Leadership Check-In

It’s Friday, it’s the end of the first full week of 2011. Hard to believe it passed so quickly — and yet, that’s what time does, right?  It passes.  Sometimes, given that time seems to pass quicker than you’d like, you can become so caught up in tasks and activities that you forget to check in and get your bearings.  Getting accurate bearings, however, is essential to being able to achieve whatever it is you’ve set out to achieve.

So, I want to invite you to take a moment right now and check in.  Based on what you accomplished during this first week of 2011, how are things shaping up?  Did things unfold as you anticipated?  Better?  Worse?  What do you need to do, how do you need to be going forward, in order to have 2011 be the year you want it to be?

These are the questions that merit being asked at any point on your leadership journey.  Transition points are wonderful opportunities for asking questions like these — the end of a day, a week, a month, a project — and, they can be asked whenever.  The point is that you’ve got to take stock from time to time.  Whether your leadership takes the form of being at the helm of a large corporation, the chair of a committee, or the head of a household, the only way you’ll be able to lead as effectively as possible is if you know where you’re at, relative to where you’re headed.

Bottom-line:  taking stock is essential to your leadership effectiveness.  So check in; evaluate; regroup as necessary; and keep on keepin’ on.  Happy leading!

Why Are You Holding On?

I’m back to work after a week’s worth of vacation.  I didn’t go anywhere particularly special.  I guess the new-fangled term for my particular type of vacation is actually “stay-cation” — I enjoyed a week around the house with my husband, just puttering around, tending to necessary household tasks that have been on the back-burner, watching movies, day-tripping — all simple pleasures.  It was wonderful.

One of the challenges I set for myself was to disconnect from the virtual world for the entire week.  No email, no facebook, no blogging, nothing.  I’ve done this before — but never when I’ve actually been home.  It’s one thing to leave your virtual behind when you’re away from home; it’s another thing altogether to be in the space where you usually get connected, and choose to not connect.  At first, it felt a little strange, I’ve got to admit it.  But after about 36 hours, I barely thought about it.  And it was wonderful to not feel attached to “checking in” every hour or so.  Very liberating.  And it created loads of space for ideas to flow naturally.  Which was a great thing.

The drawback, of course, was that I came back to hundreds (literally) of emails this morning! This, of course, meant that I had to devote some time to clearing, purging, prioritizing of emails.  And it provided me with the opportunity to notice just how many emails I get that I never actually read.  Newsletters, announcements, promotions, updates — you get the point.  Which had me ask the question, why am I on this list?  Why do I receive these particular emails?  Why am I holding on to this, when I never actually read these correspondences?

What I realized, and what I know for sure, is that it behooves everyone (leaders in particular) to check in periodically and purge.  Just because you’ve always received a particular correspondence, just because you’ve always been on someone’s mailing list, doesn’t mean that you have to continue to be.  If it doesn’t serve in some way — nurturing a relationship, providing valuable information, fostering a connection — it may well be time to be rid of it.  It may be time to let go.

Bottom-line:  sometimes, it serves really well to take a step back, disconnect, come back and notice what you actually want in your life.  The things that are of value — keep those.  The things that are just taking up space — ditch those.  Sometimes, you’ve got to stop holding on and let go.

Leadership Without Judgment?

The title of this blog post has a question mark in it because I’m curious as to the possibility of being able to lead without judgment.  I state that just in case my thought-process isn’t obvious.  Actually, I suppose my initial curiousity has more to do with judgment-free language than judgment-free leadership.

You see, throughout my coaching today, I’ve run into a theme whereby I see clients — hear clients — judging their choices as good or bad, or some version thereof.  This has me wondering whether or not it’s possible to evaluate something, whether it’s an action or a choice or whatever, without judging it.  For me, while the distinction is subtle, I believe it exists nonetheless.  And, I think when you can evaluate without judgment — without condemnation — then you facilitate growth, movement and progress far more easily than when you stand in judgment.  I guess that’s the essence of what’s coming up for me:  an awareness that judgment somehow contains a seed of condemnation, and that such condemnation stifles growth.

So, what becomes possible for you or me as leaders, when we can evaluate things from the place of simply evaluating?  Without beating ourselves up for the choices we’ve made or the perspectives we’ve held?  Without engaging in put-downs about where our choices have gotten us versus where we’ve wanted to go?  What opens up when we can lead and evaluate simply from a place of allowing and evaluating?  I have a hunch that, while evaluating without judgment seems contradictory in some ways, if we can actually find a way to do this — if we can stop making ourselves right or wrong and simply allow our observations to be just that, observations — then we will actually find ourselves moving forward, growing and evolving more effectively.

I guess the bottom-line thought that I’m holding at the moment — or at least entertaining — is the thought that judgment does not serve authentic leadership. Evaluation absolutely serves leadership.  So, in order to be an effective leader, you must be willing to continually evaluate — without going to the place of judgment.  Something to try on for a bit, I think.

Taking Time Out

One of the things that is so engrained in our heads is to “keep your eye on the prize and keep moving towards it.”  Overall, I take no exception to this philosophy; indeed keeping your sights on what you’re aiming towards can keep you moving forward when nothing else can.  That being said, there is something to be said for taking a time out every so often.  Why?  Because the goal that you’re heading towards can shift and morph as time goes on.  Let me explain.

At the time that you set a goal, it may seem crystally clear to you.  You may very well have a solid sense of what you’re heading toward, what it looks like, what it will feel like when achieved and how your life will be different.  So you dive into the water, so to speak, and start swimming for the coveted goal.  If you don’t periodically come up for air, however, you may inadvertently go off course, or your goal itself may shift a few feet one way or the other unbeknownst to you.  And because you’re still swimming for what you believe is the goal, you’ll end up losing it altogether.  So, time outs — or “goal check-ins” — are actually a pivotal piece of the goal-achievement game.  It’s the only way to be sure that what you’re heading towards still exists, still looks the way you want it to, and still fits with your life’s plan.

Sometimes, these time outs can be taken voluntarily.  Indeed, this is probably the most desireable way to check in.  At other times, however, it’s as though life itself wants you to take a break and re-evaluate.  An unforseen obstacle arises, a glitch in the plan takes place — hwatever it may be, while it seems irritating in the moment, it’s actually a golden opportunity for you to take a “time out” and check in on the goal itself.  Then you can recalibrate and adjust your path as needed, and set off again.

Bottom-line:  the act of taking a time out, especially when you’re heading toward a goal of any sort is a vital part of the process.  When you yourself haven’t checked in in a while, the universe may well throw a curve ball your way, just to get you to do so.  Either way, taking the time to reevaluate will serve you well, and make the achievement of your goal, whatever it may be, that much sweeter.  So stop , time out, and then move onward and upward.