertise (focus), yet?

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Where is your “here” and what “there” are you striving to reach?

IMG_0165Several months ago, I participated in a Mastermind Group / Book Club exercise with some people from an organization I belong to called Outside Counsel. The books was What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith. I loved it!

Goldsmith describes 20 behaviors that cause people to get stuck in their careers (although work life is really the focus on the book, Goldsmith acknowledges these behaviors permeate all aspects of a person’s life), even though the behaviors may have actually served the person well at an earlier point in his/her life.

This made a lot of sense to me, as I have lived it. I grew up in circumstances that drove me to become a very self-sufficient, independent, over achiever. I did everything myself, not expecting or accepting help from others, because I had learned — from experience — that you couldn’t necessarily count on others to be there when you needed them. The behaviors I built around these beliefs served me well for a long time in my younger years, and even for a while when I entered the working world after college.

I reached a point, however, when those behaviors no longer served me and, in fact, became destructive. You see, it’s not possible for one person to be completely self-sufficient, to be all things to all people, to be an expert in everything. And, frankly, it was exhausting!

I eventually went through some painful experiences that caused me to become more self-aware and to effect some significant changes in my life. I changed my thinking about needing other people, inviting them into my life and my work, asking for help, and understanding that the end result of working with others is much more than I can accomplish solo.

This is the foundation for a keynote presentation I gave today at the Mid-Ohio Valley Chamber of Commerce’s second annual Women in Leadership Luncheon. I used my story and intertwined it with the concepts Marshall Goldsmith so eloquently outlined in his book, and offered it to the ~160 attendees as a learning opportunity. It was truly the highlight of my week, so far. I have to admit, I’ve been looking forward to this day for some months now, as I felt so lucky when the Chamber’s Executive Director accepted my suggestion for using it as the theme for the luncheon.

I had a great time working with the luncheon’s planning committee; a diverse group of talented, creative, focused women who planned and presented a great day of learning and connecting opportunities for the business women of this area.

My intent was for each person to have at least one aha! moment, one new insight, a new perspective, and that when they left the conference center today, they could say without a doubt, “Attending this event was truly worth the six hours of my life that I spent on it today.” You see, I do strive to entertain people when I have the opportunity to speak, but more than that, I want to make people to think, to learn, to grow. I want to share something that will have changed someone’s life, even if in just a small way.

I hope I didn’t disappoint!

I encourage you to take a few minutes right now to think about your current “Here”…not your physical location, but where you are in your work, your learning, your relationships, your growth, your career. Then give some thought to the next “There” you long to get to. What will it take to get you there? What skills will you need to develop? What behaviors will you need to stop demonstrating? What behaviors will you need to cultivate?

Click here to see the newspaper coverage.

Please, share your stories!

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Intentional Leadership — D3, W2, M4 — Focus

Now that you’ve defined the skills necessary for success in your current role, and are actively working to sharpen at least one of them, let’s think about who can help you.

Who do you know who can help you deliberately develop the skills required in your role?

While you surely have an extensive network and a long list of contacts, create a list of specific people who are key players with respect to your position. Designate each one based on expertise and associate their names with the skills from the list you created yesterday. Think of them as your “inner circle” with respect to sharpening your skills in this job.

On a piece of paper, make two columns. In the left column, list your top ten skills, one per line. In the right column, list the people you identified above who can help you with each specific skill on your list.

Contact at least one person on your list today to help you with something specific.

You know, people are flattered when we recognize their skills and abilities; they want to know that others recognize their talents and competence. You can win in two ways with this exercise: First, you sharpen your skills, and second, you will likely develop a stronger connection with the people you reach out to.

What are you waiting for? Get started…

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