receive a puzzled look, to which I respond, “No, where are you going?” The question becomes a point of reflection. “Why are you in such a rush?” To stop and consider what one is doing and where one is going and the pace at which one is pursuing their journey is key. We rush, go, and do, but we rarely take a moment to consider what we are doing and why we are rushing.
Taking the long view requires that we acknowledge that our goals and objectives in leadership will take time—that there is little benefit to rushing and those who have a long view will have an advantage over those who feel they must already be at their destination. Consider the success of the marathon runner who understands that their effort requires a different strategy than that of the runner in the 100‐yard dash. To have a long‐view perspective is to be tenacious in your pursuit of leadership and managerial prowess. Do not give up and do not burn yourself out by setting unrealistic expectations about what it will take to advance your leadership practice.
Third Practice Perspective: It's the Journey, Not the Destination
Just as we need to learn to take the long view, we should strive to understand the role that the journey plays in your leadership development. Because we become obsessed with getting there and reaching the destination, we often forget the importance of the journey itself. Effective leaders understand that the journey they have embarked upon in the development of their practice represents simultaneously an opportunity to learn and grow as well as a source of enjoyment. Do not miss out on the ability to enjoy as well as revel in the path you have chosen to advance your growing leadership practice. One strategy to help ensure this is to work toward being present in your day‐to‐day work. Rather than being driven by the outcome or the goal take time to appreciate what you experience along the way.
I think, for example, about the amazing things I encounter in my own nonprofit leadership practice every day. For example, when the COVID‐19 pandemic began, the six‐month leadership academy that I offered for aspiring leaders was stalled and looked like it would be doomed for the next year. The goal of advancing our leaders seemed sidelined, until one of my team members suggested I simply provide this intensive face‐to‐face leadership training online.
The idea began as a seed and grew to become a full six‐month online synchronous leadership development training. And while we achieved our goal of training another 25 employees, I have to say that the opportunity to refine and deliver the curriculum online for the first time was a surprising learning experience for me and extremely rewarding in the end for our participants. Do not allow the gravitational pull of getting to your destiny keep you from being antigravitational and enjoying the journey. Each challenge can become an opportunity for learning and growth, even the difficult challenges!
Fourth Practice Perspective: Leverage Serendipity
When I first began working as a case manager for a small nonprofit organization, I developed a close friendship with another case manager on the team. We would often attend meetings together and ultimately began socializing after work. During those times we would spend time talking about our work and our plans for the future. I remember being struck by the fact that he felt the agency was a dead‐end place to work. He said, “There's not much going on here, with only four programs and just a few opportunities for promotion and professional development. I'm not sure how long I'm going to stick around.” I recall being dumbfounded by his comments. “Really?” I replied, “I don't see it that way—in fact, I think there's a lot of potential here.” He looked at me in the skeptical way people do when they feel they are a bit more in the know.
It was not long before he moved onto another case manager position with another nonprofit service organization, and just about the time he moved on, I was offered the opportunity to run my first program. I thought long and hard about the fact that we worked in the same place and shared similar skills and education, but I was the one who ended up with the opportunity to advance within the organization. Just dumb luck, right? Well, no, I don't think so. I think I was lucky but unlike my colleague I was also ready for the opportunity. The posture I took, that possibilities were quite present within the organization, laid the groundwork for me to jump on the chance to advance. I suspect that others too experienced my demeanor as one that would be receptive to the possibility of taking on a leadership role.
In 1854 Louis Pasteur was credited with saying that chance visits only the prepared mind. This astute comment, which was directed at the process of making observations within the realm of the natural sciences, aligns beautifully with an important perspective to hold within your leadership practice. By working to prepare yourself for possibilities you are ready to see the potential that exists and as a result seize a serendipitous moment. Good things happen when you prepare yourself for the possibilities. When we limit our view of the opportunity, we in turn shut ourselves off from the opportunity that appears.
Be sure to work at having a prepared mind!
Fifth Practice Perspective: Use a Compass, Not a Road Map
This fifth perspective comes to us with its share of simplexity. As you work to build your practice be sure that your strategies to develop yourself, your team, and your organization reflect an approach that is more directional in nature than it is hard and fast. Keeping your eye on the direction you hope to move in while avoiding the rigidity represented in a hard‐and‐fast, road map–based approach will become invaluable as you work to advance leadership practice. It is essential that you understand where you desire to be and what your vision is, yet be sure to remain flexible and adaptive as you encounter the many challenges and obstacles along the journey.
The trick here is to keep working toward the leadership vision that you have while building out just enough of the road map to remain flexible so that you can adapt to any twists and turns along the road. In many ways this is akin to the third practice perspective where you pay attention to the journey as well as the fourth practice perspective where the way you pay attention leaves you open to the possibilities that will present themselves.
In my work with developing leaders, I have seen times when they have become so committed to a particular path that their capacity to pivot has been hamstrung. It is fine to have a plan, but do not forget that the plan you develop is there to serve you. You should not feel that you must serve the plan. If the section of road that you have laid out is not working, then pay attention instead to the direction that you wish to pursue and feel free to change course. Remember, with a compass you will reach your destination, even if you get lost temporarily. Road maps, conversely, have limited utility, they become outdated, and there are plenty of opportunities to end up on a cul‐de‐sac.
Sixth Practice Perspective: Awareness
As a leader it is essential that you work to develop your own capacity for self‐awareness. Awareness, however, can be a funny thing. Most people believe that they possess a high degree of self‐awareness. Generally, the realization that one is lacking in awareness comes when someone points it out (and even then, we often resist taking this input) or in an instance when the individual is caught unaware. In a way awareness is like getting out on the ice in the winter. First you look to see if the ice seems thick enough and once you have determined it is “all good,” then you venture out to the center of the pond. It is only when you start to hear the sound of cracking ice that you suddenly realize that you are in serious trouble and you've been caught unaware. You turn and run as quickly as possible, hoping and praying that you do not fall through.
Given the sometimes‐allusive nature of awareness it is especially important to continually work to refine your own self‐awareness as well as the awareness held by your team members. Meta‐thinking is one way to help advance your own awareness. Meta‐thinking is in effect thinking about thinking. Take time to consider what you are thinking and feeling and how your thoughts and feelings are connected
