A Rut is A Grave with the Ends Kicked Out
If you enjoy unnecessary frustration, keep doing what you did.
Self-imposed irrelevance is the consequence of prolonged repetition.
We don’t notice when patterns become irrelevant, so we serve them to the point of triviality.
Unaltered repetition leads to stagnation and stagnation is the predecessor of putrefaction. Proper repetition is useful for emotional stability, developing skills, and predictable results.
Irrelevant repetition becomes a rut, “… and a rut is a grave with the ends kicked out.”
Relevant repetition:
Learning is most relevant during persistent turbulence. First learn about yourself. Where and how are you rising to new challenges? What does that say about you?
Learn about your team. Notice people who row harder when challenges are greater.
How might you support and fuel passion?
The hardest part of learning is unlearning. The tentacles of entrenched patterns eventually pull us into the deep.
All dying organizations have fallen prey to the discomfort of unlearning. Try asking, “What are we doing that isn’t working?”
Irrelevant repetition:
Like dogs, leaders love the bone of correcting problems and fixing weaknesses.
If you enjoy repeated disappointment, focus on fixing weaknesses and correcting problems. Beware that you don’t die with a bone between your teeth.
Some problems need fixing. But problems are about the past and getting stuck there is deadly. Some weaknesses need attention.
An improved weakness won’t outperform a maximized strength.
Questions that shift thinking, “How might we maximize the people who are thriving?”
Opportunity:
The greatest opportunities to elevate your game is to shift the way you think about yourself. Are you a problem-fixer? Become an opportunity-seeker.
Begin your next meeting with two questions:
- What does it mean to win?
- What do we need to do to win today?
The danger of repetition is it feels comfortable long after it has lost usefulness.
What seems most relevant today?
How might leaders confront irrelevance?
Bonus material:
Developing Strengths or Weaknesses (Zenger Folkman)
Why the Problem with Learning is Unlearning (HBR)
The greatest opportunities to elevate your game is to shift the way you think about yourself. Are you a problem-fixer? Become an opportunity-seeker. I like this one, but I attempt to solve Challenges (a problem is what you see on a math test) as a way to work opportunities in everything that I do. The challenge is convincing those with less experience that challenges (not problems) are openings to “opportunity”. And opportunities make life interesting if you are so inclined.
Thanks Roger. There is a forward looking approach that comes from defining a problem as a challenge. Perhaps it’s helpful to ask, “Where is the opportunity in this challenge?”
The question could be posed from an individual point of view, a team point of view, or an organizational point of view?
Repeating a process (time management, establishing goals, problem solving, tracking event etc) over and over that works for me is a good think. Making tweaks and improvements to the process makes it even better. It all works as long as I am focused on the right things–being effective.
Irrelevant repetition is a waste of my time.
So it gets back to the big question–Am I focused in the right goals and priorities? Answering that question takes thinking, reflection, and discussion with the right people.
A frequent question leaders need to ask—Is this meeting, report, action, trip adding value to our bigger vision, goals, and priorities.
Another important question–What can I stop doing? What isn’t adding value?
Dan –I love your statement—– “An improved weakness won’t outperform a maximized strength.”
Thanks Paul. So glad you joined the conversation today. We can’t condemn all repetition and your addition of being effective is essential to success. Repeat what works…evaluate…when goals or objectives change then choose the most effective way to proceed.
It’s been interesting to see what repetitions matter during turbulence. Having said that, all successful managers want to establish predictable results and that requires repetition.
Hi Dan and all,
Great post! I think it’s particularly business that has a problem with maximizing strength where it’s needed. Imagine a restaurant: “you’re not up to snuff as a cook” “I’m the bartender”. Baseball team: “You’re a little weak in your last review as a pitcher” “I’m the groundskeeper”. We all need to grow and stretch but I wonder if some excessive weakness hunting is a symptom of well-intentioned managers not really knowing what their players are good at, not having taken time to adjust work so they can shine, and being ruled by evaluation forms twice per year.
Another problem I see is trying to make everyone good at everything rather than letting each one maximize their strengths. The “jack of all trades and master of none” approach. While it is important to give everyone an opportunity (there’s that word again!) to try different positions, at the end of the day, it isn’t a rut if you are good at it, enjoy it, and are helping the team by doing it. Even if it digging graves.
Thanks Jennifer. Love your insight. Don’t expect everyone to be good at everything. In other words, it helps to know what people suck at. Let’s judge people on their strengths, not their weaknesses.
Thanks Cate. Improving results never ends. We grapple with improving quantity, quality, or relevance. Developing skills begins with people. What are they good at and how can they improve what they are good at.
It’s true, when performance isn’t up to standard training may be in order. Or, reassigning people might be another options.
It’s better to walk around noticing what’s working than to walk around looking for something that’s wrong. Don’t worry, the wrong/problem/weakness will find you. But sadly, we too often forget the power of noticing and improving what’s already working.
BTW … the bi-annual performance review is a colossal waste of time. It does more to demotivate people than it does to energize.
“Repetition”,one either has learned or developed on their own is something functional that serves a direct purpose. granted over time we tweak things for better results or skills development as you referred too. Everyone needs to use what works best for them, sometimes corporate can dictate a methodology required as it serves their purpose so the point of functionality applies to everyone differently.
I always enjoyed being the underdogs, “they, can’t catch, hit, throw” etc. let them have some guidance and they become some of the best, a little faith goes a long way!
The other spectrum is you only improve if you want too, lives trails and errors are only what anyone makes of them into their own journey.
Use the problems we faced/fixed to create a new future; understand life from your past BUT live/lead your life in the future..
Okay.. problem fixing gets you stuck in the past, while opportunity seeking might get you stuck in the future (happened in my case) when we forget about the now which is the only thing that we have for real as we do things in the now not in the past or in the future. What would be a mindset in this scope for what we do in now? Do what’s right in front of you while looking for the goal in the future and remembering the past to learn from it?
Brilliant Jedi. The future is built, not on dreams, but action in the present.
Do things today that create your desired future. You can’t change the future after it gets here.