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May,
2005 Welcome
to Leadership Hand™, a monthly e-newsletter To ensure receipt, please add our e-mail address "Info@" plus our domain name to your e-mail address book. 1. Leadership Aerobatics: When You're On Sensory Overload I recently decided that what I most enjoyed about flying was maneuvering the plane in challenging situations--not simply conveying myself, no matter how pleasurable, from one destination to another. Like eating the heart of the watermelon rather than any old slice seeds and all, I choose to take aerobatic lessons--stunt flying--rather than complete my pilot's license. Imagine being
oriented in any direction sideways, upside down, and at speed!
I was distracted from my fear by the performance of the plane and
the skill of Bill Finagin, my flight instructor. Power, gravity,
aerodynamics--it was like a dance. "Look up!" he called.
I did. I was looking at fields as we flew upside down. After four
maneuvers: barrel rolls, hammer heads, spins, and loops; I had reached
my threshold. I kept in mind that little plastic bag nearby. Once
on the ground, it took another hour for my stomach to settle and
then an entire night's sleep for my neurological wiring to calm
down. On our return to Annapolis, Maryland, I flew for awhile near the Chesapeake Bay and the bridge--the silt from recent downpours coloring half the Bay reddish brown. I was overloaded with sensory input and was overly focused on a few instruments. Okay. The truth is I could only focus on one! "You're behind the plane," Bill said, meaning I was making course corrections after the plane was gaining or losing altitude or wasn't level. "You need to be periodically sweeping the horizon, the wings, the instruments…" I knew it but I couldn't do it. It strikes me now how similar this is to being in a leadership role, whether you're leading in a position or situation that's new to you, leading through turbulent times, or breaking new ground with an existing line of business. What do you pay attention to when you're on sensory overload? How do you acclimate and find your point of reference as quickly as possible? It's not so different from learning aerobatics from a seasoned, highly skilled expert. It helps and, in fact, is essential to rely on those with more expertise than you. The experts are on your leadership team, in supporting divisions, or acting as internal or external mentors. Probably all three. You ask what they are paying attention to and you trust that you will find your point of reference amidst it all. Even when it seems like you must work 70-hour weeks, you make sure you take time off so that your body/mind can integrate everything that's going on.
Here's to Acclimating
Quickly! Beth Hand © Copyright 2007, Beth Hand. Beth Hand, MBA helps leaders increase their effectiveness and satisfaction, now and for the future. She can be reached at (+1) 703.820.8074 or via her website www.leadershiphand.com. 2. Executives in Career Transition For executives
who want to speed the career transition process, until we offer
our next event in the Richmond, visit my colleague and fellow ExecuNet
facilitator Peter McCarthy and his site at www.careertran.com
for events in the Washington, D.C. area. Hand Associates
is the host for Execunet executive networking meetings in alliance
with DBM (formerly Drake Beam Morin), a global provider of strategic
HR solutions. If you are living in or traveling to Richmond, Virginia,
check our web site for details www.leadershiphand.com/resources. 3. Reprint Permission This is a copyrighted publication. You are welcome to reprint an issue on a non-exclusive basis provided you:
4. Subscribe • Privacy Click here to subscribe. To unsubscribe click on the link below. We value your privacy. We never redistribute, rent or sell your information to anyone or any entity. We
invite you to forward this issue to your colleagues! |
You
can do it. You must. If you want to fulfill your greatest potential
as a leader, you've got to say "yes" and take
yourself to your edge while relying on those around you. The
satisfaction is immense.|
© Copyright 2005, Hand Associates and Beth Hand • All Rights Reserved Hand
Associates, LLC Leadership
Coaching & Development |
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