Session 5 – The Simple Leadership Spiral

Action Steps

1. Of the 6 phases of the Simple Leadership Spiral, which will be the most challenging for you?
2. Why do you think this phase will be the most difficult for you?

Session Transcript

So, in this session we’re going to look at the 6 phases of the Simple Leadership Spiral. Let’s start with…

Phase 1 – Perspective. Interestingly, this phase is the newest addition to our framework. For several years we functioned without it and we realized that many leaders we’re still struggling. Then we figured out why – many leaders don’t understand what it’s like to be on the other side of them, what it’s like to live and work on the other side of them. And so, this first phase helps us to better understand how were naturally-wired and what it’s like to live and work on the other side of us.

When we are better prepared with this heightened awareness, we are better able to connect with people in relationship, and develop our influence, and then respect goes up and our impact with our family, with our friends, with our team members, inside our organization, and outside our organization.

So, the first phase is all about helping us to become more aware, to better understand our natural wiring, and to understand what it’s like to live and work on the other side of us. And this phase is foundational to all of the other phases. If we miss this phase, if we don’t understand what it’s like to live and work on the other side of us, we will struggle in all of the other phases. So, this one is really important.

Phase 2 – Purpose. To find fulfillment in our life and work, every person, every leader, must be able to clearly understand what’s most important in life and how they can achieve those things – how their work fits into their overall life.

The tool that we use in Phase 2 is writing out a SIMPLE Personal Plan. And the exercise of writing out a SIMPLE Personal Plan has been transformational to the life and work of so many leaders. As we work with people every day, every week, we explain how a SIMPLE Personal Plan has brought dramatic improvements to the life of thousands of people all over the world. We walk them through a simple guide and process so you can experience the freedom and health that you crave.

Phase 3 – Path. To be effective in your work, you need clarity about where you are headed. Here’s what we mean – if you’re not sure where you’re going, then you can’t get there, right?

So, why is it that you are trading a substantial part of our life every day to serve our organization? Is our current work worth the time and energy that we’re putting into it?

Where are you headed?

In Phase 3, we use the SIMPLE Vision Tool to help us to think about where do we want to go with our work. So, regardless if our work is enjoyable and fulfilling or if we dread going to work and working with our team every single day, this tool can help us get clarity about how to move forward in our work.

Phase 4 – Plan. Once we have clarity about where we’re are headed, then we need to know the specific disciplines, outcomes, and improvements that will move us forward. What should I be doing on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis to move forward with the vision, to move forward toward fulfilling life-changing, marketplace-altering work? In Phase 4 we develop a SIMPLE One-Page road map for daily, weekly, monthly success.

Phase 5 – Prepare. This is where most of us get stuck because it’s where most of life and work happen. Phase 5 is all about managing priorities and making decisions. In Phase 5 we learn to use SIMPLE tools to effectively manage our schedules and make regular decisions about how and when should I move forward?

Phase 6 – People. This is where we ask, “Who is speaking into each Phase? Who is helping me think through what it’s like to live and work on the other side of me in Phase 1? What’s most important in my life in Phase 2? Who is helping me evaluate where I’m headed in Phase 3? Who is helping me think systematically through what I want to be doing in Phase 4? Who is speaking into how and when I manage my day-to-day priorities and decisions in Phase 5?”

Phase 6 is the hardest for most leaders. More than 70% of leaders say they have 0 close friends – not less than five or less than 10, zero: none.

Because we’re not getting regular feedback, so much of our time is consumed by activities that are of little value and low importance. At some point we realize “I’m wasting a lot of time!”

So, we decide that we want to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Or we want to work through changing our behaviors and habits. Or we work through improving our leadership skills. And, yes, we need to work on all of these things! And all of those things are included in Phase 5.

But here’s the deal. You cannot effectively prioritize your day in Phase 5 until you can clearly see what items are most important for your schedule on your calendar in Phase 4. And you can’t adequately setup your calendar until you identify the behaviors and disciplines that will allow you to succeed in Phase 4. And you can’t create an effective business plan or an effective plan roadmap for your work until you can clearly articulate your vision for the future of your work, or for your organization, or for your team what you see accomplishing on Phase 3. And you can’t discover and clarify your business vision until you know how you want your career and your organization and your work to fit into your overall life in Phase 2. And you can’t effectively understand how your work should fit into your overall life if you haven’t first discovered who you are and how you’re naturally wired and what it’s like to live and work on the other side of you in Phase 1.

And so, it’s easy for us to see why we struggle. See, all of life feels so complex and overwhelming because many people have skipped fundamental steps or phases that, when given a little attention, SIMPLIFY their life and work for the rest of their lives.

So, as you think about the Phases – how your life and your work play out – we need every one of them.

We need to be making these simple, fundamental decisions that automate thousands of other decisions for us, for our team members, for our organizations, for our children, for our spouse. And yet, most people have never considered even their foundation – they’ve never stopped to think about Phase 1 Perspective – what is it like to be around me? What is it like to be on the other side of me? And as a result, their entire their life and their life’s work feels all screwed up.

That afternoon when I stood in the kitchen with my wife, I was stuck in Phase 5 trying to keep all the balls in the air, trying to make decisions and manage priorities without the solid foundation of Phase 1, 2, 3, and 4. I was trying to keep it all together,  and I was running over my family and my team.

Many executives, entrepreneurs, and leaders that we’ve worked with go to bed every night and they woke up every morning thinking about, “How am I going to get through all these emails? How am I going to help my team members? How can I get on track with my schedule? How can I make more income or how can we make more revenue? How can we get more productive and more effective?”

And they spend all day tracking projects, chasing people, and going from meeting to meeting. And at some point, discouraged and disillusioned, they try to figure out why they’re not being more effective, why they’re work is no longer fulfilling.

Their responsibilities, their work, their relationships become significantly more challenging, significantly more complex if we haven’t worked through the 6 Phases.

As we’ve worked with organizations and leaders, we’ve learned that Phase 6 is where the magic happens. But many people, they skip Phases 1-4 and they want to stay and work and manage and put out the fires in Phase 5, never making it to Phase 6 because we have so much to do.

And when we get stuck in Phase 5 – and we all do it – we miss out on deep, meaningful relationships in our life, and we miss out on richness and fulfillment that could be in our work. And without deep meaningful relationships and without the fulfillment in your work, we’re going to burnout. You cannot withstand the challenges of your life and your work without it. It’s as simple as that.

So, learning how to navigate the 6 Phases is so important for us. And what people are looking for is a leader who just took a look in the mirror and decides to step up and say, “My bad. It was me. It’s been me all along.”

And they say, “Yeah, we saw you. Thank you for admitting it. Now, let’s move forward.”

Now, if the leader keeps doing it, they’re going to say, “Get him out of here! Get her out of here!” But when people admit their mistake, respect goes up. Influence goes up with that person.

So, as you think about the 6 Phases, are you responsive or are you resistant? Are you willing to say, “Hey, I messed up. I’m sorry.”

When you do, your influence will increase.

So, when you put it all together, what we’re doing is helping you look at yourself, your life, your work in the mirror and ask, “What is my current reality? What are my behaviors? How do I interact with people? How do I spend my time?”

How many people feel like they have to endure their work so they can get away from it just to enjoy the rest of life. But it’s possible to enjoy your life and your work. And if you’re going to be able to, it will have everything to do with making these simple decisions in Phase 1, 2, 3, and 4 that help us with thousands of other decisions in our daily life and work. And it’s then that we realize the fun and fulfillment in life AND work can be off the charts!

It all depends on you learning how to navigate the 6 Phases of Simple Leadership.

If you implement it – if you put it in place – it will work wonders in your family; it will transform your team culture. It can bring transformation to your company, but you’ve got to apply it.

So, we want to start right now…

SIMPLE Assessment:

Of the 6 Phases, which do you think will be the most challenging for you?

Phase 1 – I could benefit from more self-awareness by better understanding what it’s like to live and work on the other side of me.

Phase 2 – I struggle with how my work fits into my overall life.

Phase 3 – I don’t have clarity about where I’m headed with my work or with my career or what I want to do with my life’s work.

Phase 4 – I don’t know which actions to prioritize in order to move forward with my goals or vision.

Phase 5 – I get stuck managing life and work – all the things that come at me on a day to day basis. And because I’m working on all those things, I don’t have time to work on the other phases.

Phase 6 – I really don’t have the right people speaking into my life and work on a regular basis.

So, select one of those, write it down so we can work on it.

Then, think about – Why do you think this phase will be the most difficult for you?

We’ll see you in the next session.[/text_block]