To be quick, you must thread slowly
Anna Kuusela
Impact Partner for Leaders | Pattern Disruptor by nature | CEO & Founder at EDGE Leadership | Public Speaker | ICF Certified Coach (ACC) | Ex-Big4
Disclaimer: I know nothing about rally or professional driving (although I'm a fan of fast vehicles ??).
Last Sunday, I happened to watch some rally with my brother - and I got super immersed into the race.
Apparently, it was a critical race. The Finnish driver, Kalle Rovanper?, was a fraction of a moment away from claiming world championship.
And as he starts his race, I can feel how everything intensifies. (I never knew I could enjoy watching rally this much...! ??)
Fascinatingly, inside the car it's as cool as it can get.
When the camera captures the atmosphere and conversation inside the car it's a stark contrast to the velocity in which the car is moving. Like look at these guys, they seem to be in flow...
Now look at the speed he's driving...
132 km/h.
How can you look THAT easygoing at this speed?
(Pretty sure I'd be everything but chilled.)
What I understand about driving fast in general is that the faster you're going, the calmer you must be.
Slower leads into quicker. How juicy is that?!
This idea, to slow down to speed up seems like an applicable concept to life and leadership, too.
We live in a world that prefers speed. We like our things fast: coffees, book deliveries and internet speeds. We like our lives fast: many meetings, ticking our endless to-do lists, wearing the busy badge...
More is more.
More is better.
Or is it?
What are we really achieving with speed?
When it comes to leadership, speed rarely is the answer
I see two implications for leaders:
Firstly, getting this idea of slowness intellectually is different to getting it in practise. Stress, for instance, is a cunning player, entering our lives through innocent-feeling thoughts and actions... When we're stressed, our system is flooded with cortisol which heightens it all. We become automated, habituated and we're no longer present to the moment. We lose the detail and go to known solutions. We're action oriented. We're in action.
When we're stressed, there's no time to stop and smell the roses.
(I've written about stress and its impact in prior newsletters, see eg this newsletter on brainwaves below.)
Secondly, when we are rushing (even simply in our thoughts), we leave no space for the new, innovative, or creative to emerge. How could it - we're just rushing from place A to B, a missing the finer detail. How can anything new land when it has no space to land into?!
Note - quickness is not necessarily only on the level of action - it can be simply between our ears, jumping from one thought to another. Feels familiar?
In my opinion, leaders in particular need to practise intentional slowing down.
On the level of being, on the level of thought, on the level of emotions, and on the level of action & decision-making.
This will not only transform the way we lead - this will transform how people engage with our leadership.
When a leader slows down, she can grasp the big picture and observe what's really going on. He can make complex and ambiguous things into something meaningful. She can connect with others more deeply, rather than 'going through the motions'.
Perhaps in today's world it's a rebel act to take one's time. To reflect. To ponder. To ideate. To gauge for the skilful response within, rather than reacting from habit.
The real challenge, as mentioned above, is to take this idea from an idea to application. To notice our own rushing moment-to-moment. To catch ourselves, to choose the less known path. To choose to pause. To develop our presence and awareness, on a moment-by-moment basis.
(And, for the type-As out there, remember that the future is created in the present moment.)
Before I go, I need to va-va-voom my fellow countrymen, the rally winner Kalle Rovanper? and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen! Kalle is the youngest rally winner in WRC history, at the age of 22. He's been at it for almost a few decades already and I got fascinated about how he's been building mastery during this time, under the mentorship of his father, another renowned rally driver, and being surrounded by some amazing cars and talents...however, that's another story there...). Amazing achievement nevertheless - congrats! ??
See you next week...slow-mo,
x Anna
Ps. If you'd like to move your performance to a new level, this is how I can help you on your journey:
Your empathic ally and leader in transformations | HHJ | I support and coach teams with business technology changes, transformations and digitalization to ensure lasting results
2 年This week I had an opportunity to practise this quick- slow idea IRL - I took part in simulationgame at work. The game is built in a way that speed is of essence. And we learned so much about co-operation and communication in a short time. Like you always say Anna, not just to get it but to practise what you get. I took the role of scrum master - because I had no idea about it - and at the end I slowed down to give space to my ”team of devops”. I do not want to reveal too much but it was fun and educational.. So indeed, the best results are gained when we slow down, look at the big picture and breathe????.
Advisory. I help foreign companies to establish a business in Norway, or find cooperation partners. Expert in Norwegian business culture, VAT, accounting, payroll, company establishment, and LinkedIn. AI. Norjaan!
2 年Be quick!