What if You Ran Toward the Train
Hi David,
I’d ask how your week is going but it’s probably like most weeks you have, crazy-busy.
I’ve been thinking about the metaphor of the train coming down the track.
If you recall, you spoke of the “train” when we were discussing how to prepare for issues bearing down on you like:
- Board meetings.
- Important client meetings.
- Coaching a team member.
- Dealing with performance issues.
- Delivering financials.
I think every leader knows the feeling of a train coming down the track. You can’t stop it. If you don’t prepare for it, it will run you over. Oozing out of the metaphor is the dripping concern that things are falling through the cracks.
Frankly, things are falling through the cracks. The only hope is that something important doesn’t get lost in the chaos.
Acted upon vs. taking action:
The metaphor of the “train coming down the track” has the feel of being acted upon. It feels a little powerless, even helpless.
When you used the train metaphor, I don’t think you meant to sound like a victim. Frankly, you didn’t get where you are by being weak.
Here’s a different metaphor. What comes to mind if you imagine yourself running toward the train instead of waiting for it?
I’ve heard an eagerness, even joy, in your voice for taking on big challenges. I’m challenging you to stop thinking about trains coming down the track. Start thinking about moving toward them.
Give yourself at least thirty minutes every day to reflect on your journey.
- Reconnect with what matters most to you.
- Consider how far you’ve come.
- Think about where you want to go in the short-term.
- Choose a new behavior to employ today. Make it something small.
You don’t grow when you’re working. You grow when you rest and reflect.
Cheers,
Dan
(The issues are real. The name at the top of this post is fictitious.)
Dan,
Today is one of those days when I fear the train is going to run me over. It’s the challenges that I am excited about that I can’t get time to focus on for the train right in front of me. This is a great message to get at the end of the day. Time for me to grow!
Thanks Ken. I’m so thankful for you and your transparency. It’s an honor to share the journey with you. Sometimes I wish there was an easy answer to the challenges of leadership. Perhaps taking time to reflect helps move the needle in the right direction, just a bit. Best wishes
I’m always amazed by how apt your messages are on most of my workdays, but today is especially spot on. This week has felt like a runaway train – thanks for the shift in perspective!
Thanks Elena. I think it’s pretty common that leaders feel like a train is bearing down on them. Perhaps you can find just a few minutes to reflect and refocus. Damn those trains. I’m thankful you stopped in today.
Dan,
Reading your analogy of the train makes me think of the movie Hunt for Red October. By turning into the torpedo and driving toward it you eliminate the explosion. I tell my team on a regular basis, run toward the issue and confront the issue or challenge before you are confronted by it.
Evan
Thanks Evan. Great illustration. I’ve seen the movie and love it. You are so right, it’s better to run toward than away from tough issues. Sometimes, we avoid the most important things. In the end we waste our energy on trivialities and urgencies.
THanks Dan – I have just “ran towards the train” right now ( with a little encouragement from a colleague) – something I had been resisting and got such a positive response.
It’s not a particularly big challenge but one I thought would be ” all too hard” and had let it sit.
Thanks for the encouragement as always.
Thanks Clara. You reminded me that when we procrastinate the issue gets bigger and bigger in our mind. It’s so great when the issue we dreaded turns out much easier than we anticipated. Frankly, I think that is often the case.
Good evening Dan;
Halfway through reading I caught myself looking back at the beginning to be certain you weren’t writing to me. However, I feel compelled to say “thanks’ for the kind words of wisdom my friend, they are sincere, and I shall heed their advice.”
If I could add anything you know I would. “I just don’t see the reason…”
Good advice never goes out of style, , “Pay it forward!!!”
Cheers Dan
SGT Steve
Thanks Dan for the Train metaphor. Most of us experience this syndrome often but do not focus on averting it in a proper fashion. Your write lights me up to avert , reflect and think.
It’s a great metaphor. this train, or the whirlwindd as Covey calls it, it’s very big and powerfull, and sometimes you simply cannot get out. And you are right, if we do not take this time to reflect, get out of the whirlwind, go for the train and not wait for it, we definitly loose contact with our BIG PICTURE plan. Right now, I’m about to step on the rails to wait for the train!!! but your daily e-mail is a must always, before I go to the rails… So now, a step ahead, let’s go for the train and profit at the end my 30 min of reflection time.
Thanks Dan, it’s an eye opener, as usual.
I found a connection when I read your message, “you don’t grow when you’re working”. Going back again to my days of coaching basketball, there was a saying that an older coach told me when I first started out that fits perfectly with your message. He said that players don’t get better when they are playing in the game. Because of the speed of the game and the intensity that you have to have in order to play the game, there is no time for reflection and thinking about the big picture, you have to rely on current skills. You have to be in the moment doing what comes instantly to mind from time in practice.
In another one of your post, I mentioned as a coach that you can’t coach during a game. Players don’t grow when they are playing the game so why try to coach and improve their skills during the heat of battle. Trying to get a player to do a new skill in the heat of battle is a recipe for frustration because when new things are attempted there is almost always two steps backward before the concept is understood and mastered. Who wants to look bad in front of peers, family and a big crowd trying to do something new? It took me many years to really understand this concept before I realized that doing “camp drills” in practice does not make you better. Practice is a time to place players in mini game-like situations where intensity is up, relevance to what happens in a real game is up but where you can blow the whistle, stop the action and say,”OK, let’s think about what you just did and what would happen it you did this instead?”.
Have to say, you do great stuff. I love your posts. Seriously.