Yesterday I had an interview which did not go really well. It was quite humbling to leave an office and not feel confident in my own abilities; yet I know that I am quite capable and have had many successes in my career. I was on the verge of feeling sorry for myself but, fortunately, decided instead to attend the ISPI meeting which featured guest speaker Geoffrey X Lane. He worked with John Furlong and the rest of the Olympic Bid Committee to bring the 2010 Winter Olympic Games to Vancouver.
For me, the biggest ‘take away’ from the meeting was his grandmother’s saying, “Take your finger. Stick it in the ground. Pull it out and put it under your nose. If it smells of sh*t, you should move.” It kinda’ made me giggle when I heard it at first, but on further reflection, it really did fit my immediate situation. I didn’t like where I was, so I listened intently.
Geoffrey’s relaxed yet insightful approach to presentations was truly a treat and he, himself, exhibited the three most important qualities that he observed in effective leaders:
- Clear vision (articulated in 2 minutes or less)
- Knowledge of the audience
- Authenticity (you are the author of your life)
His model for training was also noteworthy. He likens it to an archer trying to hit a target. The archer is the presenter; the ground is his/her psychological, emotional, academic credentials; the arrow is the tool used to deliver the message and the target is the audience. If an archer is standing in a boat in rough waters, then he/she will have a tough time hitting the target. Similarly, if the presenter is not prepared, is stressed or has not done his/her homework about the nature of the audience, then it will be hard to have the audience accept the message.
The great thing about Geoffrey’s message was that it applies not only to leaders and trainers but to all of us in our regular lives. I thought back to my earlier experience of the day and realized that I did not know my audience at all. I’ve got some work to do before my next interview.
Are there others who were at the meeting who want to share their thoughts about the presentation?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and feelings. I really enjoyed Geoffrey’s session. I loved the finger story – especially as it came from his grandmother!!!
My take away from this session? I had a couple:
1. I liked the bow and arrow analogy – and how you need to have solid ground below you in order to hit the target. I can think of situations I have been in the past where my ‘ground’ was very very rocky! I think you can tie this directly to vision. I can remember one employment situation where the president of the company had a very clear vision of what he wanted for the company. It was a powerful place to work.
2. “Visuals go past the thinking brain.” I agree with this, but it was helpful to hear it. It will encourage me to spend more thought and energy on the visual component of my projects.
3. “To be authentic is to be your own author.” WOW – this was the most powerful for me. I knew that at some unarticulated level. It’s time for me to start authoring!
Geoffrey’s engaging presentation about “authenticity” reminded me of the struggles I had during the throws of writing my book (The Joy of Conflict Resolution). For months, I tried to write with the requisite “scholarly” or “expert” voice – and made little progress. During a coaching session (with Linda Dobson), she suggested I ask colleagues what made me successful as a trainer. To summarize their responses, they felt I was down to earth (using plain language and simple metaphors and examples) with a cheeky sense of humour. When I reported this to Linda, she asked simply “why don’t you write that way?” I was shocked for a minute and then asked her “would that be okay?” She commented that it would be more than okay – it would be required if I was to bring who I was to the project. That marked the tipping point in the writing process – when I let go of my images of what an “expert” should sound like and just became myself. A great example of Geoffrey’s point about “authenticity” and literally “being your own author”.
All three points that Geoffrey emphasized: vision-authenticity-target, are things I’ve heard before. But somehow he was able to create a very simple, clear image of these points and they’ve stuck with me. I’ve come back to, and applied them several times already, in both personal and business situations.
The main point for me, like Gary said, is authenticity. In an ongoing effort of learning and personal ‘performance improvement’ it is sometimes easy to get focused on areas where we want or need to improve, and feel inadequate or incompetent. Focusing on being authentic, allows me to be myself and helps me draw on the knowledge and experience I have, while continuing to learn and integrate new knowledge and experiences.