Quick question: Are you making the most of your day or are you just going through the motions? Here I provide a an insight on how to maximize your time and energy the right way.
I just want to give a reflection on a workshop I did. It was a leadership two day program and as the participants came into the room and I could just sense that they weren’t present. They weren’t there, it was a Monday morning so I thought, I’d give them the benefit of the doubt.
But then when I started asking questions, there was silence, there was very superficial kind of answers and so I had a lot of content for the next two days I had put together. And I kind of sensed there is something going on for these guys that they’re more concerned about. Their heads are maybe back in the office and to other issues that were happening.
And so I leveled with them and said, “Hey guys, can I talk honestly with you? Look, I feel like you’re not here. I feel that you’ve walked in with the assumption of, ‘I don’t want to be here but I’ve have to do it because it’s part of the program. I’ve gotta be here for the next two days.’ And in essence your mind is somewhere else, back at the office or worrying about the change that’s happening in the organization, etc. And so that’s how I’m feeling. And you can make two assumptions of, one, I can go through and deliver content I’ve programmed, I can go through the slides and we continue the that we’re going. Or we can make the next two days really valuable for you, focus on what’s your real concerns and I’ll adjust to suit your needs.”
And what was interesting was that when I did that, I had these really authentic discussions, they came into the room and then I started to get the truth to the matter. And I literally redesigned the next two days based on what their real challenges were. What was really going to make it worthwhile for them and we had a great two days.
At the end, a guy said to me, Robin, this has been amazing, he asked what part of you made you do what you did? Because he said it would have been so easy for you to just to go through the slides when you realized that we weren’t that engaged? My answer was – I’m all about making the biggest difference to people and that’s what I’m about. So he said, but what is that? And he challenged me on it and I like the fact that he did because I said, you of made the assumption and choice that the next two days were going to be a waste of time. And literally just wrote off those two days. For me I want to make sure that every day of my life is purposeful. And I even said to him as was saying this that I’ve made a choice to be here away from my family and so when I’m away from my family I want to make sure that I’m having the highest impact on individuals or an organization or the world that I possibly can. And just going through the slide deck is just not acceptable to me. So that’s why I did it.
The lesson I got from that is for all of us, I think we need to really decide for ourselves what do I want today to be? What is acceptable to me? Am I just getting through the day? And if that’s the case, what leadership do I want to take, what are the actions that I’m going to decide to do?
Changing my mindset, changing what I am doing so that every day is worthwhile and aligned with your purpose. And that’s about living a life through inspired action.
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I’m all about helping you achieve your success so if you wanted to learn more about how I can help, I’m just one text or email away.
You can reach me at:
+61 409538690
robin@inspiremeconsulting.com.au
Or you can book in a quick chat via my shared calendar: https://calendly.com/robinmiles/intro-call-help
I am also inviting you to join my private network of individuals who support each other: The Executive Lounge: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13889500/
And don’t forget to check out my previous post:
Success – How committed are you?
