Prone To Action Or Paused In Procrastination

While I was boarding to depart to Edmonton last week, I was walking down the gangway to the plane when I noticed that the gentlemen in front of me had what appeared to be a small child strapped to his backpack. More disturbing was the fact that the figure was folded over forward, head bouncing up and down with each step he took. It took only a millisecond for me to realize that this was in fact a doll (a very life-like one, I will add), not a child.

Thinking how my initial perceptions were amusing, I mentioned it to him, saying that I was concerned for a moment that I might need to perform CPR.  He laughed and said he wondered if someone was going to say something. Hearing our conversation, the gentlemen behind me spoke up and said, “I saw that too, and thought, ‘What the heck?’”

How many congruences exist in your environment?

Are you receptive to circumstances that demand change?

Have you trained yourself to investigate and validate your perceptions?

Lastly, are you willing to speak up and take action if the evidence supports the need for change?

Several months ago a client divulged that she was having problems with an employee. After a brief discussion and some very pointed questions, it was obvious that the employee was not the right fit for the organization. The answer was clear: “You need to let him go. It is best for you, for the business, and (whether they realize it or not) for the employee.”

It only took a week for my client to terminate the employee. When I asked her why she had waited so long to take action she said, “I guess I just needed validation.”

Far too often we wait for someone to validate our perceptions. We need to train ourselves to take action when we notice an congruence, I call this I.V.R (Investigate, Validate and Respond). So my question to you is, what perceptions do you hold that bother you? Are you going to let them persist or are you prone to take action?

© Shawn Casemore 2013. All rights reserved.