Marcus Buckingham
Here’s the “Tip of the Month” from the Marcus Buckingham Company (TMBC). Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, TMBC s a management consulting firm that specializes in the creation of strengths-based training, consulting and executive coaching solutions for organizations worldwide.
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| This month, let’s address “Deficit Attention Disorder.” When you ask people, “What is the most effective way to solve a problem?” 83% respond, “Find out what is wrong and fix it.” It seems like common sense. However, the problem with this approach is that attention amplifies everything. You get more of what you pay attention to. So, if you’re paying attention to errors and what is wrong, your mind isn’t focusing on what’s right. A more productive and positive approach looks like this:
1. Define the problem as objectively as possible. Leave out any judgments. Simply state the facts as if a video camera were replaying the issue to you. 2. Know that attention amplifies everything, so detach yourself from what you perceive as being the source of the problem. Your focus on it will exacerbate it. You are not fixing the problem. The problem is simply showing you something. 3. Change follows the line of your questioning. Ask, “What does it look like when it’s working?” 4. Define three steps that you can take to shift the situation toward the imagined future that your question helped you create. This is the best use of your energy. 5. Look for evidence that your steps are having the intended result. Keep asking, “What’s working?” and focus on further expanding the success of your intent. The problem will shrivel. When problems do occur, don’t analyze them, break them down and ruminate over their meaning. They don’t mean anything. They just are. Shift your focus to what working looks and feels like and then dedicate your energy to manifesting that. Problems don’t magically disappear, but they do transform when your attention is given to generating a positive outcome, rather than to the negative that you’re trying to avoid. * * * After spending two decades as a senior researcher at the Gallup Organization studying the key factors that differentiated high-performing teams, Marcus Buckingham founded TMBC in 2006 to focus on creating research-based training solutions to help individuals and organizations achieve great performance. TMBC’s mission is simple and critical: to help individuals express the best of themselves and make their greatest possible contributions—in their careers and outside of work. |