My test results came back.
According to this “Nerd Test online quiz”, I’m not insane or better yet, I’m sane! But what do I do with the results summary statement? “You are very sane. A little too sane.” Full disclosure, I’m 26% insane, along with the other 2% that scored the same.
Insane leadership?
German-born American Physicist, Albert Einstein put his mind to work defining insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Leadership development insanity is failing to change unproductive behavior that leads to poor performance. It means you or your team is stuck, frustrated, or overwhelmed. Something must end to experience future success.
Albert’s simple definition clearly exposes why we can consistently underperform in work or life. If you think a different outcome or improved performance is possible without a willingness to learn and change; well, that’s insane. Improved performance means you must stop the unproductive behavior.
Why is there so much insanity?
Sanity is the ability to think and behave in a reasonable and rational manner. However, the pace and chaos of work-life and the lack of margin in general nurtures insanity. As a leader, you must create space to cure leadership insanity.
Creating space is the disciplined use of time, place, and resources to listen for truth in the Story. “Truth” is feedback, experience, success, and failure. Once you create space to reflect on your day, on that conversation or why that meeting that went south then, there’s hope that you can end the insanity. The journey is from here to there, from insanity to being sane, again.
The best predictor of future success is the
ability and willingness to learn and change
achieved through consistent reflection on
the truth in the Story.
For your reflection
I can’t speak for the accuracy of the “How insane are you?” quiz. But I can remind you that it’s crazy to think you can keep doing the same thing as a leader or a team and get different results.
To help you discover any leadership insanity, consider the following:
- Where is your performance or your team’s results unacceptable? Where are you stuck, frustrated, or overwhelmed?
- When will you schedule time for consistent reflection on your day so you can start noticing what’s going on around you?
- What change would make a difference? What might you stop doing?
- Rally your support system to get it done, it will require some level of accountability.
Where do you see the insanity in your leadership or your team?
Insanity is optional. Improved performance is, too.
Here’s to your next level performance,
Steve
Image Credit: Thomas Hawk