One question I am frequently asked when working with leaders is “What do I most need to pay attention to in order to get results?” 

When I got that question, I used to have a lot of answers pop into my head. One flippant response was “everything”, but as one person said, “if everything is important, then nothing is”. The one answer that may be most accurate is “it depends”, but that tends to side step the issue. The person asking the question really does want (and deserves) some sort of practical answer. 

Overtime, I have developed a simple model to answer this question. 

While I could write a book about the table above, I have noticed that in over 18,000+ discussions that I have had over the last 25 years, there is usually either a task efficiency management focus or an opportunity leadership future focus. Simply said, the focus is on either right now (Focus A) or the future (Focus B). 

The right now crowd wants to make sure that no problem occurs right now and that the operation runs efficiently. Processes and systems are orderly and consistent results are achieved. The negative part to this is that most progress is incremental and sometimes people burn out since the journey can feel the same for so long. For example, have you ever driven a long stretch of highway where you continue to see the same view? A 45-minute drive can feel like all day. 

The future crowd is looking down the road and for the next changes to make that can benefit the organization. They look for opportunities and ways to completely change systems and thinking. They can use lots of resources and provide big returns. At the same time, they can burn resources needed today and make promises that feel a long way off. This can cause others around them to give up. This can feel like constant chaos. 

With a leader, team, organization or family there is a tendency to be in one group or the other.  Focus can become blurred because it is seen from only one perspective. Because of this, there is always a feeling that something else is going on around them but they find it difficult to put their finger on it. In many cases, this is why we are hired. 

When I work with an individual, the person may say, “I know I am right and thinking clearly, but there seems to be something that I’m not aware of. I am talking to you to see what else I may be missing.”  Now, those of you that have had some experience working with us know what we do: Using the baseball analogy, if the client is a defensive management task person, I become their offensive leadership strategic coach. Alternatively, if they are on the offensive leadership strategic side of the coin, I will work as their defensive management task coach.  It never fails that the client gets a new perspective and a sense of confidence to move ahead and get better results.  This works well with teams and families also.  

The wisdom that I have obtained from these observations is that as a person, organization, team or family, we cannot simply take the right now or future perspective. One starves us of hope for a better future, and the other starves us of resources that we need now. One protects us from the competition, the other protects us from a small leak in the boat that may not be visible. 

I am working with a young man to help him build his future. He has all the values, heart, skills etc. that I could hope for. He is an offensive, future based, leadership type of person that works hard and smart. Yet, we were not seeing results right now that we needed. After a few coaching sessions, we realized that in his works style, he was playing offensive baseball. He did not have a defensive game. He was not getting enough to happen now to protect what he would be doing down the road. He was running out of resources because he was investing so much in the future.  My job was to show him a way to build up the defense part of his game in order to help him to understand how it would make his offensive game much stronger. Now he is moving ahead and getting better results with a much more accurate view of the real world using more powerful behavior. 

So, what do you most need to pay attention to in order to get results? 

Make sure that you balance your defensive and offensive game.  Balance right now results with future investment. Continue to improve your management and leadership, etc.   

If you don’t, you will wind up burning your people out or you will burn through your resources. 

What type of game do you typically play? Offensive or defensive? 

How do you balance what you do? 

How does your team help you to regulate that balance? 

What value does this concept have with your family? 

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