Go Beyond The Obvious

What should I do?

- I have followed up with a client twice to schedule our next meeting without a response.

- I strained my calf  muscle the other day and it feels like it is getting worse.

- I keep getting mal-ware pop ups on my laptop that are becoming more frequent. They are annoying but possibly dangerous.

If you are anything like me, you would have read these problems and instinctively thought of a few things I should do. Things like 'give it two weeks' or 'ask what their problem is' for the first one. Maybe, 'go see a physio' for the second one, and 'take your laptop to a computer shop NOW!' to the third. This is very kind of you. To want to help and to want the best for me. There is a caring and connected aspect to being human which is pure and good. But, it gets us into trouble.

These instinctive ideas are usually incorrect. They are alike to navigating through a foreign town without a map. You use your past experience to direct you but you have little knowledge and context to create a well considered and accurate plan. And, if you are directing me all over the place while I am driving in a foreign country my stress levels are going to rise and trust levels in you are going to fall quickly. My mind will start seeing your directions as painful and dangerous and this could bleed into other areas of our relationship.

This is why giving suggestions and unsolicited advice is perilous territory, even when said with good and pure intensions.

So, what is the answer to the above problems? What should I do? What should you tell me to do?

What would a Pro do?

Stephen Pressfield's Turning Pro is a book I gift to delegates in some of my programs. He works through the distinct differences between amateurs (and amateurish behaviour) and pro's (truly professional behaviour). Many of us have professional qualifications and titles, but many do not pass the Stephen Pressfield standards of a Pro. Wearing the clothes of a professional, using professional language, and having professional tools does not make a pro. Think of a reliable, trusted pro - maybe your family doctor. Ask yourself what he/she does when you go into an appointment. What are the first things they do and say? They investigate, question and examine. This is what a Pro does - they delve deeper to understand context and detail.

An insightful podcast interview with Stephen Pressfield on Turning Pro.

Are you a Pro?

Do you live like a Pro and approach your work like a Pro. Do you show up every day? Stay on the job all day? Are you committed to the long haul? Are the stakes high and real for you? These are the initial standards Pressfield sets out for being a Pro (there are 17 more). These are wonderful reflection questions. When I read through the full list I can see that I fail to be a Pro often, giving me something exciting to pursue. But, there is another aspect to being a Pro - are you qualified? Are you a customer service or sales expert? Are you a doctor or physio? Are you a computer wiz? If not, why would you give me advice on my aforementioned problems? You are simply not qualified. Wanting to help is good, knowing your limitations to be able to help is great. When you are not the subject matter expert you can facilitate the conversation and be helpful without feeling the need to know-it-all and have the answers.

The Pro's guiding principle?

If you are not going to get to the bottom of things then who will? Taking responsibility for the problems within our remit is never easy but is a definitive separator between those that rise and those that meander. Being able to see a problem and facilitate good sustainable solutions with consideration is of real value to any organisation. To blurt out instinctual and obvious ideas is of little value and only creates noise. Sure, it can be good to talk out some garbage to then create new and better solutions, but this only works when we know it is a first step to a larger creative process rather than showing casing our unconscious incompetence. Knowing that it is our job as a Professional to Go Beyond The Obvious is such a crucial and high impact mindset. With this approach we can question freely, gain contributions easily and purposefully drive conversations towards well considered and effective solutions people will be deeply thankful for.

What will separate us and our organisations as technology speeds up and chaotic social/legal/political environments continue to rein down on us? The ability to slow ourselves down and navigate through the superficial nonsense towards deeper core solutions is a capability we simply cannot have too much of. 

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