Take the time to observe
Our Virtual Coach this week is inspired by the Pro-Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning:
“If you really want to be a game changer, become a master observer. Just the willingness to stop and look at things that no one else has even bothered to look at enables game changers to identify real points of meaning. The simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted can be a source of great power and creativity. … We learn when we observe, we pick up on clues, we figure things out. That is what preparation is all about.”
While there is genuine opportunity and value in taking a look around, noticing and questioning the things that others might disregard, we often de-prioritise this in favour of simply moving forward, in an effort to make progress.
Perhaps this is why we often see teams and organisations making ‘progress’ by way of activities that they have stopped noticing or questioning. For example, the habitual weekly meeting where no discernible actions emerge; the spreadsheet workaround for a fractured system that everyone adopts without questioning the root cause; the document that demands two sign-offs but nobody really knows why.
Manning suggests that observation is not a passive act – “we learn when we observe, we pick up on clues, we figure things out”.
So how do we ensure that we prioritise observing rather than simply acting? Here’s a few suggestions:
- Take ten minutes: choose something you take for granted (a recurring meeting, a monthly report) and sit with it for ten minutes. Don’t try to fix it at this stage, just observe its intricacies
- Be curious: ask, “What’s actually happening here?” and answer honestly. Don’t respond with what’s supposed to happen. The gap between the two is where the progress lies, and how change begins
- Note clues: make a note of any small observations over the course of a week. This helps to confirm your instinct
- Check in with the quieter team members: never has it been truer that it’s often the less vocal who hold the data leading to transformation, they are routinely observing
It’s simple: Stop – Look – Notice what’s taken for granted.
Taking the time to observe might lead to the change that is needed for true progress. Every small change accumulates, to create a much larger transformational impact (remember marginal gains?). You’re In Cool Company…
