Are You Rearranging Deck Chairs on the Titanic Unaware that the Ship is Sinking?

The title of this article I'll have to absolutely credit to a recently interviewed Frontrunner, Paul Barry His unique turn of a phrase definitely captures the point. And the point is that if your instinct has you playing with insignificant details when the "big picture" is unfolding all around you...or, well, in the case of the Titanic, below you, then you may need to clear a path for your intuition. It's natural for us to focus on what seems most immediate even if it's not really that productive. If it's in front of us and easy to spot, especially if it's a problem to fix, then it gets our attention. But, could we be missing something? And, is that something external to us, or internal?

At Frontrunners Development where we connect impact partners, we were privileged to interview Paul Barry— Founder of Dreaming for a Living, consultant, teacher, actor, director, and TEDx speaker, known for his captivatingly insightful talks on memory retainment, and overcoming our limiting instincts to connect with the intuition that moves us forward.?We talked about transformation and how instinct often gets in the way of intuition. What we once thought of as "woo woo" stuff; something we couldn't see or touch, became very real when we could see how it gets applied in our work, personal lives, and our relationships. And, since we're all about relationships - ones that lead to impactful partnerships, we opened up our perspectives and learned a thing or two that we wanted to share.

"Every single transformation begins with a simple observation."

-- Paul Barry

Paul spoke with us on the concept of intuition being counter-instinctive, but also being the right way to go about getting things done. When we look at creating impactful partnerships in this diverse global setting, we should understand how and when abandoning instinct in favor of intuition is the smarter action.? Here are some tips:

Tips for impact leaders to intuit the bigger picture?

Before we get into what Paul shared, I believe defining what intuition and instinct mean would be a good place to start. One description of instinct is a behavior that is mediated by reactions below the conscious level. Intuition means the power or faculty of attaining direct or quick and ready insight. So, one has to do with behavior connected below our consciousness (like a pattern, routinely done without having much thought) while the other is a direct connection to the insight that leads one to act based on that insight.

In our interview, we asked Paul to share how to move closer to intuition in situations.? Here are some important bits we extracted from the conversation:

• About decision-making regarding change: Make decisions comprehensively and swiftly. Sometimes, it’s hard to do this for a good cause because you care and don't want to hurt anyone or force anything on people. However, it’s important to be clear and certain about your mission, so that when you make big, fast, comprehensive, and immediate sweeping change, you can stick to it, because you know deep down that your decisions are for the good of everyone. It’s also important to have data and facts to back up your decision to make it comprehensive.?Accordingly, we need to realize that most times, the doubts we have when it comes to decision-making are created by someone else; they are not ours. So be bold, swift, and comprehensive in making decisions, and don’t look back. And even when there are mistakes, they would be small technical ones that can be fixed along the way.?

"Be bold, swift, and comprehensive in making decisions, and don’t look back." --Paul Barry

• About improving efforts in business and as an investor: Realize that every transformation begins with a simple observation of either yourself or other people. You will acquire a deeper insight while learning. Paul relates this to stories of teaching actors by helping them to learn to really observe rather than casually observe.?In the world of creating global partnerships, observation can happen by reading profiles, posts, and listening to specific podcasts and webinars where people’s thoughts align with yours or maybe they don’t. You might watch a start-up for a while to see what decisions they make or check out the partner, client, board, or staff list of a company to see whom they know so you can understand why they are connected. You will get to know what countries they are interested in, what conferences they participate in, or what types of companies they like for investment.??Observation helps deepen insight and insight is your direct connection to intuition.

“Be general with praise, specific with criticism!” -- Paul Barry?

The best way to generate ideal communication, whether within a team or within a partnership, is to heed Paul’s advice above. As an example, one might say: “Generally, we’re doing very well at making good things happen in the world. Specifically, we are having difficulties communicating with certain partners, either because the messages aren't getting to the right contact or because our message isn't matching their mission well enough."

General praise boosts morale while specific criticism is necessary for growth. It should not be the opposite, “Specific with praise, general with criticism,” because it would only lead to more confusion.?

• About staying connected to your intuition as a leader: First, learn to be satisfied as an impact and purpose-driven leader by knowing that you are already doing and creating "good." See yourself as your audience sees you - they’re already incredibly impressed!?Retain your energy and focus, and always be able to touch back to your intuition. Being constantly busy quiets your intuition. So, get rid of noises and stresses that block your intuition.

"As a global impact leader, learn to keep your hands free every second of the day." --Paul Barry

Let the ideas flow effortlessly and delegate them to the rest of the team to get them done. This helps you grow to the next level above trying to implement everything yourself.?(Note here: There is a place in the video interview with Paul where one of the participants had an "aha" moment on this exact topic. Paul's advice literally may have saved her health.) Link to video.)

Collaborations and team building are very important in swiftly achieving our individual or organizational goals towards global impact. A one-man show won’t do much. And, partnerships are a requirement.

Feel free to see the full video interview with Paul Barry here. And if you have yet to, do subscribe to our Youtube channel to get all the information you need to connect to business opportunities like partnerships and contracts in social impact. By the way, thanks Paul!

Mary Kurek

For: Frontrunners Development, Inc.

Special thanks to Blessing Enofe for her assistance with this article.