Push to perform…

Professional race car drivers understand a simple truth regarding their aim. Speed is found on the edge. Drivers find the edge by pushing the car to it’s physical limits. They cannot find this without exceeding it on occassion. When the ass end comes around, they know they’ve gone too far. The good ones know to test this in the confines of the test track and during practice where the consequences are not as dire as the unrelenting, concrete wall. Professional drivers understand they’ve got to push to perform.

You do too.

Whatever your profession, there are limits to what you can do, limits to who you can do it with, and limits you’ve got to learn to push up against to really perform. Today, in an early morning practice with a young leader in training he told me a story about testing the edge with his leader. His leader “poured him back in the bottle,” he told me and the young leader told me he’s not doing that again. He told me he had found the edge with his leader and he was going back in the bottle, whatever that means. I asked him if allowing his leader to pour him back in the bottle was the best thing for the overall performance of their system. Empathically, he responded it was not. I asked him why he was going to underperform out of fear.

I told him the race car story and reminded him that his fear was the problem, not his leader. His job is to push his leader just like a race car driver pushes his car. Going back in the bottle is like a race car driver seeing his ass end come around, one time, and swear to never push like that again. Race car drivers understand the performance envelope has got to be pushed on a regular, routine basis. Every once in a while you’re gonna get your ass end out of place as a result. You’re not a leader if you aren’t pushing yourself, your team, and your leaders to perform. Don’t push because you have power. Don’t put yourself in some kinda bottle ’cause you don’t have power. Push because you are passionate about performing and learn the real limits, not some artificial, fear based limit in your mind.

Leaders push to perform. Good..