May 06 – Are you forcing or fueling your dreams? Are you so hell-bent on achieving a dream that you are to the point of obsession? Do you feel that you must be in control of every facet of what is being done? Are you trying to make what you desire happen through pressure or insistence on a certain way of approaching it with your team? Are you closing yourself off to alternative ways to achieve and realize success? Is a lack of clarity causing confusion that has everyone feeling misaligned, exhausted and underappreciated? Is external validation important to affirm you are right and everyone else is wrong?
When you start feeling or imposing a pressure to perform, an overriding controlling mentality can stifle performance and engagement versus empower it. Forcing is about control. Fueling is about energy and putting it where it matters most for momentum building impact. When it starts to feel forced to your team, activity becomes less productive and more time is wasted due to lost clarity or lost motivation. While people may be busy, and even stretched thin, nothing is moving forward and momentum is going backwards.
Take an MM&I Moment to awaken to how you are forcing success versus empowering success toward your dreams. Is everyone in alignment with clarity of purpose, mission and vision? Are core values, guiding principles and clear metrics guiding decisions? Does your team have the necessary resources available to them to realize success? Is there a united internal conviction to see the initiatives through toward a successful desired outcome? Is both short-term and long-term strategy and thinking being considered and executed upon? When people begin feeling anxious, what was once inspiring becomes chaotic and confusing. A dream forced becomes a burden. A dream fueled becomes momentum. A leader who inspires, encourages and motivates is one who fuels success. A leader who trusts, empowers and embraces team capability fuels even greater outcomes. When a team feels rewarded amidst the journey, they’ll devise ways to overcome the greatest of obstacles.
Wide Awake Quote of the Week
“Never let the pressure to exceed the pleasure of the moment, ever." – Joe Madden
Yours in dreaming WIDE awake,
