Do you want to limit your ability to succeed?
Recently I read a line that stated “Usually the things that have made us successful in the past eventually become a source of constraint and limitation.”
Another way I’ve heard this said is “What got you here, won’t get you there.”
The first author took this sentiment to a level of an indictment that is much concerning to me as a leader in transition. We have all experienced various levels of success in our lives and I am no different. As you and I launch into new endeavors whether in our personal or professional lives we lean into the skills, talents, and lessons learned along the way. I would say we are shaped by the journey of our successes and our failures to become a “better” version of ourselves. However, in this authors account of visionary leadership he is challenging this way of thinking and cautioning the reader/leader/learner to be wary of who you’ve become and resist the temptation to trust in the success born talents and persona but rather reinvent yourself into the person you need to be so that your vision can be accomplished.
It seems as though the author is challenging us to resist the temptation to shrink our vision to fit our history.
What will you do with this thought? For me, over here in Jeremiah land, I need to make this kind of idea practical so here are 3 things I plan to do to avoid my own experience constraints.
- Let the vision lead the way
- If the you are confident that the impossible future you’re hoping to create is something that MUST become a reality then doesn’t it make sense that the vision would lead the way . Lets refuse to allow our experience born strengths and weaknesses to direct our day to day, week to week, month to month strategy.
- Learn from “outsiders”
- Tell complete strangers what you’re trying to accomplish and ask them what kind of leader it would take to make this a reality
- Learn from “insiders”
- Tell people you know well what you’re trying to accomplish and ask them what they think your biggest personal constraint will be as you attempt to make it a reality
I’d love to hear from you on this. Comment below and tell me what you think.
