High performance thinking is a key component of self-leadership. Have you ever been in the super market where the lines are long, the air conditioning is barely blowing and you are primed to blow a gasket? As you are collecting yourself to muster a little more patience, you glance toward your right and notice 15 cashiers fully engage with customers. You look towards your left and you see the person at the Customer Services register nibbling on a Twizzler. He’s just standing at the desk, watching the other cashiers feverishly checking out items through the system. Out the corner of your eye, you witness the store manager escorting a woman to the Customer Services register to receive assistance. Apparently this woman’s problem was immediately escalated. This customer did not only receive a prompt response, they also were presented multiple options and a solid recommendation from the customer service cashier. Do you ever feel like all the cash registers in your brain are cranking at 100%? Imagine if each register represented a slice of time, and the customer service cashier’s register is part of your conscious mind that decided to interrupt the system and address a pressing issue. The pressing issue is to slow down and provide immediate processing cycles for your most pressing challenges. As leaders, it is imperative for us to carve out that dedicated time slot to think. We need to disengage from the mad rush of checking tasks off the list. We need time to create, strategize and plan. Just imagine what we can accomplish if all the registers are working on new ideas, planning the work and working the plan!
What can you do everyday to isolate yourself and allow those great ideas to emerge from your heart and mind to improve your self-leadership strategies?
“A man who as a physical being is always turned toward the outside, thinking that his happiness lies outside him, finally turns inward and discovers that the source is within him.” – Soren Kierkegaard
