A Tip About Proactivity
by Haider Imam
Picture the scene, if you will: you’re standing in the local supermarket (part of a £9.4 billion organisation) with a litre of soya milk. There are 3 people ahead of you in the queue, two employees working price-gunning items next to you, and no-one at the till. The three customers in front of you are just standing there, saying nothing, sighing and tutting, waiting, avoiding eye contact. “How very British!” you think. You wait for 30 seconds before you’re compelled to ask one of the employees “Hi! Can we get someone on the till, please?” at which point an employee saunters over and the other three customers all let out a sigh of relaxation, obviously holding their breath. Been there before?
There are so many things to write about this experience. This is the sharp end of your customer’s experience: how they feel your service level agreements, your company values & your respect for their business.
However, I’ll concentrate on the customers in this one. If you hadn’t asked for assistance, how long would the others have waited in that queue? Who would be the first to ask? Who the last? Or would they simply have left the goods and walked out complaining, rather than ask for service – I’m sure many of us have witnessed that before, too?
It got me thinking about the level of proactivity in people, that Stephen Covey talks about it in ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ . He expresses it as the ability to control one’s environment, rather than have it control you, self-determination, and the power to decide our own response to stimuli and circumstances. In organisations, this ability to anticipate, take ownership and influence events is a highly sought after commodity. It’s the difference, perhaps, between a Bill Gates and a Billy-no-mates.
The elegant and powerful model that Covey shares with us is the Circle of Influence / Circle of Concern, which is particularly useful when you feel powerless in getting your outcome. It’s like this:
- People who concentrate their energies within their circle of influence, and concentrate on the things over which they have control are likely to be proactive, that is, they tend to work on the things they can do something about. If people do everything they can to influence their areas of influence, it is likely that their influence will grow because of the positive energy they put out.
- People who spend their energies within the circle of concern are likely to be reactive, and spend much time feeling powerless. In concentrating on issues over which they are powerless, they tend to focus on those things they can do nothing about, and consequently end up with a negative view of the world and their own capacity to be effective.
Take a minute to try this exercise (even better, ask someone to talk you through it with your eyes closed):
- First, just taking a moment to notice that biggest concern; the one that, when it’s no longer a concern, you can already notice how much better you can feel.
- Ask ‘what can I do now?’ – instead of focusing on worries over which you have no real control
- Deciding how you’ll take action now, committing to it and allowing that growing sense of resolution to take over
When you make this a habit, your circle of influence will enlarge and your circle of concern shrink.
Call to Action:
- Think: “What’s the cost of reactivity / circle of concern thinking in your organisation?”
- Think of two other challenges you’re facing: where do they fall in the circles of influence and concern? Run the exercise and take action on them as well.
- Call us at Kaizen for other useful techniques for busy executives to get more done & enjoy the journey – what are you waiting for? Be proactive – do it now!
Take Massive Action & Enjoy the Learning!
