Moving from Dis-functionality to Greatness

This is an article that I wrote in 1990s and modified it in 2010 and now I am editing again (now with the help of AI). I am inspired to post this after seeing the following link by Riti addressing differences between coaching, mentoring and mental health. https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/ritisrivastava-startupcoach_coaching-mentoring-mentalhealth-activity-7199627689702416384-PSqF?

Introduction

My last project in Apple was to work with Bill Atkinson who was designing 'a learning processor' and we decided to come up with it, we have to understand how people learn, think, lead, relate, and create and create tools for it. Once I left Apple in 1990, I have continued this research because I could not understand learning, change, transformation processes in people and I wanted to make sense of it by studying psychology, philosophy and human development from different angles and experiment with them as a teacher, an executive coach and as a parent. Over time, I have identified several common patterns and realized that recognizing (becoming aware) and acting upon these can significantly accelerate personal and professional growth.

Functionality Spectrum

We all bring a mix of expertise, skills, and competencies to our lives, operating at various levels of functionality across different contexts. This spectrum can be categorized into five distinct levels: great, effective, efficient, functional, ineffective, and dysfunctional. Reflect on the following questions to gauge your own levels of functionality:

• In which tasks or areas do you excel, and where does greatness elude you?
• Where are you most effective, and where do you find inefficiency?
• In what areas are you merely functional, and where do you become truly dysfunctional?

Answering these questions requires introspection and continuous reflection on your daily activities. Understanding your own functionality spectrum—from greatness to dysfunction—will prompt you to explore the underlying reasons for your performance levels and consider steps to improve.

Awareness of Our Levels of Functionality and Its Building Blocks

Functionality varies significantly with context. For instance, a highly respected doctor might find his professional expertise less valued at home. Similarly, a community leader might struggle with team management. This variability often stems from our abilities to act, think, feel, and simply 'be'—both tacit and explicit elements that we may not always be conscious of. Depending on our habits and mindset, our effectiveness fluctuates. The interplay among these four elements can be illustrated as follows:

• Greatness: Being × Feeling × Thinking × Acting
• Effectiveness: Feeling × Thinking × Acting
• Efficiency: Thinking × Acting
• Functionality: Acting
• Dis-functionality: Non-action (stuckness)

A lack of any one element reduces functionality to zero. For example, extensive knowledge without action leads to dysfunctionality, as does committed action without direction, which can result in minimal impact despite effort.

Bridging the Gaps by Mobilizing the Building Blocks

• From Dysfunctionality to Functionality: This transition involves overcoming the inertia of non-action. Action, the foundational building block, must be initiated, even if it's minimal. Reflecting on where you're exerting effort without progress can help identify areas of stuckness, often requiring more than coaching—possibly counseling/therapy—to address cognitive blind spots.
• From Functionality to Efficiency: Integrating thoughtful analysis into your actions can enhance efficiency. This involves listening to your inner voice to find purpose and critically evaluating your actions for continual learning and improvement. Here is where training is most helpful.
• From Efficiency to Effectiveness: By incorporating emotional intelligence (EQ), you can move from simply doing to doing right, thereby inspiring yourself and others towards optimal outcomes. Here is where coaching is highly recommended.
• From Effectiveness to Greatness: True greatness involves aligning your actions with your authentic self. This might require confronting and overcoming the social pressures of guilt, pride, and shame (your social GPS system) to unlock your true potential. This requires mentoring by right person to trigger your genius within.

In summary, greatness is achieved by harmoniously integrating your abilities to act, think, feel, and be. This alignment uncaps your potential, making success not just an achievement, but a stepping stone in your ongoing journey to greatness. True innovation—like that exemplified by leaders such as Steve Jobs—often results from trusting one’s instincts over conventional wisdom.

Side Bar 1: Reflections on Functional Gaps

Knowing – Doing Gap

Wayne Gretzky famously said, “100% of the shots you don’t take don’t go in.” Why do we falter despite the desire to succeed? Reasons may include lack of drive, past failures, or self-esteem issues. Dis-functionality, often rooted in cognitive blindness, isn’t easily resolved through coaching. At times, we engage in peripheral actions, deceiving ourselves about making progress. Effective strategies often involve targeted counseling. Consider these questions:

• Where am I exerting effort without seeing results?
• What am I ignoring about myself, despite feedback from others?

Your past strengths might now be your greatest weaknesses. Functionality often involves action without commitment—mere motions without impact. Taking any action can serve as a temporary escape from stuckness.

Doing – Thinking Gap

Bridging this gap involves integrating thoughtful reflection into our actions. Being functional requires mere action, but moving towards efficiency requires us to engage our intellect. Listening to our authentic selves and reflecting on our actions enhances our insights and efficiency. Questions to ponder:

• Where is my effort not translating into value?
• Are my actions improving the situation?

In a work context, efficiency might mean reducing costs, improving quality, enhancing customer satisfaction, and speeding up processes.

Thinking – Feeling Gap

Transitioning from efficiency to effectiveness involves harnessing our Emotional Quotient (EQ). EQ allows us to empathize and connect with the emotions of others, propelling us beyond mere efficiency to inspire optimal outcomes. Reflect on:

• Where am I prioritizing efficiency over people?
• How responsive am I to the unspoken needs of my team?

Effectiveness emphasizes leadership, focusing on interpersonal relationships rather than mere task execution.

Feeling – Being Gap

You might be functional, efficient, and effective, yet something significant might still be missing. Greatness arises from engaging our true essence and authenticity, often stifled by social pressures like guilt, pride, and shame ( I call it Social GPS system). Unlock your potential by embracing your feelings, intuitions, and emotions. Questions to consider:

• What makes me unique?
• How authentically do I follow my instincts?

Leaders like Steve Jobs excel by trusting their instincts over conventional approaches. It's this courage to act on intuition that bridges the gap from effective leadership to greatness, defining your personal and professional presence.

Sidebar 2: The Importance of Self-Awareness in Leadership

Building Self-Awareness: Reflect on the following to enhance your understanding of your functional levels and identify areas for growth:

• Which tasks or areas of work are you great at, and where are you merely effective?
• In which contexts do you function most effectively, and where do you find yourself struggling?
• What activities reveal your inefficiencies or dysfunctions?

Gaining Insight: Self-awareness is crucial for leaders. It involves recognizing where you stand across different functional levels and understanding the factors contributing to these levels. Such awareness can lead to targeted personal and professional development strategies.

Sidebar 3: Strategies to Enhance Functional Levels

From Awareness to Action: Use the insights gained from self-awareness to strategically improve your functionality:

• Identify patterns in your effectiveness across different tasks and contexts.
• Determine the underlying causes of disfunctionality or inefficiency.
• Implement specific strategies to elevate your level of functionality in targeted areas.

Tailored Development: Engage in exercises or seek coaching that specifically addresses your areas of lesser functionality. Consider counseling to overcome deep-seated issues impacting your professional performance.

What do you think? Which level are you operating at? Do you think the definitions from 1990s carry over into 2024?