Hey daring adventurer - who's your crew?
Learning and growth – it’s an exciting, challenging, tricky, tiring, rewarding journey, right? One day, you feel like you are nailing it. You’ve got a plan, you put it into play, and you get the result. Other days, the plan doesn’t survive your first coffee. It’s especially so when you are leading people, I think. There’s this constant shift that’s happening that means you’ll always be challenged to adapt and respond. People come into the team, people leave. Change happens too fast, or not fast enough. Our direction is set and we know where we’re going, until we find a fork in the road.
In my work with leaders, the ones who I find have the most resilience and reserves of energy amidst those shifting sands are the ones who have someone to travel the journey with. They don’t have to be your constant companions, but they are the people you know you can rely on to play the role you need. One of the coolest teams I worked in was one where we got into pieces of work together. You were always on a project with another person, and it meant we got to test ideas, debate, prototype and get stuff done. There was always someone to challenge you, to support you, to reflect on progress with you. It was highly energising. Unfortunately, the large organisation we were in didn’t love that way of working and saw it as being too resource hungry. Better to have one person per project and be available to do more stuff. The team lost its mojo a bit from there – that sense of having a travelling partner was gone, and the energy and resilience sagged.
“In life, it’s not where you go; it’s who you travel with.”
Whether you are preparing for that next step in your development journey, or you are already on the uneven, slippery, rocky trail and feeling tested, (or maybe you’ve got to the end of this leg in the journey and you’re enjoying the rest stop and view!), it’s great to have some travelling companions with you.
At any point in the journey, you might be gearing up – getting yourself equipped, or you might on your way and going. You might be extending – really testing yourself; or you might be recovering – refilling the tank.
So who are these people who get beside you as you find your way with your development? I reckon there are four main types of travelling partners:
Who tests your intent? Who’s that person who, before you set out, tests with you what you are aiming to achieve? They are the person who helps you refine your focus for your development and ask questions like what your area of development is in service of. They help you check that what you are planning is actually worthwhile – for both your team or organisation, and your own personal progress.
Who challenges you to keep going? This is the person who, when you are playing small on your development, keeps the heat turned up for you. They’ll be the person who calls you out when you are using made up excuses like lack of time or not enough resource to avoid the really gritty but valuable stuff you should be doing that might graze your knees.
Who supports you when your energy flags? Growth and development take effort and energy. When it’s feeling tough and the hill seems a bit too high to climb, who’s your go-to who will offer you the support you need? That person who asks what you need to help you keep going, and gets beside you for this part of the climb.
Who reflects with you on your progress? We all need someone who can help us take a step back and realise what we’ve achieved. It’s nice to get to the top of your climb and see the view, but it’s way better to get to there and share the view with someone. Who’s that person who, at the top of the climb, will appreciate the effort with you, celebrate the view and help you learn from the experience?
I’m a fan of finding a different person for each quadrant, and adding people into each quadrant regularly. Doing that builds your support crew – it’s like creating your own Advisory Board for your personal growth. And while you’re at it, figure out what role you can play for others and go offer it.