Photo courtesy of Brian Snelson (exfordy) on fickr.com
Life is like a box of toilet paper tubes, oops, wrong metaphor. Our view of the world is often like looking through a toilet paper tube, looking in the rearview mirror, or looking through the windshield. How we look at the world, will either help or hinder us in leadership.
Toilet Paper Tube
When we’re looking at the world through a toilet paper tube, our view of the world is narrow. Often this manifests by looking only at what is in front of us. We look only at the next project, the next weekend, the next iPhone, or the next to-do item. When this is all we focus on, we are often at the mercy of whatever comes up next.
Only looking at what’s next gets in the way of planning and dreaming of something different. We certainly can’t point people in a direction we don’t see. Looking at life through the toilet paper tube of “what’s next” doesn’t give us a good vantage point for being a leader.
Rearview Mirror
When we’re looking at the world through the rearview mirror, our view may be wide, but it’s in the wrong direction. We’re only looking backwards at what’s gone on before. We find ourselves looking through the rearview mirror when we look at historical data. We look at our past spending, past performance in the stock exchange, or past behavior patterns in our kids or spouses.
The rearview mirror does give a vantage point for making corrections, but this is still a reactive stance in life. We get stuck in past patterns. Rather than looking forward, we’re always looking to fix past mistakes. We can lead with a “rearview mirror” vantage point, but we will never lead the revolution, only the evolution.
Windshield
The view through the windshield shows us what’s ahead with a wide field of view. We find ourselves looking ahead when we plan our spending rather than just track it. We find ourselves looking ahead when we set big goals and dreams for our lives and start accomplishing these.
Great leaders look ahead – not just for themselves but for others as well. If we want to be a great leader we need to get the “through the windshield” vantage point. To be great leaders we need to look ahead and set direction and also look ahead to watch for changes in the “landscape.”
What about you? How do you typically look at the world?
