Sometimes as leaders we assume, ponder, wonder, and surmise what we need to do, where we need to go, how we need to do things. We don’t do the most simple thing. ASK.
I remember Christmas morning as a child being a tremendous time of excitement. Santa Claus left the most amazing toys under the tree. The new bike was already set up. I could immediately get on the bike and ride around the neighborhood, not wasting any time (Ok, I lived in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, so maybe riding around the block was not happening because of the snow and cold). The train already had batteries in it, set up on the track, prepared to go for hours of fun.
How different it was when I became a parent. Little did I realize as a child, that bicycle came with directions. Somebody had to put it together! As an adult, how many Christmas Eves have you spent putting together a bicycle or some other toy? If you are like me, you probably didn’t think you needed directions. I have put together countless projects over the years: bookcases, bicycles, television cabinets, model cars, and that first volleyball net in the backyard. Each item came with instructions specifically designed to teach me how to assemble it. I remember putting together a TV cabinet once. I thought to myself, “This is simple. There is a right side and there’s a left side.” I didn’t bother to pay attention to the pieces marked A, B, or C. I got all the way to the end of the project, ready to put the final doors on this cabinet. And what should I find? The doors were on the wrong side. I had to take it apart and put it back together using the directions.
Why is it we think we don’t want, use, or ask for directions? We’ll pull out a map or use GPS, search the internet, look at the sun and stars, check the wind’s direction, but we don’t ask for help. We even question the GPS and don’t believe the instructions given. These are proven sources of direction and yet we choose, at times, not to heed them. Okay, so it’s not quite like that all the time, but if I learned one thing over the years it is this: I need help.
My dad spent 60+ years driving a semi-truck. As a kid, I spent quite a few miles in the sleeper cabin while traveling the country with him. My dad has an amazing recall for directions. When I travel, I will tell him where I am going, and he will name the roads I need to take and restaurants that are along the way. He even has people call him to ask directions when they are across the country. People look to him for direction. He has my best interest at heart and his directions are very accurate. Why would I not follow them?
In the end, it’s all about trust. We don’t ask because we don’t trust.
Fortunately, I learned that lesson early on. I need trustworthy people, their direction, and their partnership; so does everyone else. Even though we get frustrated with being lost, we have so many means to gain directions. To say “no man is an island” is to understate the principle of just asking. To understand the principles by which we lead, it is important to be humble and to seek help and guidance. Great leaders know that humility leads to learning, expertise and, finally, results. But without the help of others, even the humblest person is at a disadvantage. It is important to realize that we need each other.
As a leader in a business, or as a coach with a team, you not only need direction for your own life, you need to know how to give direction. To be fully effective in whatever you do in life, you need to know what direction you are going. If you don’t know where you’re going, how can you show someone else the way?
Robert Jarvik, who invented the artificial heart, said, “Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them.” Be the visionary by getting the direction you need first.
If you’d like to know more about getting direction, help with navigating the “GPS” in your life, let us know below.