Change is a Choice

Counterintuitive Actions

By: Scott Schroeder

?Isaac Newton’s law of motion states: An object at rest remains at rest, and an object in motion remains in motion at constant speed, and in a straight line unless acted on by an unbalanced force. This is not an article about physics but I contest that the human state is not much different. If we want our outcomes to change, we must change the inputs. But change what?

?I’ve been writing on the 9-Behaviors of World-Class Performers identified by Solutions 21 and Counterintuitive actions is yet another of these behaviors. Very good performers do many things well, but World-Class Performers realize that what is required to reach the next level may not be intuitive or natural. It may be counterintuitive or require the development of skills that don’t come naturally, and there are times we need todo things we rather not.?

Over the years I have learned many lessons. Very few have been by design! Some lessons have been from coaches and mentors pointing me in the right direction. Other lessons have been realized through necessity and quite a few have been realized through luck!?

Learned from being coached:?

?I have been riding a bike for over 50 years, and I have ridden competitively in triathlons and road races for over 20 years. At the age of 56, was given a mountain bike and told to learn to ride. While the fundamental of riding a bike are very similar there are some significant differences between riding on the road and on a trail. The biggest, especially where I am in NC, is the trails are narrow and obstacles many. While the universal truism of riding a bike apply, (“There are people who ride that have fallen and those that will”), the frequency of falls on the mountain bike is much greater. Other than developing new skills and gaining confidence, the biggest lesson I was taught was not to look at the hazards. This is certainly a?counterintuitive?action. But it is true: recognition and awareness of life’s hazards are still important but watching where you want to go (following your path) is much more important. To me this speaks to having a?Clear Vision.?Keep an eye on where you want to go.??

From this I have learned to stay focused on the main thing.

Learned through necessity:

?When I was the Command Sergeant Major for the 2nd?Brigade Combat Team of the 101ST?Airborne Division, a unit of roughly 3,500 Soldiers I was paired with a Commander. Neither he nor I was socially astute. I had always been one to focus inward and it served me well, but my units became larger requiring me to stretch, or do things that hadn’t been expected of me in the past. At the Brigade, level we were expected to support installation efforts and community engagements. This was certainly not something I wanted to do but being forced out of my comfort-zone allowed me to grow. I learned the importance of being a positive representative of the command responsible for communicating with outside organizations and supporters. While I still don’t relish the thought of large social gatherings, I am much more comfortable, confident, and capable during public engagements.?

?I have continued to learn and grow my emotional intelligence. I have been exposed to tools that allow me to see-myself – understand how others might see me – and learned to communicate and connect with others more easily. Having the ability to connect with people and groups outside my organization certainly didn’t seem important to me at tactical levels of leadership. It was?counterintuitive.?I later realized these engagements are key to developing relationships at the operational and strategic level that are imperative to success.??

This speaks to the importance of developing social awareness skills: a critical component in developing our emotional intelligence.?

Learned through luck and reflection:?

?I have learned though experience and reflection that not even our best team members are indispensable. I have been on some very strong teams packed with talent. There are times when even our best performers need to be allowed or encouraged to leave for other opportunities. On the flip side, I have certainly seen my share of selfish leaders who wouldn’t allow their best to pursue once in a lifetime opportunity because this leader placed their own needs above those of their outstanding performers.?

?Allowing your best to leave your team might seem to make no sense or be?counterintuitive. But by allowing exceptional talent to seek new opportunities, it becomes easier to draw even better members to our team. We expand our reach and develop alliances outside our team. And we grow loyalty and capacity inside our own organizations by providing others the opportunity to fill these vacated roles. This speaks to the importance of succession planning and avoiding having single points of failure where the success of operations hinge on a single person.?

Mission success and taking care of people are not mutually exclusive.?

?Whether the skill needed for improvement be physical, technical, or emotional, it could require us to act against our intuition or force us to do something we rather not. Not taking these steps will leave us right where we are. If we want our outcomes to change, we must change. Though practice and repetition we come closer to reaching the next level.?