Welcome to Friday 411, issue #101. In 4 minutes, with 1 insight and 1 action, you’ll pour your energy into the most effective type of striving.
1 Insight
If you’re a leader, you’re a natural striver. But just because you’re striving doesn’t mean you’re getting anywhere.
On one of our daily walks, we passed an energetic dog leashed to his elderly owner. As we approached, it was clear from the way he pulled the gentleman along that the dog did not appreciate his constraint. As we passed, he noticed us (new, exciting people!) and bounced with glee, trying to keep up with our pace.
His leash tugged him back.
A few minutes later, we looked down to discover the dog next to us, unleashed and giddy. That smart little sucker had figured out how to break his confinement and keep step with walkers more his speed.
From the moment we saw him, it was clear the dog had an over-abundance of energy to burn. He wasn’t going to tone it down. He just had to figure out where to direct it.
Striving directs energy and effort. The dog couldn’t help but strive. He was wired that way. But he could choose how to strive—where to direct his energy and effort. The dog could have chosen to:
- Reign himself back to his owner’s pace,
- Wrestle with the leash haphazardly, or
- Figure out how to escape his confinement.
People like our little doggie friend often find themselves becoming leaders. With an overflow of energy, they are natural strivers. Does this resonate with you? You can’t tone your energy down, so you’re constantly trying to figure out where to direct it.
Are you trying to decide how to drive your strive?
You have a choice between three types of striving:
Choice 1: Stalled Striving
My (Dorothy’s) first car was a cute little white Volkswagen Cabriolet convertible that I loved. By the time Garland and I got married, the car was over ten years old, and the stick shift’s gear lever had a habit of catching. Garland had never driven a manual transmission before, but I was determined to teach him so we could keep my beloved car.
After several discouraging lessons, Garland was attempting to zip across four lanes of oncoming traffic when the scourge of any stick shift vehicle occurred: the dreaded STALL. The steering wheel stiffened. The car bucked, jerked, and stopped.
The last thing you want when crossing four lanes of oncoming traffic is for your engine to shut off.
We both screamed, an eighteen-wheeler blaring its horn, barreling right for us. Somehow, the semi managed to swerve and avoid us. Garland restarted the car and scooted on out of the way. We decided it best to sell my cherished VW.
A stick shift’s engine shuts off when the clutch is released too quickly. Stalling happens when the load on the engine is greater than it is capable of overcoming. Cars stall because of misdirected energy.
So do leaders. A leader’s energy has to be directed somewhere. When the gas is pouring in but the wheels aren’t turning, an overwhelmed leaders stalls out.
Stalled Striving is a type of striving. Energy and effort are still being directed. But when you concede to constraints, avoid risks, or overanalyze decisions, all that energy and effort are absorbed into the strain of holding back.
With Stalled Striving, you move at a pace slower than your natural cadence. Not getting anywhere sucks all your energy.
Choice 2: Scattershot Striving
The term “scattershot” derives from a shotgun, which shoots pellets over a wide range. Instead of zeroing in on a target, bullets rain everywhere, hoping one will make the hit.
Scattershot Striving occurs in two scenarios:
- You aim for multiple targets at the same time.
When you have multiple goals, the likelihood of accomplishing any of them drops dramatically. If a team has between four and ten goals, they only have a 20% chance of accomplishing one of them. But if they have three or fewer goals, they have a 95% chance of accomplishing all of them.
- You don’t commit to a specific plan.
When helping leaders to tackle an issue, one of the first questions we ask is, “What have you tried?” There is never a shortage of answers. The leader inevitably lists off one failed attempt after another.
Rarely, though, have they crafted a plan and stuck with it. Rather, like throwing spaghetti against a wall to see what sticks, they’ve attempted a dozen solutions and seen all of them fail.
Choice 3: Strategic Striving
In 1990, the first medical proton center opened. Since then, proton beam therapy has become one of the most groundbreaking achievements in radiation technology. Instead of showering radiation over an an affected area, damaging healthy tissue, cancer cells are pinpointed and targeted. My dad (Dorothy’s) is still with us today, cancer-free and thriving, because of this treatment.
Strategic Striving means that you focus your energy toward a specific outcome and craft an intentional plan that gets you there. Imagine that concentrated stream of high-energy protons zeroed in on a tumor. This is the picture of Strategic Striving—energy and effort proactively predetermined and focused. While this might seem like common sense, it is not common practice.
Strategic Striving starts when you get clear on your intended outcome and develop and execute an intentional plan.
1 Action
Spend time thinking about what kind of striver you are. If you have not been a Strategic Striver, what do you need to change to refocus your energy and effort?