Work is Love Made Visible
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Whitney coaches C-Suite executives across a variety of industries, and has a deep understanding of how executives can create or destroy value. Her approach to coaching is grounded in the disruptive innovation theory, based on the premise that the individual is the fundamental unit of the disruption. Building on this foundation of personal accountability, she works with executives using the stakeholder-centered coaching approach devised by Marshall Goldsmith: Change must come from within, but it is facilitated by the ecosystem.
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In my early school years, I learned that the earth has five oceans. I was growing up near the largest of these, the Pacific, which covers more than 30% of the planet; an area greater than the landmass of all the continents combined. The Atlantic is next in size, then the Indian, Southern, and Arctic oceans.
Later, I learned that oceans and seas aren’t really the same thing; each ocean encompasses numerous seas – and straits and gulfs and bays. I discovered that tides and currents have a singular impact on weather systems and life generally, the world over.
And later, still, I became aware that all of this water can’t really be clearly demarcated this way; the five oceans in all their parts are really one great ocean, rolling continuously over almost three-quarters of the earth’s surface, one into the next and then the next.
These days, I see waves.
I live on the other side of the North American continent from where I passed my youth, a solid half-day’s drive from the Atlantic coast. In the busy ebb and flow of my work and personal life, I haven’t made it to the shore in ages. Nevertheless, I see waves. Every day. Everywhere.
I could be standing in Lebanon, Kansas, the designated geographic center of the United States, and about as far from an ocean as one can be in America, and I would still see waves. Not just “amber waves of grain” either, although those probably riffle and sway in Lebanon, Kansas.
Let me explain:
In 2007, at the Disruptive Innovation Fund that I cofounded with Clayton Christensen, we employed the S-curve model, popularized several decades ago by E.M. Rogers,1 to inform our investment decision making. This model has traditionally been applied to gauge the rate at which new ideas and innovative products – disruptors – will be embraced and how rapidly they will penetrate cultures and markets. In the beginning, at the base of the S, progress is slow; eventually, a tipping point is reached. Hyper-growth follows: acceleration up the steep back of the curve. At the top, progress slows again as market saturation nears, flattening the top of the S.
I began to realize that this model can also be usefully applied to human disruption, supplying a pattern to understand the unpredictability of human growth, change, and development – in careers, but also across our lifespans and in other realms.
I think of these S-curves as waves – thrilling, challenging opportunities we can successively surf to new learning and competency. I see S-curve waves everywhere and believe we need to catch a new wave, or waves, on a more-or-less regular basis. Brain science strongly suggests that cognitive challenge in the form of new things to learn and problems to solve keeps our brain lubricated with feel-good dopamine, elevating our mood, our sense of well-being, and ultimately, staving off the onset of cognitive decline. We are more productive and remain more actively engaged in our careers and our lives for a longer period of time.
Waves Within Waves Within the Wave
Let’s picture it this way: Our lives follow an S-curve. At the low end, we are infants, children, and adolescents. There is an enormous amount of learning to do. At some point in early adulthood, we have hopefully achieved a sufficient level of understanding and competence that we reach the tipping point; what follows are many years of productive work, exploration of personal interests and talents, additional education, family and community building, and valuable contributions – ideally, a lengthy prime spent scaling the exhilarating steep back of our personal wave. Eventually, our progress slows as the top-end plateau is reached; some degree of decline will ultimately follow for most of us.
But as with our planet’s single great ocean, composed of the five named oceans and their smaller watery components, this life-cycle S-curve is made up of several distinctive contributing waves. Career is one of these, the one I am most focused on in my coaching, writing, and speaking, but it’s not the only one. We may pursue ambitions and objectives on multiple fronts throughout our lives or during discrete stages thereof. Parenting, for example, is a significant personal life wave: for new parents there is a low-end learning challenge, a lot of skills to master. But infants and toddler are soon schoolchildren, presenting a new curve for parents to scale, and then there is the super disruption to the S-curve of adolescence. Anyone who has parented teenagers knows that it requires an almost entirely different skillset than parenting an infant. Then the kids grow up, and defining the relationship with adult children presents a new opportunity, unique from those that have come before. Parenting is a wave composed of smaller successive learning curve waves simultaneously flowing into the overriding wave of our lifespan, which will also include a career wave, hobbies, talents, volunteerism, extended family, and spirituality; there is an ocean of possibilities to explore.
In times past, our career wave may have taken shape with a low-end, entry-level position, perhaps preceded by formal education but in many cases not, followed by a promotion or two, occasionally more. But a career was often spent in a single place, with a single employer performing, for lengthy stretches of time, a single task set. Not so anymore. Successfully managing our careers in today’s rapidly changing work environment requires an understanding and acceptance of the value of personal disruption – periodically leaping from peak performance on one wave to catch the low-end of the next – and agility at making these sometimes daunting leaps from confident, expert competence to once again becoming a novice on a new learning curve. Chances are, if we don’t disrupt ourselves, choosing our own waves to surf, we will be disrupted at times and in ways we do not prefer – firings, layoffs, feeling left behind by the constant unfolding of new technologies – aimlessly adrift like flotsam on the currents or washed ashore and then abandoned like the ocean wrack on the beach when the tide recedes.
Making the Most of Your Wave
I have articulated seven accelerants of personal disruption that can help us successfully navigate these tricky moves from wave to wave; here is a summary description of these essential touch points:
Take the Right Risks Evaluate the type of risk your career leap will entail. I advocate seeking market risk, which means you find a wave to surf that isn’t already occupied by someone else. When you can create or step into a role (or innovate a new product, service, business, etc.) that meets a presently unmet need, you greatly increase your chances of success. Unlike competitive risk, which requires going head-to-head against established competitors in an already-defined market, being the first surfer on the wave gives you the advantage over all who might challenge you later.
Play to Your Distinctive Strengths Do you have a super power? I’m not just talking about the things you’re good at; I’m focusing on the thing(s) you are uniquely good at, the things that those around you handle less adeptly or even struggle to accomplish. It may be a skill acquired through education/experience, but it is just as likely something you have done well your entire life, something that may even have made you a little weird to your peers during childhood – or presently. Think about a compliment you frequently receive and dismiss, because you take for granted your ability in that area; it comes so naturally to you. Or watch for the things that irritate you in other people; we are prone to annoyance when activities that are quick and easy for us are less nimbly accomplished by others.
Embrace Constraints Our initial response to the word constraint is usually a negative one. A constraint is a limitation of our freedom. But when we start out on the low end of a new S-curve there are inevitably limitations – too little time, money, expertise, buy-in. In fact, unlim
ited options can be paralyzing, an impairment to good decision making. Constraints help mark the path we need to follow to reach our goals; without them, we can be lost in the weeds without a clear direction. With fewer options available to us, we are forced to be more resourceful and more innovative. We have fewer variables to solve for as we strive toward that all-important tipping point on our wave. We are also able to get rapid feedback on our progress. Quickly discerning what doesn’t work aids us in more rapidly discovering what does.
Battle Entitlement Entitlement is the sneaky saboteur of personal disruption. Entitlement takes the stage in the guise of complacency, the sense that we deserve the privileged position we’ve attained on the cresting high end of our S-curve wave. Good things should always roll our way. Or, conversely, the bitter attitude that we’ve been denied the things we were owed. Perhaps we were passed over for promotion or accolade, or credit for our ideas or efforts has been hijacked by another. Entitlement robs us of the energy we need to disrupt ourselves from positions of relative comfort to take on the challenges of a new learning curve. Sometimes, when success has led to the dissolution of resource constraints, we must impose new constraints ourselves in order to make progress. Death by success is a common career and business casualty; combat entitlement to avoid it.
Step Back to Grow An S-curve model of career development is nonlinear; forget what you’ve always thought about the corporate ladder. Up is not the only way up. Sometimes we may move sideways, backwards, even downward to find ourselves positioned at the high-learning end of a new wave. Think of a slingshot or catapult; it’s the pull back that generates the high-energy propulsion forward. To remain engaged in the work we do, we need to be learning new things and confronting significant and demanding problems to solve. To battle entitlement, we have to relinquish our handle on the wave we’ve mastered and step back into a role that allows us room to grow.
Give Failure Its Due Failure is the great instructor and, thankfully, the death of a dream is not terminal. There is a cosmic abundance of dreams to pursue and contributions to make. When one avenue of endeavor comes to a dead end, successful disruptors will pocket what they’ve learned and carry on to greater achievement on the next wave. I love the example of professional golfer, Jordan Spieth. Going into the final round of the 2016 Masters Golf Tournament, he was in the lead. He’d won the event in 2015 and had outstanding performances throughout that year. Victory was within his grasp for a second straight year, but Spieth faltered. By the time he recovered, it was too late.
A few days after the event his caddie, Michael Greller, made a memorable post to Facebook: “There have been tough losses and will be more. We won’t get stuck in this moment, nor should you. We will work harder, fight harder and be better for it. We will bounce back as we have done many times. A wise coach reminded me recently, winning shows your character and losing shows ALL your character.” Bravo, failure.
Be Discovery-Driven When we first decide to surf a wave, we often don’t know how it will develop. Flexibility is a key virtue of successful disruptors. Most of the celebrated explorers of the globe were not prepared to meet the challenges that arose on their journeys. They required tremendous levels of improvisation, adaptation, and resourcefulness. They learned as they went and what they learned was often a product of failure. Personal disruption requires the same willingness to launch ourselves into the unknown and discover our wave as we ride it, innovating as circumstances present themselves.
Catch the Wave Before It Catches You
In the early summer of 2017, I read this letter printed in the nationally syndicated advice column Dear Abby:
Life has me worn out. I have accomplished more than I ever thought I could (considering my upbringing), traveled as much as I wanted, always strived to be a good husband and father, a good employer, a loyal volunteer, a supportive friend and good neighbor. I have done so many different things during my life that at this point, the thrill is gone.
At 56, I am tired of working, tired of travel, bored with my hobbies, and sick of dealing with most people in general. I’m relaxed and laugh easily and have good relationships, but nothing excites me anymore. Honestly, if the Grim Reaper tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Pack your bags; tomorrow’s the day,” I’d just shrug and ask, “What time?”
I went to a couple of therapists who told me I don’t need therapy; I just need to find a new “spark.” So what’s a person to do? Must I keep wallowing through the days waiting for the end? Am I the only person who feels this way?2
He is not the only person who feels this way; people at many stages of life encounter S-curve plateaus and waning, even crashing, enthusiasm. Ultimately, in old age and/or when confronted with a serious health challenge, decline is a natural part of the S-curve of life, but at age 56? I agree with the therapist calling for a new spark. This gentleman and many like him who find themselves midlife, later career, and experiencing the gentle outgoing tide as the roller-coaster waves of daily parenting play themselves out, require new sparks – new S-curve waves to surf, to remain fresh, engaged, and relevant, living a vibrant, contributing life for the decades yet ahead. There’s a reason we have developed terminologies like midlife crisis and empty-nest syndrome. I see these relatively common and similar pitfalls as manifestations of S-curve high-end full competence yielding to boredom as challenge declines and complacency encroaches.
Disrupting ourselves proactively, before stagnation takes hold, is usually easier, but we can always, with a little effort and imagination, move from stuck to unstuck through personal disruption at any stage, early or late. One of my favorite data points is this one provided by the Sports Performance Research Institute New Zealand (SPRINZ):3 competitive surfers spend, on average, 8% of their time riding waves, 54% paddling, and 28% waiting (the remaining 10% is variable). Hopefully, our career ratio of S-curve wave surfing to treading water will be a little higher, but we would never suggest that the less-thrilling episodes of pausing, preparing, and positioning ourselves, or the inevitable waiting and wipeouts, aren’t integral to ultimately catching the perfect waves.
Conclusion
I had the privilege of interviewing Bernie Swain, founder of the iconic American lecture agency, Washington Speakers Bureau, which has represented multiple American presidents and British prime ministers as well as luminaries from business, entertainment, sports, and so on. Bernie is also the bestselling memoirist of What Made Me Who I Am.4 In our conversation, he suggested, “Wouldn’t you like to discover, early in your life, what made you who you are? Who are you? Rather than looking back on it, and looking at a life well-spent, looking at it early and creating a life that’s well-lived.”5 I advocate this approach to consciously and strategically visualizing and positioning ourselves via personal disruption to catch the S-curve waves that will carry us to the places of experience we want to visit, in our careers and otherwise. Ideally, the S-curve of life will be, on inspection and introspection, waves within waves within waves. Within the wave.
Reflection Questions
Draw an S-curve of your own life. What appears at the highest and lowest points?
Do you notice any intersection between high and low points on this curve in your personal versus your professional lives? How do you see the influence of one realm on the other?
Is it possible to change the course of an S-curve wave in one’s own life? What factors make this harder or easier?
Notes
1. E.M. Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations (New York: Free Press of Glencoe, 1962; 5th ed., 2003); S-curve model, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations, accessed March 1, 2018.
2. DailyJournalOnline, http://dailyjournalonline.com/news/opinion/advice/dear-abby/dear-abby/article_b43e2b41–3c64–5887-b6eb-d453f0531b5b.html.
3. Surfertoday.com, https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/7653-surfers-only-spend-8-of-the-time-riding-waves.
4. Bernie Swain, What Made Me Who I Am (Brentwood, TN: Savio Republic/Post Hill Press, 2016).
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br /> 5. Whitney Johnson podcast interview with Bernie Swain, December 2016, https://whitneyjohnson.com/bernie-swain-disrupt-yourself/.
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Being a Good Leader
Patrick Lencioni
Patrick is the founder of The Table Group and the author of 11 books, which have sold over five million copies and been translated into more than 30 languages. The Wall Street Journal called him “one of the most in-demand speakers in America.” He has addressed millions of people at conferences and events around the world over the past 15 years. Pat has written for or been featured in numerous publications including Harvard Business Review, Inc., Fortune, Fast Company, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek.
As CEO, Pat spends his time writing books and articles related to leadership and organizational health, speaking to audiences interested in those topics, and consulting to CEOs and their teams.
Prior to founding The Table Group, Pat worked at Bain & Company, Oracle Corporation, and Sybase. Pat lives in the Bay Area with his wife and four boys.
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Perhaps, the best lesson about leadership that I’ve learned during my career is one that I’ve only recently come to understand.
I should have learned it as a teenager the first time I flew on an airplane, because flight attendants repeat it time after time: “In the event of a drop in pressure, put your oxygen mask on before assisting another passenger with theirs.” Essentially, the lesson I learned is that I can’t be a better leader than I am a person, and that I can’t put off working on myself in order to help others. That sounds pretty obvious, I know, but it deserves some explanation.