Leadership and the Journey: One Step at a Time
By William P. Dieckmann

Life is a journey filled with unexpected turns, deep valleys, and majestic mountaintops.  The complications and complexities of life’s journey sometimes paralyze us.  Around the curve, fear awaits to overtake us. Around the next turn, a pool of busyness floods our path.  Questions begin to explode in our minds as we face one crisis after another.

From the major vocational questions that haunt us, such as “should I change jobs?” or “I might lose my job” all the way to the simple small crises of a “honey do list” or “can we afford that home renovation project?”  We all face daily pressures and crises. Some are major and some are not so major, but they still feel heavy to us while we are carrying them!  So how do you “take the next step?”

Decisions, decisions!  Someone has said that life is one decision after another. If we make the right ones, our lives will be fuller and richer and we’ll be happy and more successful.  But what if we make the wrong ones? Well, we all know the feelings of disappointment, and worse, that can come from unrealized dreams and unachieved goals.

What is the one thing that you have as a leader and only you have it?  It is your next step!  You control if you take it backwards, to the right, to the left, or forward.  No one can take it for you.  If you take the wrong step, you can’t blame it on someone else.  You own it.

I want to share with you how you can take that next step in the right direction.  

1. Do you have a destination?  Do you have a target?  The next step is to define where you want to go.  Look at the destination. Are you sure that is where you want to go?  Does your goal line up with your values and vision?  Create a self-contract that points you toward your goal or goals. (See asterisk at the end of article.)
 
2. Is this what you really want to do?  Is there something else more important than this goal you would like to work on?  If you don’t achieve this goal, what pain might you experience?  These are some good questions to help you clarify if this next step is in the right direction.

3. Now is the time to look at your options.  There may be many roads that lead to your goals. Before you take the next step, spend some time looking at your options.  What are some out-of-the-box options?  Be creative and talk with others about your options.  Then, pick the best one, and take the next step.

4. Take this test:  Clarity:  I know exactly what I need to do.  Commitment:  I definitely will do this.  Date:  Put it in your date book.  Deadline:  I know when I have committed to have this done.  (Source: Leadership Coaching by Tony Stoltzfus)  You are now ready for action!!

Hear are some questions to ask yourself as you begin to take action:
• What is an action you can take today to move you toward your goal?
• What is the smallest and easiest step you could take?
• What action makes sense to you?
• With whom could you share your action?
 
*A good tool to help with this taking the next step is a self-contract with yourself (It is ok to share it with others).  Your self-contract should have the following components:

 Goals.  What are they?  Be as precise as possible.
 Reality.  What skills and strengths do I have?  How has my previous experience prepared me to achieve these goals?
 Options.  What are they?  What are the obstacles?  How will I overcome those obstacles?
 What? When? Will?  What is my first step and what will be the next step after that?  What are my target dates? Do I have any short-term action steps?  What supports will I need and where can I get it?  How committed am I to the goal?  How will I feel when I achieve it?

(Based on Coaching For Performance: GROWing People, Performance and Purpose (3rd Ed); John Whitmore.  Nicholas Brealey Publishing; London UK, 2005.)


“It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward to tumble backwards” Chinese Proverb



© Coaching to the Max:  Taking the Next Step