Preventing Derailment

“There is only one corner of the universe that you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.”  Aldous Huxley

In the last post we talked about the five areas of derailment; now let’s share some ideas on what to do about them.  (From Preventing Derailment: What To Do Before It’s Too Late)

1. Focus on results and leadership challenges rather than the technical matters.
2. Don’t over control.  Develop a tolerance for the uncontrollable and life’s ambiguity.  Remember your mind is like a parachute, it only works when it’s open.
3. Beware of your blind spot.  You cannot know everything so seek feedback on both success and failure.
4. Learn to focus on the baton.  In a relay race, the most important task is to smoothly pass the baton from one runner to the other.  Focus on the transition between challenges.  What have you learned that you can apply and what won’t work.
5. People and teams are unique.  Make sure your message is tailored to the specific needs of the group or individual.  One size does not fit all.
6. Increase your self-awareness.  Understand your strengths and weaknesses.  Peter Drucker said, “Success in the knowledge economy comes to those who know themselves – their strengths, their values and how they best perform”.
7. Understand interpersonal impact.  Day to day interactions have a large impact on others.  Trust is build one action at a time.
8. Deal with emotions, likes and dislikes in a cool, calm, and composed manner.  If you get trapped into an emotional response, you are heading toward a derailment.
9. Focus on the here and now.  In sports coaches are always instructing their team to concentrate on the team they are playing now and not the next big game.  Successful executives deal with the problems at hand and develop the talent of the people on their team.
10. Admit mistakes, learn from them and move on.  Remember your job is to fix problems, not blame.  Whether it’s your mistake or a team member’s mistake, the key is to fix it, learn from it and move on.

“It is what we think we know already that often prevents us from learning.”

– Claude Bernard