Success is never binary. And very rarely you land on a 0 or on a 1.
Most often, you find yourself somewhere in between.
Understand this to appreciate the progress you have made, as well as the path you still have ahead of you.
Tag: bias
Only once
It’s rarely as bad as we think it is.
It’s rarely as bad as we think it will be.
We put stakes on the things that happen to us and we never pause to think that it is us who determine how important outcomes are.
Is failing at a job truly that disastrous?
Is delivering a project late really so determinant of the company’s future success?
Is expressing our doubts or asking a difficult question truly going to jeopardize the relationship with a friend?
If a behavior is repeated across time, it is wise to take note and try to address it. But if it happens only once, is it really going to be that bad?
Probably not.
Time to heal
You need to give wounds proper time to heal.
Of course, you want to get back to work. Of course, you want people to accept your point of view and get back to their tasks. Of course, you are all working on something bigger and the time spent grieving is time not spent pursuing a new opportunity.
But wounds do not heal as fast as you’d want them to. People do not heal as fast as you’d want them to. You do not heal as fast as you’d want to.
Give it time. And in the process, do listen. You will learn something about wounds, people, and yourself.
Getting ready for the next wound.
Stories over numbers
Numbers come after stories, and stories others can relate to come after stories we can relate to.
We like to think of the world as a rational place, where people make decisions based on a set of available information. Of course, that is far from what we experience every day.
If you want to inspire action you need to remind this.
About goals
There are two things, I believe, you really to need to highlight when leading a team.
Number 1 is that the person’s well-being, in whatever format that comes, is infinitely more important than any business goal and organisational achievement.
Number 2 is that goals, especially individual goals, are not a way to get rewarded or fired, but rather a way to challenge – how do we get there – and be challenged – what do you need to get there.
The way you, as a leader, navigate setting goals and delivering on them is 99% of how your team will feel about them.
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