My wife will start a half-marathon in about 15 minutes. She's been training for months. There was no fancy training program. Just the commitment to get up and run. She showed up and put in the time.
At the heart of it, that's all achievement really requires. You have to show up and put in the time. A writer has to write, a musician has to perform, a computer programmer needs to write code, a researcher needs to be in the lab. The consistent accretion of skills, knowledge, and experience that build from working on your craft, whatever that may be, day after day eventually becomes a spectacular ability.
The best don't become the best by accident. It's a decision. You have to make the choice to show up everyday. Day after day after day...
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
I'm a leader, now what
I've been trying to figure out how I should approach the first formal leadership role of my career. After struggling to develop some kind of cohesive plan for my new group of four, I stumbled onto a simple plan. I've spent the last five years silently critiquing my leadership. That well of observations offers a few good ideas to start developing a leadership style.
My first struggle was whether to treat my group as a group or individuals. I've long bemoaned the way that those of us in the lab are treated like interchangeable parts. I'm going to take the individual route. Rather than having a meeting with everybody together, I'll meet with each person individually, away from the lab, to talk about this new relationship and how we'll work together.
There is far too much emphasis on what needs to get done and far too little effort placed on what can be done to make it easier to get those things done. I think I'll try to focus more on how things are getting done and what I can do to make it easier rather than focusing on making sure things are getting done. I want to put the emphasis on the process more than the result. When you focus on the process, you have a better chance of finding ways to make it better.
Given that managers are focused on whether or not a task has been completed, most people feel that they are mere order followers. Managers are there to give assignments and make sure those things get done. They're not there to help people get out of a jam or find a way to make the work flow more smoothly. I'm going to take the approach that I'm there for my people rather than my people being there for me. I'm their resource. They are not mine.
My first struggle was whether to treat my group as a group or individuals. I've long bemoaned the way that those of us in the lab are treated like interchangeable parts. I'm going to take the individual route. Rather than having a meeting with everybody together, I'll meet with each person individually, away from the lab, to talk about this new relationship and how we'll work together.
There is far too much emphasis on what needs to get done and far too little effort placed on what can be done to make it easier to get those things done. I think I'll try to focus more on how things are getting done and what I can do to make it easier rather than focusing on making sure things are getting done. I want to put the emphasis on the process more than the result. When you focus on the process, you have a better chance of finding ways to make it better.
Given that managers are focused on whether or not a task has been completed, most people feel that they are mere order followers. Managers are there to give assignments and make sure those things get done. They're not there to help people get out of a jam or find a way to make the work flow more smoothly. I'm going to take the approach that I'm there for my people rather than my people being there for me. I'm their resource. They are not mine.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
The Pursuit
In order to achieve something, you need something to achieve. Yes, it sounds a bit like a truism, but what guides your energies if you're not seeking to make something happen? There's a big difference between trying to get promoted and trying to achieve a specific goal.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Crowding out
Exceptional performance doesn't allow for automatic decisions. Settling into a routine, being comfortable, that's not going to get it done. You can't be satisfied with the way things are now. Get better, get better, get better. Small choices, what to have for lunch, when to go to bed, what to do with the 45 minutes you have to yourself before you go to bed, matter when you're pursuing excellence.
The decision to be the best dictates your every move. Total commitment. Eliminating the excess, getting to the core of building the skills and experience needed to achieve something extraordinary becomes the driver of everything else. Focus on advancing. There can be no more dabbling. You're going to have to give something up.
Six-pack abs don't come easy. Boston marathon qualifying times don't just happen with a few jogs through the neighborhood. Exceptional performance narrows your experience. Depth replaces breadth. The accumulation of experience required for expertise, the layer by layer acquisition of improving skills that requires concentrated effort over an extended period of time, doesn't leave room for much.
I'm spread too thin. I spend time writing blog entries rather than working on a paper describing some research I've done at work. I do school work instead of writing blog entries. I do school work rather than sleep. What do I have to give up to keep advancing? What am I trying to achieve?
The decision to be the best dictates your every move. Total commitment. Eliminating the excess, getting to the core of building the skills and experience needed to achieve something extraordinary becomes the driver of everything else. Focus on advancing. There can be no more dabbling. You're going to have to give something up.
Six-pack abs don't come easy. Boston marathon qualifying times don't just happen with a few jogs through the neighborhood. Exceptional performance narrows your experience. Depth replaces breadth. The accumulation of experience required for expertise, the layer by layer acquisition of improving skills that requires concentrated effort over an extended period of time, doesn't leave room for much.
I'm spread too thin. I spend time writing blog entries rather than working on a paper describing some research I've done at work. I do school work instead of writing blog entries. I do school work rather than sleep. What do I have to give up to keep advancing? What am I trying to achieve?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)