Perhaps you've dealt with some of these people as well. They are fairly easy to identify because regardless of the topic of conversation, they try to switch the focus to something they perceive as bad that happened to them in the past. Reliving the past, especially when it is less than favorable gives them a sense of security or some other misplaced feelings.
When a person relives perceived negative experiences to excess, psychologists call it rumination. Regardless of what it's called, an excessive focus on the past can overshadow a person's ability to deal effectively with the present and more importantly the future. Clearly, we need to learn from the past, and pay attention to what is happening in the present, but where we are going is more important than where we've been or where we are. As one of my teachers said many years ago, "The present is but an instant that separates yesterday from tomorrow."
The right kind of leadership skill development training can be a large factor in determining future success. By increasing attention to the direction we are heading, the target we see, the goal we've set, the objective we want, and that needs to be the greater part of our focus, attention and effort.
Effective leaders review the past to learn trends, patterns, mistakes and successes, and then they scan what is happening at the moment to see where they are, and then they look to the future to see where they need to be. The ability to learn from the past, observe the present, and focus on the future is a rare, but critical success factor taught in leadership skill development workshops and practiced by effective leaders.
To help people see the difference between seeing the past, present and future I developed a metaphor that hopefully illustrates the three different perspectives. Granted, the illustration may seem a bit odd, but I've found that it helps describe the consequences of overly focusing on any one of the three possibilities.
Here's the odd metaphor: When driving an automobile on a freeway, you have three places you can focus your attention: in the rearview mirror to see where you have been, out the side windows and at the dashboard to see where you are and the current operational conditions, or out the front windshield to see where you are headed.
If you spend too much time looking in the rearview mirror to see where you have been, or if you spend too much time looking out the side windows and at the gauges on the dashboard to see where you are, or if you fail to invest enough time looking where you are going, you'll crash! You'll crash not only in an automobile, but also in life as well.
As over-simplified as this example may seem, it clearly points out the three options not only given to a driver of an automobile, but also to people to run their lives, and leaders to lead organizations. Both in your personal life and also in your professional life it is necessary to strike a balance between viewing the past, considering the present, and planning the future. The failure to achieve an appropriate balance will surely signal impending disaster.
Try to see the metaphor from another perspective. Looking in the rearview mirror can help a person learn from history, and hopefully not repeat past mistakes. That is, however, providing the person doesn't get caught up in the trap of ruminating about how unfortunate he or she is because of what happened. A person can learn a lot about the current conditions by taking a look where he or she is in relation to a goal or objective. And a person can learn from the present by considering the gauges on the dashboard. But to do either of these in excess will take away from the time needed to look out the front windshield and plan where the person wants to be in the near and long-term future. In other words, spending too much time gazing, or ruminating, in the past and present prevents a person from being able to plan and prepare for the future.
The best leaders understand that skills and concepts obtained through leadership skill development training should be applied in both personal and professional settings. Great leaders at home make sure that family members have a clear goal in mind and keep that goal firmly implanted in their mind. I heard a speaker several years ago describe this ability in these words, "In order to reach your goal you must first face the right direction so you can see where you want to be. If you aren't facing the right direction, you'll never see your goal, so you'll never reach your goal." That's why great leaders at home invest energy helping family members see the goal, face the goal, and then work toward the goal.
Great leaders at work make sure of the same basic things. People must know the goal, which means that leaders must practice good communication skills. People must face the right direction so they can see their goal, which means they must feel a sense of belonging to the team. People need to learn from the past, which means they must be able to look at the past in a constructive manner and not ruminate playing the "oh woe is me" game. People must be able to analyze the present conditions to see what is happening, where they are, and see the relationship of where they are in contrast to where they need to be. And people need to practice looking at the future to not only see unrealized possibilities, but to also imagine things that could be and achievements that have yet to happen.
No great achievement was ever realized by looking primarily in the rearview mirror. No great objective was ever reached by being overly focused on failures and mistakes of the past. No great goal was ever achieved by primarily gazing out the side windows or at the gas gauge. Lastly, no great leader ever went without a friend, coach, mentor, or acquaintance that assisted them in some way with leadership skill development along the way.
Greatness in leadership today happens because a leader is humble enough to learn from past mistakes, failures and problems, wise enough to listen and value the opinions of others about what is happening now, and visionary enough to spend time each day considering the future as a possibility of what could be tomorrow's reality.
The past, the present, and the future: long-term success means keeping these three elements in balance.
Dr. Richard L. Williams is a business consultant specializing in performance coaching, quality improvement, team development, leadership skill development and organizational development/diagnostics.
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