A lot of things happen in our life, however, most of it goes unnoticed at a deep level.
This leads to living a life on autopilot and we miss out the learning that every day provides us.
Great leaders have heightened awareness which allows them to make wiser decisions taking into account the issue from many levels of understanding.
If someone at work shares an issue with you which seems petty to you, it is easy to dismiss it. The issue here is not the petty issue that the worker is sharing but what is behind the issue. Is there mistrust between employee and the immediate supervisor? Is there an issue of confidence in the employee? Is there an issue about the lack of roles? Is there something the employee is facing that needs to be dealt with? Is there lack of clarity of goals? Suddenly the issue is not the petty problem, it is much deeper.
Similarly, at home when an issue arises with a spouse one can easily dismiss it as petty instead of going deeper to understand what is at play here. Many relationships have become sour because couples don’t go deeper when problems arise.
Next time someone comes to you with an issue or problem listen intently without judgement, watch the body language and do not rush to advise. By doing this simple act you have already begun building trust which is the starting point of getting deeper into the issue.
Of course, the above approach is slower and many leaders are too busy to go slow. However, when it comes to creating heightened awareness, long-term relationships and building trust slow is actually fast. By not slowing down here you will keep facing the challenge for a much longer time leading to more time wasted; if you do not have time to do things right, when will you have time to do it again.
Creating heightened awareness is not a quick fix but requires going to the root of things leading to better understanding and subsequently wiser and more sustainable solutions.
(Adapted from the book, ‘What You Seek is Seeking You’ by Azim Jamal & Brian Tracy)