ELEPHANT ALERT!
We just left Vail, CO after completing a “flight school” for a special finance company. As you know, the finance world is one big storm now. Yet, every person left this session understanding that THEY can determine the altitude at which their organization flies. Each employee understands that they can choose to be a passenger – or a pilot.
Passengers wait for others to lead; the pilots in this organization choose to lead.
So much in the finance world is out of an employee’s control. Therefore, their focus on how to live the attributes of quality leadership is becoming stronger. And because leadership is something they can control, they are experiencing success.
Here’s the elephant in the office: Most companies have a focus that takes their teams directly into the storm. “It’s scary right now,” many people are saying. “The economy, the pressures in the market, the attitudes – it’s tough to concentrate.”
STOMP THE ELEPHANT
What can you control? Do you know people who are allowing the variables outside of their control to distract them? You can see these “passengers” in life – the stress and worry corrupts their focus. And their results plummet.
You can always control your focus – which allows you to control your behaviors – which determines your results. During this turbulent time it’s wise to remember what the flight attendant told us when we boarded: If things get rough an oxygen mask will drop. Place your mask on your face first before helping anyone around you.
In other words, check your focus before trying to lead someone else.
Be a better pilot this week: Determine a question you’ll ask when life becomes turbulent. And then allow a stronger focus to deliver your leadership best.
Where will you lead – where will you stomp elephants – today?
