How Far Have They Come?!

Danielle LaPorte has said, “Pull over to the side of your journey and look how far you’ve come.” I love that thought! Although we seldom do that.

I served (indirectly) under General Robert Rutherford while he was the Commander of Air Mobility Command. He used to go around his bases, checking on his people and his bases’ operations. He’d get to Base X and as he was being shown around would ask people, “How are things going?” Imagine that. A four-star commander asking how things are going. How do you answer that? “Great, General!” Regardless of the truth, you’d answer in that way. His follow-up question would hit people between the eyes. “How do you know?” Duh…crickets…bumfoozled looks…. What a powerful question when you’re striving to be your best, which most of us strive for, don’t we? I know I do.

Since realizing the value and importance of maintaining my physical fitness, I’ve continued to work out, on average, five days a week. That’s a lot for me! Not bragging, just providing a context for what I’m about to say. Working out gets more difficult as you age, or that’s what I hear. Part of the issue is, of course, physical. I can’t do what I used to do the way I used to do it. Then there’s the phycological. I’ve figured out what works for me to maintain a steady regimen and, so far, so good. I’m not sure how much I control my body, but I do seem to have more control of my mind. I have to psych myself to work out when I don’t want to. Experts say it’s about discipline. Okay, I’ll buy that, but discipline requires purpose. So, I’m wondering if measuring how much I’ve done, 40 minutes/2 miles/12 laps, what I call assessing progress, is more powerful than how much I have left to go, 10 more minutes/half a mile/3 laps? Okay, you’re wondering what all of this has to do with leading?

Do you encourage your followers to think about how far they’ve already gone, to assess their progress? How much improvement they’ve made? “I do that during our semi-annual feedback sessions,” you say. I’m not going to argue with you, but semi-annual leaves a long time in between. Imagine doing something to your very best ability every day, not knowing that it wasn’t good enough, or even the right way, until a few months later when that feedback session is required. You might have learned how to do that the wrong way because you’ve done it for so long. Maybe reminding your followers of how much they accomplish weekly, even daily, would be more powerful. Now, imagine your supervisor constantly reminding you how much progress you’re making and maybe even patting you on the back every time you progress to the next level. If that was me, I’d follow you anywhere.

I’ve studied and taught the art of goal setting for many years. My perspective, though, isn’t about goal setting, it’s about goal achievement! I have a list of goals. But there’s little value in that until I accomplish them. But when I DO accomplish them and take note of it, I’m energized to do even more. If you’re going to lead effectively it’s going?to require that you constantly inspire your followers to grow continuously. And you can’t assess progress without some type of measure. Your effectiveness will grow as you encourage your followers to think about how far they’ve come! Try it! You’ll like it and so will they.

Until next time, Be GREAT! You ARE!

?HEIRPOWER!

bob vásquez!