Focus (2010.05): What are your action steps?

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How often do you refrain from giving advice/suggestions?
You want to help people. I do, too. One way to help people is by giving advice. But there are some definite downsides to giving advice:
  • You might irritate someone by giving unsolicited advice.
  • Your advice might work for you and not for the person you’re talking to.
  • If someone takes your advice and it doesn’t work, that might harm your relationship.
  • Giving advice doesn’t target developing the person into a better problem solver—it targets solving the immediate problem.
I don't want to irritate people, give advice that doesn’t work, put my relationships at risk, or only solve the immediate problem. I want people to solve their own problems by developing as problem solvers. So, I strive to refrain from giving advice.
 
Question: How often do you refrain from giving advice?
  • Consistently?
  • Usually?
  • Sometimes?
  • Rarely?
Strive to consistently refrain from giving advice. Strive to consistently focus on what others think in order to help them become better problem solvers. When you are tempted to give advice or when you find yourself focusing on what you are thinking, ask an open-ended question instead:
  • What’s your goal?
  • What’s going on?
  • What are your options?
  • What will you do?
Question: What action steps will you take to ensure that you consistently refrain from giving advice?



How focused are you on your God-given mission?
How focused are you on your God-given mission? To find out, take the following self-assessment (download). Rate each item in terms of how it describes you and your situation. Use the following scale:

4: Definitely • 3: Usually • 2: Sometimes • 1: Rarely

___ I’m comfortable reciting the mission verbatim in casual conversation.
___ Each day I talk with others about the mission.
___ I tell stories about the mission being implemented.
___ I provide opportunities for others to tell stories about the mission being implemented.

___ I know what it takes to achieve the mission.
___ I can readily explain how each of my daily activities contributes to achieving the mission.
___ I help others understand how they contribute to achieving the mission.

___ I know the current level of mission achievement.
___ I measure the achievement of my mission.
___ I use a scorecard to to measure the achievement of my mission?
___ I use meetings to celebrate progress on achieving the mission.

___ I focus on closing the gap between current and targeted levels of mission achievement.
___ I get the training I need to carry out the mission.
___ I provide others with the training they need to carry out the mission.
___ When making proposals, I explain how the proposal targets mission achievement.
___ When others make proposals, I ask, “How will this help us achieve the mission?

___ To increase my focus on my mission, I know what I need to keep doing, start doing, stop doing.
___ I’m focused on achieving the mission.


Now, ask yourself 5 questions about the data:
  1. How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
  2. What’s satisfying/unsatisfying about the data?
  3. What helps me increase my focus on my God-given mission?
  4. What hinders me?
  5. What will I do?

Increase your focus on your God-given mission. Today.


Resources:


Encourage others to connect their proposals to the mission
You're in a meeting. You're listening to an intriguing proposal on staff training. But something is bothering you—the presenter has not connected the proposal to your organization's mission.

Question: What can you do?

Answer: You can ask questions, for example:
  • How does your proposal support our mission?
  • How will you help others understand how your proposal supports our mission?
  • What revisions can you make to your proposal so is explicitly supports the achievement of our mission?
Encourage others to connect their proposals to the mission. Ask questions. Today.



What are your action steps?
You’ve spent 2 days in reflection. You feel good:
  • You have a mission statement.
  • You have a list of the 4 goals necessary for carrying out your mission statement.
  • You like the wording of your mission statement and your goals.
  • You feel like you have what you need—direction.
Question: What’s next?
 
Answer: Determining the action steps you need to take for each of your 4 goals—then taking those action steps. Why? Well, success is not having a mission statement and goals—success is accomplishing your mission and goals.
 
I recommend that each week you take time to determine action steps.
 
Bottom line: Determine your action steps. Then take them.