ReLaunching Off the Productivity Plateau *Leadership Challenge*
This week’s leadership challenge goes hand in hand with our three thoughts of the week in which we recognize we have come face to face with a productivity plateau and we need to take the next step to continue to climb the mountain again.
It also works in lockstep with our leadership challenge to “take the little risk” in order to gain rewards that you would not have achieved by sticking to the status quo.
Many Things We Do Have Served Us Well
This challenge isn’t about evaluating ourselves and finding out what we have been “doing wrong” all along. After all, there are plenty of things that we do that helped us get to where we are currently at and have served us very well. So why should we get rid of them?
The issue here is that many of the things we are doing now were great at a prior time to elevate us to our current level but they were never going to get us to the next step beyond that. These things tend to move into maintenance mode and they are things that we still do but they are no longer useful to moving forward.
Examples Are Abundant
I can think of many examples of this in the science community that fall into this category. Maybe you created some code to pull some data out of a database for a monthly report. You received an award for doing it and it helped you get promoted.
Now you are in charge of running these reports every month and they become part of your expected duties. This activity won’t get you any further than it already has but now it’s a weight around your neck that you have to carry with you to get to the next level.
You have goals in your personal life as well as your career. Sometimes your career activities begin to spill over and rob you of your personal goals. Maybe you take on extra duties at work to help out but don’t get anything else out of it. Now you are staying after hours and your co-workers smile and wave when they head out early, off to achieve their personal goals while your’s sit on the back burner.
Some Examples Aren’t As Clear Cut
Using the Human Constant as an example, writing articles and challenges, has brought me to a level that I didn’t think was possible before I started the website. They have to be a part of the Human Constant moving forward.
That being said it is becoming abundantly clear that if I am going to take the next step, I need to be incorporating different types of mixed media and with time being a fixed commodity, I may need to cut back on the writing which got me here in order to have time to develop new materials on other fronts.
It’s not easy but the challenge for this week is to evaluate your activities and cut or cut back on something that has caused you to plateau in favor of making room for something else that will catapult you to the next level.
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Will You Accept Your First Leadership Challenge?
Learning about Emotional Intelligence is one thing, practicing it is quite another. Just like going to the gym can help you level up your physical state, these short, actionable challenges will help you upgrade your mental and social well being.
