3 reasons that leaders get 'stuck on the staircase'

Balancing the time you spend working ON your business versus IN it is a challenge that most leaders and business owners face. The constantly changing demands of customers, leading and inspiring your team, winning new work and doing the work, all pull you down the staircase that leads to the balcony - where access to new and vitally essential perspectives reside. So why do we let this happen? Why do we get stuck on the staircase, when we know that nurturing and growing a business requires a balance of 'doing' and 'seeing'?

Here is how we learned this lesson in the early days and what this has meant to our clients.

At a conference for one of our strategic partners with whom we had organically developed a pretty good relationship, our business was significantly disrupted - because we lost sight of the importance of balancing 'doing' and 'seeing'.

The robust psychometric tools of our partner were integral to our coaching and assessment centres. At this conference, the new CEO posed a question to all of the attending partners:

"Do you believe that you disrupt or you are disrupted?"

We all agreed that to disrupt was a path to growth and being disrupted lead to scrambling to regain lost market share, customers, even team members.

Then - we were all disrupted as the new CEO announced changes to the way their psychometric tools went to the market and the services that the organisation would sell in the future, substantially minimising the need for executive coaches and consultants - us!

It was challenging to hear a vital lesson; however, for us in the early days of building our business, we needed to spend time 'doing' and 'seeing'. To be better at this, we needed to understand why we spent more time 'doing' than 'seeing'.

What we learned about us, and working with business' and teams over the past eight years has distilled into the three main reasons that leaders spend more time 'doing' than 'seeing.'

You're a 'fun seeker'

When you think back to when you first started your business or following your career aspirations. Those early days were hard work. It was the 'fun' that you found in doing the work that inspired you to keep going at it - day after day.

It's essential to be connected with why you love your business, team, career and customers, and to incorporate these into your every day without letting them drag you away from the staircase leading to perspectives that will help your business to grow.

How? Find new fun in doing the work that gives access to the perspectives.

You're an 'avoider'

Fun seekers can easily convert into avoiders. Avoiders often refer to themselves as being 'hands-on' or work extremely long hours on 'doing'.

There are never enough hours in the day for an 'avoider', and the thought of trying to carve out precious time for reflecting and planning seems entirely impossible and incredibly painful. The avoider typically isn't good at organising their thoughts and ideas, and this becomes the underlying reason for the avoidance of potentially uncomfortable insights.

How can an avoider see clearer? Engage someone to see for you and help to make sense of your brilliant ideas for your business and team.

You're an 'anti-planner'

More often than not we encounter leaders who are great at talking about their thoughts and ideas for the team or business, however, get stuck when it comes to describing this in a clear and detailed plan for growth.

Let's face it, balancing 'doing' with 'seeing' and then making sense of what you see can be a little overwhelming. If you see planning as not essential to the 'doing', then it will be continually de-prioritised in favour of doing work and organic growth through relationships.

If you find plans restrictive, quickly outdated, too detailed, time consuming, difficult to articulate, deliver or to encourage shared accountability - then you are an 'anti-planner.'

"Transformation isn't a future event; it's a present day activity." Jillian Michaels: Entrepreneur

How can an 'anti-planner' be more organised and purposeful? Use business planning frameworks and apply discipline to building, monitoring and reviewing the plan - and call for help!

Complacency, a focus on doing good quality work and key client relationships, trusting that this will secure the future is the risk that any leader who struggles to invest in 'seeing' will take.

'Seeing' and 'doing' are important to staying ahead of disruption and potentially being disruptors. Sometimes leaders need someone to help in agitating their own thinking, or drawing out the ideas from within their team and customers - that's were we love to help.

We already know that transformation is not a single event; it's a daily focus for Elevated Leaders. Reflecting, seeing and adapting from the balcony is essential, and if you are still struggling to get on that staircase, then ask for help.