A New View on 2020, Part III
Whitney Johnson
Learning is the oxygen of human growth. Learn along with me on the Disrupt Yourself podcast.
For the past two weeks we have been looking at how to reframe the negative experiences of 2020, letting the lessons learned mold and shape us, our teams and our entire organizations. Yet, here we are, barely three weeks into 2021 and the uncertainty continues. I find myself realizing this skill, this ability to ride and master the wave of disruption, is more crucial than ever.
The world will continue to be unpredictable, learning how to effectively navigate and leverage disruption will help us thrive, regardless of the circumstances. To do this, we put our past experiences and focus moving forward, through the Personal Disruption Framework? from the S Curve of Learning?.
This week, we continue the work of reframing, by looking at Guardrails #5, #6, & #7.
Guardrail #5: Step Back to Grow
How did you step back to grow?
What happened when you took a step back and had to learn to work remotely full time? Or had to guide and support your children in remote learning? How did you handle having to care for a loved one who was suffering from COVID? What happened when you weren't traveling? Did you take time to reflect and wonder?
“A shift in my management behavior turned out to be MUCH easier than I thought..."
When I presented this question to Davis Smith, Founder & CEO of Cotopaxi, a startup outdoor apparel company that donates 1% of its revenue to address poverty and support community development, this was his reply, “I was thinking I needed to hire a president to help me build our company. Then COVID hit. I was no longer faced with external distractions and started paying more attention to what my team needed.”
He continued, “A shift in my management behavior turned out to be MUCH easier than I thought, and it transformed the way I lead. In the first month of the pandemic our revenue was cut in half, but through creativity, leadership, and adaptability, our team has found ways to thrive, seeing meaningful growth this year, despite the pandemic.”
Davis stepped back, looked at his business through a new lens, and grew in unexpected ways.
How has stepping back (or being pushed) back allowed you to grow? How has this benefitted your team and your organization?
Guardrail #6: Give Failure it’s Due.
It’s possible to learn more from failure than from success. Almost everyone had failures in 2020––some big, some small.
When I spoke to Jason Licht, General Manager of the American football team Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he said he had to adapt to using video call technology—like most of us did.
Jason shared a story about how during a key Zoom meeting with the U.S. National Football League, he turned to yell at his kids that were calling for him. His microphone was not on mute like he thought it was. “When I got back to the desk, everyone at the League was laughing [hysterically].”
He could have been embarrassed but instead, he laughed with them. And, by learning what he didn’t know, during the actual draft, which was done virtually for the first time, Jason had several backups in place––just in case the ‘mute’ button wasn’t working.
Whether we see an experience as a failure or success is a choice. It is always a choice. What kind of grace did you give yourself this year that you may not have given in the past when it comes to failure? How can you extend that ‘grace period’ in 2021? How will that benefit your colleagues and your organization?
Guardrail #7: Be Discovery Driven
A lot of us (ok, all of us) had our plans interrupted because of COVID. And so far, it seems the interruption will continue into the foreseeable future. The question is then, how are we willing to be discovery driven? Are we taking time to get feedback from what has, and continues, to happen?
"This is not happening to us, but for us."
This was the case for Naomi Bagdonas, Lecturer in Management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Dr. Jennifer Aaker of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. They are the co-authors of the forthcoming book Humor, Seriously which has not yet been published because among other challenges, there is a paper shortage that is affecting book printing.
The delay, like many delays in business, posed significant challenges. But the two authors chose to see those challenges from a positive perspective. Naomi explained, “At each turn, we took a hard look at the feedback, setback, or limiting belief and thought, ‘This is not happening to us, but for us. It's the perfect gift; now we just need to discover how to use it!’”
They saw that the people were struggling and needed laughter more than ever. So, they donated as many books to as many people as possible through various charities.
They listened to the feedback and made positive choices when facing new challenges.
What did you do with the feedback you received in 2020 and continue to receive today? How are you adapting? How will your course be different in 2021 because of these discoveries? What about the course of your organization?
"Exploring the unknown requires tolerating uncertainty." Brian Greene
Disruption will continue, of that I am certain. Where and when it occurs, if it is of our own doing or imposed upon us - is less clear. I choose to focus on what I can control and sharing The Personal Disruption Framework? with all of you, is my way of helping you do the same. We can leverage the power of disruption to propel us, our teams and our organizations into stronger, more resilient versions of ourselves.
Over the past three weeks we’ve provided the structure that can help you do this, help you put 2020 - and the challenges you face moving forward - into new light. Just by going through this exercise and reframing 2020 into a year of learning, which – let’s be honest – is not the easiest thing to do, you have already disrupted yourself.
If you'd like to do additional work on embracing the constraint that was 2020, download our Gaining Insights guide, turn the adversity of 2020 into a 2021 opportunity!
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Whitney Johnson is the CEO of human capital consultancy WLJ Advisors, an Inc. 5000 2020 fastest-growing private company in America. One of the 50 leading business thinkers in the world as named by Thinkers50, Whitney and her team are experts at helping high-growth organizations develop high-growth individuals. She is an award-winning author, world-class keynote speaker, frequent lecturer for Harvard Business School's Corporate Learning and an executive coach and advisor to CEOs. She is a popular contributor to the Harvard Business Review, has 1.8 million followers on LinkedIn, where she was selected as a Top Voice in 2018, and her course on Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship has been viewed more than 1 million times. In 2017, she was selected from more than 16,000 candidates as a “Top 15 Coach” by Dr. Marshall Goldsmith.
Life Insurance Expert & Personal Financial Advisor
3 年Nice quote "Exploring the unknown requires tolerating uncertainty." Brian Greene
Compassionately Ruthless Leadership & Team Coach | Chosen by High-Potential Leaders & Teams to Deliver Remarkable Results | Inspires Change | Be Halina’d
3 年Failure is indeed the way that we learn. Or even the way that we choose not to learn. The way that we learn to do things differently. The way we discover what doesn't work. The way we get aha! moments as to what might work. Thank you for highlighting this Whitney Johnson
Medical Transcription Services of Toledo, Inc., President
3 年It is without question that adversity, financial reverse, and unanticipated circumstances can build character. Welcoming these pesky teachers into our "classrooms of life" proves "nteresting. In this classroom, what grade does one desire: A, B, C, D, F? Do you sit in the front row, so to speak, eager to gain valueable lessons? Would you agree that your most admired professors are those speaking from their own personal experiences of overcoming? Do you aspire to one day also be among those demonstrating resilience? Your choice is the only control you hold.
Product Manager,
3 年Good Morning Whitney, in life you go through uncomfortable at first as you learn as you continue to practice, focus and attention on what you want to accomplish, things can change get better, failure is part of every learning process! thank you for sharing,
Dynamic Sales Leader Specializing in Cybersecurity, Cloud Solutions, and Building High-Performance Teams
3 年I have read many, many articles on failure, and they all end with the same conclusions, almost all of which have been covered in this series. The Navy Seals have a mantra, "Embrace the Suck". That is, in order to make ANY change in your life, you are without a doubt, going to have to endure being uncomfortable for a period of time. Let me illustrate just one of a billion examples. Let's say you want to learn to play an instrument. Let's pick Violin. I can guarantee that putting the violin up to your neck and pulling the horsehairs across the strings is going to be a tad bit uncomfortable at first. However, as you learn, as you practice, as you put your focus and attention on what you want to accomplish, it will get less and less uncomfortable. This is true with all learning. Learning happens in a place of being uncomfortable for a period of time. Whitney Johnson and others miss this vital point. Why? Because advocating being uncomfortable is NOT something viewed as popular, or even true. And yet, ask yourself how easy was it to lose that weight? Or to learn Japanese? Or to learn how to code? I highly doubt that the ENTIRE process was completely carefree and easy. And...of course, there were failures along the way. I am NOT suggesting that you will not enjoy yourself as you learn, a component of failure is an outcome of avoiding being uncomfortable. -->That is because deep in our subconscious, we favor being comfortable over discomfort. Almost. All. The. Time. Learning to be uncomfortable is part of every learning process. Once you understand that principle, you will be able to handle failure without coping mechanisms, justifications, or "reframing negative experiences". Do you want to get better? Then you will have to endure some discomfort. Don't believe me? Ask anyone who has performed at a high level in any sport. They know the pain they have to go through to get better.