TheLeadershipNotebook

To-Go Thinking: A Simple Strategy for Finishing Strong

 

“Never, never, never, never give up.”

~Winston Churchill

 

Last night I was on a run with my 26 year old daughter, Lisa. We set our sights on a 4 mile route, a distance that was definitely a stretch for me, (not so much for her.) Midway through our run, I was slowing down, huffing and puffing. I wondered how I would find the motivation to keep going and finish the run.

Thinking about finishing, reminded me of a recent blog post I saw on Harvard Business Review: How to Become a Great Finisher. What could I draw from the research on “finishing” and motivation that would help me finish strong?

The author of the post, Heidi Grant Halvorson, is a motivational psychologist. She shares the research describing how people pursuing goals were affected by focusing on either how far they had already come (to-date thinking) or what was left to be accomplished (to-go thinking). People routinely use both kinds of thinking to motivate themselves. For example, a marathon runner may choose to think about the miles already traveled or the ones that lie ahead. (I could relate to that example.)  A dieter who wants to lose 30 pounds may try to fight temptation by reminding themselves of the 20 pounds already lost, or the 10 left to go.

So what was the affect of each different type of thinking? Is it better to focus on the 2.5 miles I’ve already run or the 1.5 miles I have left to go?

What the researchers found was that “too much to-date thinking, focusing on what you've accomplished so far, will actually undermine your motivation to finish rather than sustain it..... Often a premature sense of accomplishment takes over and we begin to slack off.”

“If, instead, we focus on how far we have left to go (to-go thinking), motivation is not only sustained, it’s heightened. Fundamentally, this has to do with the way our brains are wired. To-go thinking helps us tune in to the presence of a discrepancy between where we are now and where we want to be. When the human brain detects a discrepancy, it reacts by throwing resources at it: attention, effort, deeper processing of information, and willpower.”

Ok then. I focused on 1.5 more miles to go. And I finished strong.

As you can imagine, this simple strategy, focusing on “to-go thinking” rather than “to-date” thinking, is applicable in all sorts of business and personal situations. Audit engagements, legal cases, goal completion are just a few that come to mind.

What do you think? How do you motivate yourself to “finish strong”? How do you motivate your team to finish strong? Do you focus on “to-go” thinking or “to-date” thinking?

To your success,

Mary

 

Do You Want to "Be Somebody"?

 

“I always wanted to be somebody, but I realize I should have been more specific.”

~Lily Tomlin

 
 

Your firm has a compelling vision (hopefully) for what it aspires to be.  Jim Collins of Good to Great fame talks about the value of creating a company’s vision based on the organization’s core values and purpose for existence. Values and purpose combined with a “BHAG” (big hairy audacious goal) add up to an inspiring picture of an organization’s future.

A personal vision can guide us to our desired future as well. Being deliberate and focused on envisioning where we want to go and the kind of professional we aspire to be can be a tremendous motivator.

The following ideas are concepts you can use to create your own personal vision or picture of your desired future:

To begin, create a clear imaginable picture of what your future will look like. The picture of your future must be meaningful and compelling. It must motivate you to action and move you from the comfort of the status quo.

Now make sure your vision is:

• realistic and feasible. It should consist of stretch goals that can be measured and grounded in reality.
• clear, focused and clarify what’s important. There must be no confusion in the direction that you’re headed and based on your core values and your purpose.
• easy to communicate. It must be explainable to anyone in a clear, concise manner.

Having a clear and bold vision for what you want to achieve ignites your passion and focuses you on your goals and aspirations.

So If you want to “be somebody”, set your sights on exactly who that is. You’ll be amazed at where it will take you.

To your success,

Mary

Learning and Pushing Through the “Performance Dip”

 

“The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies,

can continue growing as long as we live.”

~Mortimer Adler

 

I work with leaders. And each leader I work with is in the midst of his or her unique change and transition. New roles, new organizational challenges or their own performance improvement require a leader to tap into their ability (and willingness) to learn new skills. So learning is an integral piece of each coaching engagement. And with most learning experiences, mastery does not happen overnight or in a smooth, comfortable fashion.

A significant learning experience often includes a predictable, but uncomfortable, “performance dip,”   a risky period in a learning cycle where it simply feels easier and safer to deny or reject the emerging demands of change rather than accept the risks inherent in testing out new and unfamiliar strategies and tactics.

For high achievers, when you’re in the “performance dip,” outside your comfort zone and not yet performing the new skill at peak levels, it’s tough to look and feel less than perfect in front of your bosses, your colleagues or your direct reports. But when you give up on the learning, you leave lost opportunities on the table.

I can relate to this feeling of not wanting to “look bad” trying out a new skill. I love to play tennis and I remember vividly my favorite tennis instructor teaching me how to improve my forehand. “You just have to reposition your grip on the racket,” she said. Sounds so simple, but it was very uncomfortable and initially not so successful. Every time I tried the new grip, my shot went into the net. It was so incredibly frustrating that I wanted to give up. But she kept encouraging me and deep down, I knew she was right. It wasn’t long before I was hitting forehand winners with my new and improved grip. My tennis game was raised to a level far greater than if I had remained in my comfort zone.

 

I know my tennis game does not carry the same stakes as you learning new leadership capabilities. But the example highlights the possibility of what great things can happen when we work through the “performance dip.” Ironically, developing the capacity to be vulnerable, to put your performance at risk while you’re learning new skills, is key not only to learning how to learn, but also learning how to lead. I see it happen all the time and stand ready to help my clients push through the dip.

To be effective in the long term is to be flexible, to be open to new experiences and to new learning. So embrace a learning attitude and work hard at being learners as well as leaders.

What do you think? What are your experiences with learning and working through the “performance dip?” How have you stayed the course and elevated your performance far beyond what you thought possible? I’d love to hear your insights.

To your success,

Mary

Do You Have “Executive Presence”?

 

“Because everything we say and do is the length and shadow of our own souls,

 our influence is determined by the quality of our being.”

~Dale E. Turner

 

On Wednesday, I had the honor of presenting at the Association for Accounting Marketing’s 2011 Summit. The Summit attracted over 500 marketing professionals whose focus is to take their member firms to new heights. I spoke to a great group of 50 in a breakout session on one of my favorite topics: Emotional Intelligence (EQ): The Cornerstone of Executive Presence.

As I shared with them, ultimately “executive presence” is all about having influence. The kind of influence that compels others to take note of your thoughts, ideas and input. And I can’t think of a group of professionals who must be more influential than marketers, especially to the CPA profession. Marketing leaders must influence their internal stakeholders to accept their ideas and strategies and they must influence their external stakeholders to select their firms.

With our executive presence, what we display on the outside comes from the core of our emotions on the inside. And so it comes as no surprise that the level of our emotional intelligence skillset is ultimately key to the power of our executive presence.

As leaders, we are continually in the spotlight. Our bosses, our direct reports, our peers look at how we display our confidence, our assertiveness and how we handle stress.

So what do you project in your spotlight? Confident, courageous communication? A calm, unflappable demeanor?

 

 

I met many great marketing professionals at the Summit. Their firms are fortunate that their marketing strategy and execution are in such capable hands.

To your success,

Mary

 

Re-lax. Re-charge. Re-connect.

 

“Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along,

listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.”

~Pooh's Little Instruction Book 

 

I spent this week at “The Lake,” a summer cottage on Catawba Island, on the shores of Lake. Erie. The cottage holds tons of memories for me and I’ve been blessed to spend at least some time there each summer since I was born. It’s my little slice of heaven.

Summer 2011 at The Lake was filled with rest, relaxation, recharging my batteries and sharing a special week with my daughters before they head off into a million different directions.

I know it’s not always easy to get away, to unplug and recharge, but the value that comes from your break can pay so many dividends in the long run. Read the benefits below and see what you think.

According to Elizabeth Scott, M.S., in The Importance of Vacations, for Stress Relief, Productivity and Health there are seven effects that vacations have. These include:

1. Vacations Promote Creativity: A good vacation can help us to reconnect with ourselves, operating as a vehicle for self-discovery and helping us get back to feeling our best.
2. Vacations Stave Off Burnout: Workers who take regular time to relax are less likely to experience burnout, making them more creative and productive than their overworked, under-rested counterparts.
3. Vacations Can Keep Us Healthy: Taking regular time off to ‘recharge your batteries’, thereby keeping stress levels lower, can keep you healthier.
4. Vacations Promote Overall Wellbeing: One study found that three days after vacation, subjects’ physical complaints, their quality of sleep and mood had improved as compared to before vacation. These gains were still present five weeks later, especially in those who had more personal time and overall satisfaction during their vacations.
5. Vacations Can Strengthen Bonds: Spending time enjoying life with loved ones can keep relationships strong, helping you enjoy the good times more and helping you through the stress of the hard times. In fact, a study by the Arizona Department of Health and Human Services found that women who took vacations were more satisfied with their marriages.
6. Vacations Can Help With Your Job Performance: As the authors of the above study suggest, the psychological benefits that come with more frequent vacations lead to increased quality of life, and that can lead to increased quality of work on the job.
7. Vacations Relieve Stress in Lasting Ways: It should come as no surprise that vacations that include plenty of free time bring stress relief, but research shows that a good vacation can lead to the experience of fewer stressful days at least five weeks later! That means that vacations are the gift to yourself that keep on giving.

So make a commitment to yourself. Re-lax. Re-charge. Re-connect.

 

To your success,

Mary