You have a picture for who want to be. You live in a certain level of discomfort because of the disconnect between how you see yourself now and where you would like to be. This is one of the reasons for frustration. Frustration can be healthy if it is expression between the greater you see and the now.
Frustration merely says, “i am here, i want to be there but why am I not there now”. In fact, one of the things that keep organizations moving ahead is this kind of frustration: the sense that we are not there. When you or the enterprise you lead is not frustrated, innovation ceases and irrelevance is begins.
you cannot be anything significant without being intentional and committed
That being said, who you are as an individual, a leader or organization depends on two things. (These are not the only two but the ones I’m going to explore in this post). There are two levels of becoming or being who you want to be. There are two ‘becomings’, that is, how you arrive at who you see yourself at an individual level as well as an organization:
Label
It is rather difficult to push to be something you have not defined. This sounds fairly straightforward and perhaps redundant to raise. The challenge is it is easy to take such small things for granted and overlook them at our peril. Often, it is not big things that are not done that pose challenges.
In the name of progress you can easily hurl yourself or the entity you lead into action without clarity on what you are aiming to be. The first becoming is putting a label on who or what you want to be. Putting a label on what you see yourself and enterprise become is the best way to identify yourselves when you find yourselves there.
This is not only about vision but also about what you will be and not just do. It is folly to employ resources in pursuit of something you are not even aware of. Put a label on what you see yourself, as a leader and enterprise, becoming. This will be birth of the right kind of frustration as I have already mentioned.
Perhaps one of the frustrations you have with yourself and enterprise is that your label is either non-existent or smudge. Clarify what you want to be. In a team context it may mean having candid conversation with your team.
Practice
This is not rocket science but you need to be reminded… After putting a label on who or what you want to become practice. The way you will become what you want to be is by being it. If the label of being you have chosen is transparency with those you serve then start practising transparency.
Practice does not make perfect; it is perfection. Perfection is action taken at being better with every iteration over time. It is a journey. Be who you be. The one word that describes the unity your label and actions is ‘integrity’.
When you have it then you have become. Having integrity is basically saying the label you have is sealed by actions. The second becoming is fighting where you are to fit the label you have chosen.
At which level of ‘becoming’ are you in your personal life, leadership and organization?
Who’s going to go first? Your thoughts?