The Critical and Often Missing Element in High Performance

On Vision

“WHY DO SOME TEAMS EXCEL AND OTHERS MUDDLE?”

I was deep in thought…pondering some issue…far from the present day’s needs…

“Where did that thought come from?” I asked myself. Then I realized that the question came from behind me and that realization startled me!

In a way it felt like that brief moment between full consciousness and deep sleep…when then 2 are inseparably merged…my world of dreams and the noise of reality!

“Which one do I succumb to?” I thought…

I heard and recognized the voice…I comprehended the question…

I resisted the need to join his dimension, but the encounters were so infrequent…and each lead to a new discovery about myself or the world around me…that I ceded…and turned to him!

“GOOD MORNING!” I replied, “What brings you here today?”

“That question!” he replied, “So? What is the difference?”

As always I gave him my answer…”The team composition!”

I realized that today was going to be one of those days that I would discover that I am doing the right things…just didn’t know what I was doing!

“Are you sure?” he smiled, “I remember a long time ago you said something that I have ever forgotten…it went something like…professing to see, they themselves are the most blind…”

Now I knew I was in trouble!

Look at your team, Look at my team! They excel at everything they do!

Are they the best in the industry?

I knew these were rhetorical questions…so I kept my mouth shut and listened!

They believe that they are…but in reality…on an individual basis…they are mediocre at best! There are many people much better than any one of them!

What differentiates them is success…! Their performance!

Success is not the end…it is not a quality characteristic…but is a component of the process…

Remember what we talked about a long time ago…it is all about controlled collisions!

We can obtain success in one of two ways…first one can meet the required performance, or second, one can redefine the required performance so that they achieve it…

The recipe for high performance is simple I now thought…2 parts activity…1 part definition of success!

Have you considered that high performance has little to do with the team and more to do with the leader?

Someone has to be there to show the team where and when to collide!

Someone must define success! That definition can not come from the player…otherwise you have “the fox watching the henhouse!”

If those two components are missing…then they run around aimlessly!

“Got it and I wholeheartedly agree!” I said…

BUT…Good leadership not only points the team in the direction of the goal line…they do much more…“Do you agree?”

The purpose of the team is to trust and execute.

And to take the direction and adjustments…and re-execute!

A leader’s job is more difficult than setting a goal and watching…sometimes they have to do more work than the actual activity!

It is about ensuring the success! It is about clearing the paths for them and addressing what they can not and should not!

It is the broad perspective and oversight…that reveals the entire path…just not the “tasks at hand!”

True Vision is a rare talent…it is precious!

Many delude themselves into believing that they have vision…or can acquire it…that is even rarer!

This takes me back to your comment…”professing to see, they themselves are the most blind…”

Vision is not an acquired skill! It is a gift! You either have it…or you do not!

True vision is a rare gift!

Very few who have it ever rise to a position where it benefits the group to which they belong!

More often than not…they become suppressed, outcasts…or killed!

It is only after “It is too late” that the vision they possessed is recognized for what it was!

Look at the prophets…or the great philosophers (like Socrates)! Executed for being heretics…then later lauded for their insight!

How sad!

Most people in positions of power…guard their position, rather than what they should be protecting!

As a result, they steal the vision of their underlings…and claim it as their own!

Other dispel “visionaries” as “witches” in order to ensure that their weaknesses are not apparent!

They purport to be visionaries, themselves, based upon their results, not realizing that they were simply the recipients of good fortune within a random scheme!

They create mutual visionary societies…in which they gather other vision-less individuals from the world around…to bolster their position!

How sad!

Teams, groups, organizations and societies that lack true vision are on a path of destruction…those that refuse it, have accelerated their demise!

Those that seek it and embrace it…may encounter a painful reality…but they benefit in the long run!

No one has perfect vision…to some extent everyone (even the most gifted visionaries) are blind…the extent to which they are blind is based upon their recognition of their short-sightedness! Real visionaries seek more keen vision from outside their ranks and welcome the vistas!

Vision is a choice!

One can choose to look inward…or look outward!

One can choose to stay within their own world of thoughts…or come back to reality and listen to the outside voices…

I think that you chose well!

Welcome to REALITY!