Random Walks

As with grounded theory, sometimes the data must lead to discovery of the theory, ie start with a fresh mind and explore. Seek first to understand, then to impose your understanding.

Steven Covey said of the 7 habits of highly effective people, habit 5, which deals with putting an emphasis on understanding the other person’s perspective, resonated the most with people. This is routed in our need to be understood ourselves. It also leads to better solutions, as understanding leads to empathy and therefore creating solutions that are more holistic.

As project managers, this is extremely helpful as the solutions we bring with our projects should be fit for purpose. Understanding the problem is the first step to developing any potential solution. And if we are to understand, we must be guided by the raw data, solicited from our stakeholders. For that is the first step towards shared understanding.

The clearest way to see the passage of time is by watching your children. You can still picture them as a toddler, or that baby in a cot, yet they’re all grown, thinking independently and forming their own perspective of the world.

It is these moments, when you can see clearly that time has passed, that you can reflect on your own growth over the same period.

Are we growing as much as we can, or are we still speaking baby talk?

Notes from a great explorer and leader:

1. Learn from all leaders. During his first expedition to Antarctica, Shackleton learned that a leader needs to be decisive, confident, and focused on the mission.
2. Look after your team, for you can only go as far as your team. In his second expedition (Nimrod), he gave up glory and fame when he realized his team was too weak to get to the South Pole and back.
3. Hire for attitude. When the mission involves great difficulty, attitude is the glue that holds it together.
4. Keep your team engaged. At all times, but especially in times of crisis, managing the energy, outlook, engagement and cohesion of your team is critical for success.
5. Re-adjust your plan when the situation changes. When the Endurance sank, he had to readjust to a change in mission. His focus shifted toward ensuring a safe return for his team.
6. Never lose perspective. Shackleton handled daily management and leadership of the team with ease, keeping the team engaged, managing potential disruptors and reflecting regularly.
7. Care for your team. He took responsibility for the ship sinking, was always thinking forward, and remained very humane in his leadership.

“If you’re a leader, a fellow that other fellows look to, you’ve got to keep going.” Sir Ernest Shackleton.

https://shackleton.com/pages/heritage

We can think about how we want to approach something, and also have specific feelings about a situation. However, it is the action that defines us. What we do in a specific instance affects us and the people we interact with. And that is how we are ultimately judged, both by ourselves and others.

It is only through taking action that we learn, through the feedback coming from that interaction. The reaction, whether good or bad, provides an opportunity to learn, to adjust, to improve the next step. It also gets us out of excessive thinking about what may be, and instead into a space where we can make a difference.

Yes, there is still room for thinking, to consider the various alternatives to determine which may be the most optimal path. Once we have done that, we need to start climbing the mountain. For there is no way to reach the top of Brandberg by thinking about it. Take the next step, and the next, and the next. Before long, the process is automatic, and though you might have zigged and zagged, your elevation is higher, you have learnt more about the territory, and your view is better. We become what we do.

If the problem is not defined clearly, it’s that much more difficult to get a solution. For how do you solve that which you cannot identify as a problem?

I relearnt this when looking at my research. What is it that you are trying to address, for it is only the question that will guide the exploration.

Yes, there are times when you’re not solving a definite problem, merely looking at discovering new territory. For the rest, better reframe the question until the problem is clearly defined.