One Apple a Day #920 - focus on people
Focus on the person, not on the results.
This sentence is the only thing that came up in my head this morning.
It's something we discussed last Monday morning in a mentoring class.
As a mentor, I believe it's essential that I always keep my focus on the person and her journey. Sure, the desired results must be clearly stated, and we will measure the progress on them. But my attention stays with the person before me.
I've learned that when I'm thinking about the results, I'm not fully present to the person anymore. And I miss out on all those precious signs that can help both of us move forward in ways that really serve us.
This morning, I woke up with this sentence in mind, and I thought that it's a good reminder not only for mentors but also for leaders.
Results are essential. They are the reason why we start something.
However, when all our attention is on the results, we will see everything and everyone else as a means to an end.
People become resources and tools.
I believe that when we do that, we waste an incredible amount of human potential.
As Viktor Frankl wrote, "success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue." What we should pursue is the full realization of our potential.
So, I'm wondering what if, once we have clarity on the results we want to achieve, we ask ourselves who do we need to become, as individuals and as a collective, to achieve those results? Who is the person, team or company that does that?
And then we work to become that person, team or company.