Today, during practice nine we went back to the beginning. We practiced 7 good minutes – again. We had a handful of folks who hadn’t been through this brain bending dealio. So, we assumed less and talked them through the why and how behind 7 good minutes. This was frustrating to a few. One of my clients approached me after practice and asked if I was as concerned as he about how disconnected it appeared the team was from mastering this methodology. I reminded him that I do this work for a living. In other words, my living is based on the study of human behavior. I live in the real world, even though many of you reading these rants think I’m lost in “lalaland.” I am not.
Here’s the facts, friend. Lead anything and your job is mostly to remind them. Humans, remember, have bad hearing. They mostly hear their own ideas – yours, not so much. So don’t be discouraged when it appears there are only a few connecting or tuning in to your message. This is the gig, leader. Focus on the few and keep repeating your message. We are making progress with this team of producers. So, I am far from frustrated with this team of high performers. I understand how long it’s gonna take for them to trust me and each other to really change some of their really good habits. You see, this team is far from broken. They are solid. They’ve done really well. Good, as Jim Collins drove home in his book, is the enemy of great.
Last week we celebrated a milestone practice with a team of collectors. They celebrated practice 200. Practice two hundred is one hundred and ninety one more practices than today’s practice nine with a team of eighteen. Humans take a long time to change, deeply change. We’ve got a lot more practices in us and I’m good with the long climb. See you next month, team of productive producers. See you next practice. We have a lot more reminders in store. Good…
BUILT TO LEAD 