The Windshield vs The Rear view Mirror
What’s the difference between the windshield and the rear view mirror? There are some obvious answers like the windshield is several times larger than the rear view mirror, when driving down the road we should be looking forward most of the time and only glancing behind us to change lanes, turn, or looking for danger behind us.
When living our lives it can be easy to focus on the past so much that we forget to look forward. This can cause some to stop making good decisions and potentially lead to self-harm or addiction. Others say they can’t move forward because of past decisions or mistakes. Yesterday ended last night. Learn from it and move on.
Yes, the rear view mirror does allow us to see where we’ve been and we need to learn from it, but don’t fixate on it. It also allows us to learn from our mistakes and decisions, which are very important for leaders so we don’t repeat them.
Three reasons why we need to focus on the Windshield.
1. Focus. We need to focus on what’s in front of us most of the time because the future is bigger. There are new opportunities, new people to meet, new decisions to make, etc. Yesterday ended last night so focus on the future.
2. Tunnel Vision. When we give our whole attention to the past we get tunnel vision. This prevents us from taking action on new opportunities and ideas. At times we do need to be laser focused when solving problems, then it’s time to move on. Yesterday ended last night, focus your attention forward.
3. Rapid Changes. We are living in an era where information and technology can change so rapidly that there is no historical precedent to draw on so we need to quickly focus our full attention on the situation. This is vital to our leadership and the growth of our teams because this requires collaboration and participation, and this is what employees want to become part of. This is how you increase engagement on your team.
Questions:
How good are you at focuses on the future and not the past? When was the last time you used tunnel vision to your advantage? How often do you allow your team to participate in problem solving and vision crafting? I would love to hear your responses on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter.
How good are you at focuses on the future and not the past? To me looking ahead is the best way to go about life. You can get excited about upcoming events or goals and that give one energy to power through the mundane. While the past may teach you lessons, focusing on it does nothing but waste time. When was the last time you used tunnel vision to your advantage? I use tunnel vision as I approach the end of a goal. By doing that, I am extremely focused on the details and outcome. Seeing the goal line makes me strive harder than normal and helps me knock out projects et cetera. How often do you allow your team to participate in problem solving and vision crafting? I am lucky to have some very talented individuals on my team and around me. Because of this, I genuinely listen to their ideas on solving difficult tasks or what they would like to see in our department.