Inspiration, Not Control is the Key to Realizing Potential

This is a brief discussion on how and why some of of the most popular quests (phrases) related to individual success often runs into a wall....  and more specifically in organizational contexts.   We hear of catchy phrases  like "Give wings to dreams",   "Realize Your Potential",  "You Can, If You Will",  "Discover your hidden power"    and so on. 

The common belief among line managers and HR fraternity is that achieving this objective is a self driven phenomenon. One has to reflect, understand what he or she can do / cannot do and work deliberately and can achieve much much more than what was possibly thought he / she could achieve.   Maybe put them in front of some achievers who have "been there, done that" kinds and there will be some kind of osmosis of inspiration to the listeners.  

Reality is that in order to enable employees achieve beyond what they think they can,  for them to realize their potential we need a whole lot of inspiration coming from the managers in organizations.   Control freaks who are there to stifle creativity and show their teams how to align with them (the manager) are doing very little to create that environment.   

Instead of showing the team how to align with the mission of the company and drive excellence in the delivery of the services or of the product,  instead of  helping overcome obstacles that impede the successful execution of  organizations goals,  instead of  working along side with them to solve problems,  they are expecting the employees to align with their stifling ways.   Align with me and you'll be successful.   Does this statement ring a bell? Familiar ??  Most often it is not explicitly stated but rather an implicit coming forth as clear message to the team led by such managers.

So the need for managers is to inspire the teams to align with the organization, to inspire them to see how their job is contributing to success,  to inspire them to understand how their job / work is relevant to customers needs,  to inspire them to go beyond and connect the dots and to enable them to work without fear.....only then we can really set an environment where everyone can realize his or her potential.   

Headline Goals: Whats Your's? Read On

Ever asked your self this question.  "What has been my biggest achievement this far?"   Generally as humans we tend to under use our potential and achieve only a fraction of what we could have  achieved.  Your potential is much more than what you ever thought.

So How do you move towards your potential?  How do you ensure you have something challenging to overcome and achieve. One of the ways to drive yourself to realize your potential is to define a headline goal for your self.   Set the goal and see it through.

What is that?

It is  something that varies from person to person but essentially it is about something big that you want to achieve, something that is worth putting up as a headline if you could put up on the front page of your life's newspaper.  Something you will be proud of. Something beyond the ordinary.

It can be something in your professional space or something in your personal space.  Let us restrict to professional space for now.   You would generally have goals that you get from your manager.   Are these general things that you achieve as per your managers view?  Is there something outstanding there to be chased.  That would be your headline goal.   

For someone it could mean doing a big marketing campaign that will push up product share 10% in the market or even more in less than a year.  For someone else it would be something like Bringing down cost of operations by 25% when the usual is 10 to 15% (say).   For yet another person it could mean aceing the Project Management Certification and scoring a A+. 

What should be the focus of the goal?   

It can be around your current role / job or it can be around something you aspire to do in the next role.  Achieving your headline goal can give you a feeling of  goosebumps when you're through with it.  It stimulates further desire to achieve a new "headline goal".

How many goals.   By and large chose something that can be achieved in 6 to 12 months. Don't choose 5 year time frame to start with.    

How do you handle these goals.  Spend some personal time off to review your progress on the goal. Put down the goal in writing.   Assess progress periodically... maybe once a week or fortnight.   That way you'll soon get into a habit and it remains in your focus.   Remember  What gets focus,  Gets Attention and What gets Attention Gets Done.   Read more about this in my post here.

I have used this concept quite often and found that it works wonders in the confidence and outlook of  your team members.  Also gives them a chance to aspire for something beyond their ordinary self.   In short.... helping to realize one's potential.