Results Driven?

Leadership Coaching Notes SEPTEMBER 2010

Results Driven?

Like most leaders I know, I’m results driven. I take a lot of pride in accomplishing things well. When a mentor asked me what a “result” was, it seemed a curious question. Wasn’t the answer obvious?

My Old Definition of a Result:

I answered that a result is an outcome or contribution we choose to take responsibility for delivering, usually to some standard of quality we set. We often create ever-higher standards for results to spur ourselves (and our colleagues) to ever-higher levels of achievement. The specific goals and quality standards we define for our results typically place a big handprint on our sense of identity. To what are we committed? For what do we want to be known?

My Dad’s Definition of Results:

My dad’s in hospice today (December 28, 2001) and I am spending the day with him. In one sense, there are no more results for him to accomplish, no more goals or dreams for him to reach.    And yet, as happens to some patients in hospice (and those of us who get be with them), my dad is showing me something new and important about producing results by his very way of being.

My dad has come back from near death (for now), and faces times of feeling lousy and confused. And, in some ways, he is more alive than he’s ever been. He has a gleam in his eye and seems thrilled to just be here. Simple kindnesses move him, softening and brightening his face. Gratitude and appreciation fill his attention.

Results? Quality? Dad isn’t planning, intending, striving or competing these last days. He is simply being himself. He is being in ways that offer an open heart and a smile to everyone around him. He notices simple things and delights in them. Nurses and family want to be with him. He stops by an Alzheimer’s patient who seems aware of nothing and offers her a gentle touch and a kind word. Given the choice of eating with more socially functional people, he often chooses to dine with those who can use his help.

So What?

In this end time, Dad has discovered something that some of us long to learn. When we delight in the gift of being alive every moment, when we pay attention to the gifts of life in so many forms, we spontaneously create powerful positive results. We spread joy, kindness, patience and compassion through who we are and across everything we do. When we live from our most basic, undefended and unplanned selves, amazing contributions spring forth, naturally.
Perhaps when we strip life down to its uncomplicated basics, the results that are most important become both obvious and easy. Dad is no longer thinking about his impact, he is just offering himself. His life is life giving. He is giving one his most inspiring lessons in these final days: when we offer our simple best, without worry or standards to meet, our world becomes a more vibrant place. Less striving, more showing up, more manifesting. Less effort, more spontaneity and joy.

What’s Next

If you are looking to put more Life in your life and work, I’d love to share what I’ve learned in my explorations and practice. It isn’t always an easy task, but it is well worth the investment! If you or leaders you are developing want to discover how to lead and succeed with…. Energy to Spare™, please contact me for a free call and more information. Happy to explore your situation and how I can help.

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All the best,

Meredith Kimbell
Executive Advisor,Strategy Consultant
Corporate Adventure

Leadership Coaching Notes uses real or composite client examples drawn from 25 years of coaching and consulting with leaders committed to solving their toughest personal, interpersonal and organizational issues.
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