“Trust yourself. Think for yourself. Act for yourself. Speak for yourself. Be yourself. Imitation is suicide.” — Marva Collins
Viewing entries tagged
action
“No action is too small when it comes to changing the world.” – Cyril Ramaphosa
You probably know enough. Act now.
“Sleep not when others speak, sit not when others stand, speak not when you should hold your peace, walk not when others stop.” – George Washington
“What people say isn’t news. What people do is news.” – Marci Rossell (former Chief Economist on CNBC)
You may have seen the tweet that has been going around that reads “may the last few months of 2017 be the plot twist you have been waiting for.” When I first heard it, I laughed and thought it perfectly captured what many of us have been feeling. When we reflect on this year, many of us don’t like the plot line. We certainly could use less uncertainty and a bit more “happily ever after.”
Economists Scott Baker (from Northwestern University), Nick Bloom (Stanford), and Steven Davis (University of Chicago) have developed something they call the Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) index to measure the uncertainty that affects how businesses invest. In the US, they measure things like news content showing uncertainty, tax code provisions nearing expiration in the coming period, and disagreements among economists and forecasters. If there is great diversity among what people are saying, what people are seeing, and what people are predicting, the index shows that there is more uncertainty and research shows that uncertainty keeps businesses from investing in new hires, facilities, or equipment. In short, uncertainty keeps people waiting and watching.
But what about uncertainty on a personal level? Here are three ways that you can counter-act the effect of uncertainty to be the change we want to see.
1. Don’t wait to act
If there is policy uncertainty, leadership ambiguity, or unknown results from effort, it is human nature to sit back and wait to see how things play out. It leads to risk aversion. Leaning into ambiguity is messy and can lead to change fatigue. But waiting has huge productivity implications. Waiting not only affects your work output, but how you feel about your work. Not the one should be reckless or act foolish, but we all know that one can lean too far back in these situations and not take actions we know that in any circumstance are beneficial. There is a phrase attributed to Goethe (or an ambitious and free-wheeling translator) which reads: “What you can do, or dream you can, begin it: boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” This phrase sat above my desk for years and I think that is does have power. If you wait to do something you know to know, then that lack of forward action has long-standing ramifications.
2. Commit to investing
In times of uncertainty, a lot of energy is focused on self-protection and survival. But this is precisely the time that you need to look outside yourself and invest in others. Your teammates, colleagues, and friends are feeling the same, or possibly even more, uncertainty than you and some reassurance, encouragement, or direction from you could make all the difference in their productivity and feeling of accomplishment. Don’t neglect your role as a leader, no matter your position, in times of uncertainty. Continue to support the causes close to you. Continue to mentor others. It is precisely in times of uncertainty that others need you more than ever. Be generous with your time and expertise and all the ways you invest in your community.
3. Over-communicate
Closely related to #1 and #2 above, the first casualty in times of uncertainty can be communication. You might simply not know what to say or have answers to the questions that you think people will be asking. But your lack of communication will not keep people from asking questions. They will, in fact, ask more. And human nature will fill in the answers with fear or doubt. No one ever speculates that good is going on behind closed doors. They will assume the worst. Don’t let the reality of uncertainty lead to people feeling with certainty that bad things are going on or about to play out. So, commit to communicate and then rinse and repeat until you feel you are over-communicating. It is at that point, that people might be finally hearing you.
We are in unprecedented times. The perception of political tension, both in our country and abroad, and the social divisions are running high. Our businesses face new and aggressive competition, our customers have more choices than ever, it is getting harder to find and retain key talent, and it is easy to let that uncertainty get the best of us. Stress can run rampant in these times. We are in the final months of a year which has been marked by natural disasters, human tragedies, and upheaval. There are lots of reasons for uncertainty, but also for hope.
I sincerely hope that YOU are the plot twist that we have been waiting for and that we all stop WAITING and do what we know to do, or dream to do, now.
Originally published on LinkedIn Pulse.
“It’s not the size of your dream that determines whether or not it comes true, but the magnitude of the actions you take.” - Susan Clark, HeartSpark
“The talking about the thing isn’t the thing. The doing of the thing is the thing.” – Amy Poehler
If it is an epidemic to have people confuse activity with results, then it is even more tempting to confuse talking about work with actual work. Talking about what you are going to do is not doing it. Only doing it counts.
Talking about what you should have done is even worse. It’s not work and will never result in work, unless your work is time travel.
“Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Much has been written in professional and personal development circles about the importance of doing things that scare you. Tackling projects that take you out of your comfort zones. Roles that challenge you to grow. This has been the justification for exhilarating thrills like climbing Mt. Everest or life-changing moves like leaving an abusive relationship or embarking on a new career.
I have never thought of myself as a risk-taker. I generally had a “big fish, small pond” mindset. I liked to tackle projects that I believed I could do successfully. I have prided myself that my hobbies, my relationships, and my work are not drama-filled. I don’t even like horror movies. Alas, I am missing all the tell-tale signs of a risk taker, so I figured I wasn’t one.
Until now.
I now see that I am just a different type of risk taker and here are three things I am learning about managing risk.
1. Sometimes it’s the stop-watch, not the altimeter which measures the risk
It might not be the altitude of the mountain that is the risk, but the speed at which you are trying to ascend or the number of hills you are climbing at once. When I get overwhelmed or scared, it is generally not because of the enormity of any individual task or commitments I have made. It is rather because I am trying to do them all at once. I scare myself in this way regularly and I know I am not alone. Recognizing that deadlines and commitments, served up simultaneously, adds stress and complexity to otherwise reasonable tasks, is important to acknowledge. Those of us who rush to do more can give ourselves permission to recognize the risk for what it is and pull back or lunge forward as necessary.
2. “But isn’t multi-tasking bad?” is a trick, and surprisingly personal, question
Behavioral scientists say multi-tasking is a fallacy and that this lack of focus costs organizations millions of dollars a year in lost productivity. I respectfully, I don’t believe it. Maybe for some it is a bad thing. Making people work outside their natural work style can certainly backfire, but for me, it’s the only way. Experience has taught me that when I multi-task I accomplish more. I achieve better results. I think more clearly. I make connections between things that lead to new insights. I remain more open to ideas from others. I have certainly had professional failures and disappointments, but throughout I have found that action itself is a source of energy. The busyness isn’t the secret sauce, but it is certainly in the winning recipe for me.
3. Managing risk is about knowing your risk tolerance
You don’t gamble, what you can’t afford to lose. Whether you are analyzing the risk of an investment portfolio or contemplating bold moves in your career, managing risk appropriately requires an appreciation of risk tolerance. My risk tolerance has to do with judging my commitments against my priorities. Despite my multi-tasking ways, or perhaps because of it, I am a big believer in looking at my life in chapters. There is a time and place for everything. The good things need to find more time and space in my schedule and attention, crowding out things of lesser importance or urgency. Avoiding the fallacy that tasks or priorities are permanent or immovable.
Ralph Waldo Emerson summarized it well when he said, “Be true to your own act, and congratulate yourself if you have done something strange and extravagant, and broken the monotony of a decorous age. It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, ‘Always do what you are afraid to do.’” So, you might just scare yourself busy.
This article was published on LinkedIn.
We often think that opportunity creates action. We will do something great once some external condition is met. But the opposite is true. Action creates opportunity. Start making movement and see your goals easier to achieve.