Where is your vision focused? As a leader, are your eyes on the horizon scanning for what comes next, crafting a plan to seize success in the days to come? Are you focused deeply on the now? Managing the details of today, guiding your team through the current set of hurdles? Are you looking behind you at the collection of data trying to parse the meaning from the stats and stories it holds?
Sometimes, particularly when leadership confuses stakeholders with stockholders, we aim solely on the future while ignoring the present. We don’t cull the lessons we can from the past. We just press forward to the next big thing. The next summit. We are focused on innovations and milestones of the future.
With our eyes firmly fixed on what comes next, we can miss what’s happening now. We don’t tend to the maintenance and sparks happening around us because our eyes are fixed on tomorrow. Successful leaders, however, learn from the past while focusing on the present and aiming toward the future. This is “Living Leadership in Balance” and it’s the safety net successful organizations need.
We learn from the past. Whether those days behind us were wildly successful or, well, not so successful, there’s something to glean and grow from. Wise leaders don’t dwell in the past, but they do grow from it. Taking time to evaluate what worked, what didn’t, and what could have been done differently helps us grow and prepare for the next set of challenges and opportunities. This is experience and experience is needed to propel us forward.
In addition, looking at where we started in relation to where we are today and where we project we’ll be tomorrow can motivate us forward. There are successes to celebrate when we can notch movement toward our goals and we can only do that if we’re aware of how far we’ve come.
The past gives our present and our future context. It gives us direction and inspiration. We don’t want to dwell here or cling to tradition. We want to learn from this space so we can grow into the next.
Maintenance happens in the present. Just like our physical health, if we do not focus on a balance of maintenance in the present, we will not have a future of growth and innovation. What we do today is a step toward our future. If we aren’t giving enough attention to what’s happening in the present, we will miss our targets for the future. Today is where relationships are cultivated – between your team members, your partners, and your clients. Today is where progress gets its wings.
It’s not about “living in the moment.” Such a mindset can turn a blind eye to the past and fail to prepare for the future. Healthy balance requires us to be aware of the present in the context of what came before it and where we want to be after it. It’s proactively taking the steps today to get us where we hope to be tomorrow. It’s planning and executing with our aspirations in mind, armed with the lessons of experience.
Innovation aims to be implemented in the future. What we do today, what we’ve gleaned from yesterday, is viewed in the context of where we can be and where we aim to be. Looking to the future begins with setting goals. It includes mapping out a plan to reach those aspirations. It’s not a singular activity.
It’s not solely up to the leader to dream and plan. It’s about cultivating a team culture that drives progress to the same point forward. It’s casting a vision that colors your organization’s steps. It’s outlining goals and objectives.
This is where it all comes together. Creating a balanced focus on the past, present, and future sets our organizations (and ourselves!) up for success. Understanding where we’ve come, culling the lessons of our history is necessary. Holding on to our core values and letting them guide our steps forward is necessary.
Being aware of the moment unfolding around us means we can see the small details that can derail or propel us. It cultivates the relationships that our business will depend on. It’s the maintenance and due diligence that will lay a sturdy path for the next set of steps we’ll take.
Keeping an eye on our future ensures our steps today – steps rooted in the experience we gleaned in the past – are intentional and moving in the right direction. It ensures our organization is moving together in the same direction. It lays groundwork for long-term success as the world shifts around us, as technology evolves, as cultural norms shift.
Living leadership in balance gives us the flexibility to adapt to a changing world without losing what sets our brand apart from the rest. It allows us to keep pace with transformative shifts.
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