We need to keep our eye on the goal!
I think ‘wanting to get involved with everything’ must be a symptom of being an Internal Communicator. Our tendency to offer ourselves up for ‘stuff’ we don’t really have the resource to handle is a reflection of our passion for what we do.
Whilst we shouldn’t look to extinguish this we do need to be mindful of the danger posed. Take this analogy for example:
“Billy Balmer, a professional footballer during the early 1900’s, remains Everton’s all-time top scorer. Quite an achievement. Unfortunately the goals he scored to win him this accolade were at the wrong end!”
- Own Goal
This made me think: As IC’ers is it better for us to score a few goals at the right end of the pitch rather than just shooting whenever we see the opportunity? We can probably all reflect on times where we have worked really hard to deliver tactical activity at the expense of our strategy.
The reality is activity that aligns with our objectives must take priority – unfortunately we have to practice saying ‘no’ to the stuff that doesn’t.
Unlike Billy, it is worth us getting our head up, re-focusing and remembering which way we are shooting from time to time.
Another good post Chris.
At the recent conference, one of the workshops left us with the phrase “does it make the boat go faster”. Remind me, and I’ll explain all – or just google the phrase and you’ll see.