Timeout for Leadership-your one-minute leadership idea
Tip Sheet #58
Why do we always try to out think ourselves?
Yes, it is true. We have a unique ability to out think ourselves and as a result, we usually outsmart ourselves. You see this time and time again on the athletic field. Coaches will quickly abandon what is working for their team in order to try something “cute.” The perfect illustration of this was in the Super Bowl several years ago when the Seattle Seahawks marched down the field for the apparent winning touchdown, when on the one-foot line, instead of giving the ball to their 240-pound bruising All Pro running back decided to throw the ball. And of course, it was intercepted by the Patriots who ultimately won the game. Why did the Seahawks feel so compelled to throw the ball there? I would argue that some analytics or the defensive alignment told them to do it, and it was the “sexy” thing to do. Yet the common-sense play would have been to just hand the ball off. The running back could have just fallen into the end zone.
As leaders, we do this all of the time. As school principals, we do it all of the time. And reflectively, in my leadership roles, I outsmarted myself far too many times. I think it is critically important that we take a moment to pause in our pursuit of excellence to reflect and evaluate if we are in fact trying too hard to out think ourselves. Are we trying too hard for the quick fix solution which may be cute but may yet to have been proven successful?
Take that reflective moment to apply the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) philosophy to the projects that you have underway at this time. Remember, systems tend to work better when they are kept simple. By doing this, there is less room for error.
It is time to get rid of the junk that is cluttering up our projects. It is time to walk the walk and talk the talk of simplicity and results. And by the way, we tend to talk too much which also clouds every picture. We try to sound intelligent by throwing around five-dollar words which actually mean very little to those that are listening to us. We abhor a conversation vacuum and we will drone on forever attempting to fill that vacuum.
Always remember when things are more complex, more can go wrong. Jim Collins in one of his Good to Great works argued that you should throw away your “to-do” list and create a “stop doing” list. We do too much that is wasted energy and effort. We do too much that has little direct bearing on our project.
Each and every principal must send a clear message and say it enough to make sure it is clear to everyone. Before we move on to some exotic concept, let’s get the fundamentals correct. And we all know that we learn better when we are active participants. Repetition is important.
We must also strive to make sure we give our initiatives time to take hold. We must give our projects time to prove that what we are doing is sound. Jumping from one initiative to the next just clouds the environment and retards all personal and professional growth. I was guilty of that very practice. I hunted for the quick fix. These quick fixes are rarely there.
Football can be a very simple game. It is all about blocking and tackling. And we must practice these fundamentals to get them right. Skills must become second nature to us. Running a school can also become second nature when we do things right.
Then why do we make it so complex? Just keep it simple, stupid!
I wish everyone a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving. I will be taking next week off from this blog to enjoy some extra time with my family. I hope that you are able to do the same. Enjoy!
