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Uncategorized
We’ve all been there. A project you committed to is due tomorrow. You know that, with concentrated effort, you could knock it out in a couple hours. Yet, somehow you manage to put it off.
Instead, you fill the time with busy work, things that could easily wait until next week. Or you indulge in completely unproductive things like scrolling through Facebook videos or checking out Google Street View caught-on-camera highlights.
If you’re guilty of procrastination tactics like these, take heart. According to New York Times bestselling author Adam Grant, procrastination is a virtue for creativity. In his book, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, Grant explains how procrastination encourages divergent thinking.
“Our first ideas, after all, are usually our most conventional,” Grant explains. “When you procrastinate, you’re more likely to let your mind wander.” Research shows that we have a better memory for incomplete tasks. When we finish a project, our brain files it away. But when it’s floating in limbo, our brains continue working it.
Nearly a century ago, psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik found that when we finish a project, we file it away. But when it’s in limbo, it stays active in our brains. From writers like Aaron Sorkin (“You call it procrastinating. I call it thinking.”) to artists like Leonardo Di Vinci (took 16 years to complete the Mona Lisa), highly creative people spend most of the creative process in pre-production.
Instead of thinking of procrastination as a vice, think of it as an essential part of creativity. Consider these three ways you can use procrastination to your advantage:
1. To exercise your idea muscles. Give yourself permission to build white space in your day. White space will allow you to reflect — to turn information into knowledge and knowledge into insight.
2. To find the power in the question. Good strategic thinkers know how to hit the ‘what if’ pause button. It forces you to step back and challenge current assumptions that prevent you from seeing breakthrough solutions.
3. To move from quantity to quality. While you don’t have the luxury to mull over every piece of text you write before you hit ‘send’, some ideas are worth polishing.
Let’s be honest. Chronic procrastination is not healthy. If you have excuses for letting most deadlines pass, that’s a bad habit you need to address and correct.
But true insight takes time. The longer we allow our brains to work on ideas, the more insight we can gain. Don’t be afraid to harness the creative power of procrastination.
Question: When has procrastination helped you be more creative?
Do you need guidance on how to harness your creative power and have a competitive advantage? Check out our Executive Coaching services or email me at snasim@executiveexcellence.com directly to set-up a free 30 minute consultation.
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Purpose
On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced an audacious goal. Before a joint session of Congress, Kennedy laid out a compelling vision: to put a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth by the end of the decade.
It is estimated that on the night of that speech we knew only about 15% of what we needed to accomplish that goal. But on July 20, 1969, millions of people around the world watched in awe as Neil Armstrong took one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind.
In the eight years between President Kennedy’s and Commander Armstrong’s profound words, nearly 500,000 people, through dedication, ingenuity, and perseverance, worked tirelessly to reach that goal. It was something that many, including Dr. Robert Gilruth, Director of NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center, were not sure could be reached. What was it about Kennedy’s words that stirred so many to achieve this nearly impossible feat?
“Kennedy invited us into a cause,” write Kevin and Jackie Freiberg in their book Cause! “He asked us to be part of something BIGGER, to bring our gifts and talents to solve a problem,” they write. In short, it galvanized half a million people around a purpose.
The question of purpose — the need to connect the why to the what and how — is the essence of what it means to exist. It’s the question of insatiably curious 4-year olds. It’s the question young adults seek to answer when traditional education falls short. It’s the question on the minds of the Millennial workforce, today’s consumers, and discerning shareholders when considering whether to work for, buy from, or invest in your company.
Today’s organizations sit at a tipping point. The answer to the question of why a company exists can no longer be simply “to make a profit.”
Consider these trends behind this tipping point:
- 3.6 billion people along with their shared knowledge, social contacts, and computing power are rapidly becoming a collective force of unprecedented power.
- 73% of Millennials believe businesses can have a positive social impact on the world, and they are optimistic about playing a role in that change.
- 90% of U.S. consumers say they would switch brands to one associated with a cause, given comparable price and quality.
- 20% of shareholder-sponsored proposals of U.S. public companies focus on environmental and social concerns.
Traditional business based on the factory model is dying. Factories are filled with bureaucracy and clock watchers. Factories are focused on the what and the how. Successful organizations of the 21st century thrive in the why. They are driven by engaged people who know that their collective effort has meaning beyond a paycheck.
The case for defining and living your organizational purpose has never been more compelling. Today’s workforce, consumers, and shareholders don’t want to buy what you do. They want to buy into what you do. Find your inner compass and get clear about why the world is better because you exist.
Question: Have you worked for an organization with a clear sense of purpose? How did that impact you as an employee?
Whether you’re a start up, or you need a restart, we can help you connect to the backbone of what you exist to do. Check out our Purpose Alignment services or email me at snasim@executiveexcellence.com directly to set-up a free 30 minute consultation.
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Leadership
Over the past 10 years, I have been honored to explore and debate the essence of power with Dr. Tony Baron. Specifically, how power impacts leadership, how leadership impacts culture, and, ultimately, how culture impacts performance.
With a double doctorate in psychology and theology and decades of executive coaching experience with Fortune 100 companies, you can imagine the depth and breadth that Tony adds to the subject. We are currently co-authoring a book that combines Tony’s scholarship and my straight talk about the challenges faced by today’s leaders. Meanwhile, I will be sharing guest posts by Tony over the next several months to give you a taste of what it’s like to have an amazing colleague and friend like Tony Baron. – Sheri Nasim
Most of our seminal leadership theories have been developed around three significant streams: psychology, philosophy, and economics.
Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalytical theories on personality, focused on explaining human behavior around the concept of pleasure. Although he sexualized many of his theories, the business community recognized that the consuming public could be enticed to buy simply because of the pleasure that comes with instant gratification.
Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher in the 18th century, stressed that pleasure is most enjoyed in a position of power within a social context. According to his famous work, The Will to Power, Nietzche’s thesis is that every action toward another person stems from a psychological desire to bring that person under one’s power. Nietzche’s formative theories on the social context of power are reflected by today’s leadership gurus and academics alike. Author John Maxwell asserts that “leadership is simply influence.” UC Berkeley professor Dacher Keltner maintains that “power is about altering the states of others.”
Milton Friedman, a brilliant scholar and Nobel Prize winner, understood business from a results-driven perspective when he advocated that “the social responsibility of business is to increase profits.” Friedman understood that human beings and, subsequently, organizations are pleasure-seeking and power-driven.
These thought leaders have tapped into our insatiable desire for pleasure, and how power is the ultimate pleasure-delivery system. Unfortunately, what brings personal pleasure to a leader can often have devastating results on the workforce and the public. We all know leaders who focus first on personal pleasure, protect their power at all costs, and treat employees like tools to achieve bottom line results.
The result? A workforce with meaningless vocations and a culture of learned helplessness. Gallup research shows that 68% of the U.S. workforce is disengaged, and the Edelman Trust Barometer finds that nearly 30% of employees don’t trust their employer, and more than two-thirds feel that CEOs are too focused on short-term performance.
One way to test where you derive pleasure as a leader is to ask yourself a simple question: Am I driven to lead or am I called to influence? Consider these differences between the characteristics of leaders who are power-driven and those who are called to lead.
Characteristics of a Power-Driven Leader
1. Lacks empathy for others and the amount of work placed on them to achieve often unreasonable goals.
2. Often reacts impulsively and demonstrates polarizing bouts of intense anger and personal but temporary happiness.
3. Feels they are the exception to the rule and are specially endowed because of their gifts to lead the organization.
4. Takes great pride in increasing and protecting their power through fear-based tactics.
Perhaps, instead, you feel a unique selection, or are called, to the role you are serving. A leader who feels a calling honors his or her responsibility as a steward over a task or organization.
Characteristics of a Called Leader
1. Creates personal margins in their life for reflection on the greater good.
2. Has an accountability group comprised of people who challenge their position and offer diverse opinions.
3. Learns the importance of self-regulation in how they speak, think, and act toward others.
4. Continuously grows to improve their competency and develop their character.
A called leader manifests a non-anxious presence and a determined perseverance to do the right thing, in the right way, with the right people.
Freud, Nietzche, and Friedman have provided us with an understanding of the unfettered drive for pleasure through power. Power-driven leaders may achieve short-term results, but invariably do so by violating character, values, and vision. We can be better. In fact, we can be called.
Dr. Tony Baron is Distinguished Scholar-In-Residence at Center for Executive Excellence and an internationally recognized speaker, writer, corporate consultant, professor and the San Diego Director of Azusa Pacific University Graduate School of Theology.
Dr. Baron is the author of six books, including The Art of Servant Leadershipand a workbook manual co-written with noted author and business leader Ken Blanchard. Throughout his career, he has worked with hundreds of companies including Ford Motor Company, Coca Cola Company, Warner Brothers Studios, and Boeing, among many others.
Driven by the premise that excellence is the result of aligning people, purpose and performance, Center for Executive Excellence facilitates training in leading self, leading teams and leading organizations. To learn more, visit us today at www.executiveexcellence.com or subscribe to receive CEE News!
Interested in learning how you can live out the characteristics of a Called leader? Check out our Executive Coaching services or email me at tbaron@executiveexcellence.com directly to set-up a free 30 minute consultation.
CEE News is designed to help you with the challenges you face every day by sharing infographics, white papers, best practices, and spotlighting businesses that are getting it right. I hope you’ll subscribe to CEE News and it becomes a resource that continually adds value to your walk as a leader.
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Leadership
Success is a powerful motivator. It can dictate how we spend our time, energy, and resources. It can influence relationships, schedules, and families. It may even become an all-consuming passion that leaves broken people and morality in its wake.
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Yet, success is not the highest calling that we have as leaders. In fact, compared to significance, it fades pretty quickly.
Consider these differences between success and significance:
- Success ebbs and flows. Significance always lasts.
- Success ends on the day you die. Significance carries on.
- Success is never enough. Significance satisfies the soul.
Unfortunately, many leaders spend their careers chasing success. And while some achieve more than others, almost all find it unfulfilling in the end.
Instead, think of success as a stepping stone to significance. You have to experience a certain amount of success before you can take the step to significance. You know you’re ready to start down the path if you’ve asked yourself what lies beyond professional and monetary success.
Here are five practical ways to begin:
1. Realize that your career won’t last forever. It’s never too early to start thinking about your legacy. How do you want to be remembered? Make a list and post it somewhere. It will help you make long-term, positive choices each day.
2. Be a leader worth imitating. In my post, “Leadership by Imitation,” I noted that you are a living example of what it takes to get to the next level. While no one is perfect, strive to model character, integrity, and morality every day. It will be noticed.
3. Focus on people. Not dollars. Begin to transfer the value of your work from your income to the people around you. Rather than pouring over how to squeeze another 0.01% point of profit, spend that energy focusing on your team. Find ways to inspire and equip them in their roles.
4. Start with one solitary person. Find one person who needs you today. Start there. Significance takes as little time as it does to have one cup of coffee, or be as simple as one heartfelt question. If you are unsure where to start, try this, “No, how are you really doing?”
5. Add biographies to your reading list. The next time you’re looking for something to read, try Team of Rivals or Long Walk to Freedom to consider how Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela sought significance over success. Their stories will inspire you to think about ways to create meaning that lasts.
Rarely do people look back on their lives and savor their professional achievements. Instead, they celebrate the impact they have had in the lives of others. Give yourself much to look back on and celebrate. Stop chasing success. Start seeking significance.
Question: Where are you along the path to significance? Please leave your comment below.
Interested in receiving guidance on how you can move along the path to significance? Check out our Executive Coaching services or email me at snasim@executiveexcellence.com directly to set-up a free 30 minute consultation.
Letter from the Founder
Welcome to the twelfth issue of CEE News!
Many of the leaders I talk to are learners like me. We enjoy reading books, going to conferences, and filling our leadership toolkit with the latest in leadership and organizational development theories.
We get so excited about what we learn, that it’s tempting to try to implement our new discoveries at work. But if we’re not careful, the practice of management-by-book-of-the-month-club can backfire.
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