Eyes on the Horizon
3 steps to avoiding a key pitfall in accomplishing your goals
Today, when we talk about left and right there is an automatic political implication to it. Before they ever were a political trapping, left and right were simply directions. Together with a front visual, left and right provide a 270 degree field of view. Unfortunately, when it comes to vision, it seems many of us have our eyes focused forward, toward the goal, but neglect what’s on left and right.
On 28 November 1979, a DC-10 registered as ZK-NZP and operating as Air New Zealand flight 901, flew into Mount Erebus, on Ross Island in the Antarctic, killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew on board. The accident remains New Zealand’s deadliest peacetime disaster!
The famous line, “An orchestrated litany of lies,” was quoted by Justice Mahon in his Royal Commission investigation into the accident. It referred to his uncovering of Air New Zealand’s attempt to pass the blame to Captain Collins and the crew by covering up evidence and lying to investigators.
The main factor into the accident was the decision of the Air New Zealand dispatch office changing the flight plan waypoint coordinates in the ground navigation computer without advising the crew. The new flight plan took the aircraft directly over Mount Erebus, rather than along its western flank (which was the original information given to the flight crew). Due to whiteout conditions, “a malevolent trick of the polar light”, the crew were unable to visually identify the mountain in front of them. Furthermore, they may have experienced a rare meteorological phenomenon called sector whiteout, which creates the visual illusion of a flat horizon far in the distance.
There were many lessons learned from this accident. For pilots, the main lesson was to be aware of your surroundings. Though your instruments may tell you all is ok, and all looks good upfront, had Captain Collins looked out to his left he would have noticed that Mt Erebus would have not been where it should have been. Sector whiteout had blanked out his front visual, but there was clear visibility to his left and right.
When it comes to vision, the biggest mistake leaders make is not keeping a lookout. Left and right. Rather, they race forward, secure in the vision of the goal ahead, but unaware of the changing scenario passing by them.
Sector Whiteout
Being so focused on the goal can lead us into a vision version of sector whiteout. A great example of this can be seen with one of the greatest football clubs in the world, FC Barcelona. Their vision statement is simply:
It simply means more than a club. More than a team of great stars. More than the trophies they win. In outlining their values, they state:
And yet, their leadership, over the last few years, lost sight of the horizon. Ambition trumped humility, teamwork, and respect. It became all about spending incredible amounts of money on great stars that did not understand the Barcelona ethos. In the meantime, homegrown players, the grassroots of what made FC Barcelona more than a club, were neglected. Now the club is facing financial turmoil, and the greatest player in the world, Lionel Messi, an FC Barcelona homegrown talent, is on the verge of leaving the club.
The leadership, in their quest for the goal ahead, never once stopped to look left and right, and in doing so, missed all the warning signs.
Three Simple Steps
There are three simple steps you can take to help make sure you avoid vision sector whiteout. Three simple steps that can help you with being more aware of what’s going on around you as you press forward.
Humble Yourself
FC Barcelona’s value of humility is important. As you notch up victories, you also notch up your ego. Regardless of how much you think you are down to earth, victories have a way of elevating you. Others around you will elevate you as well. FC Barcelona was used to winning. The ego grew so much that they lost view of their own values, and ultimately, lost sight of the vision. It’s not easy to keep yourself humble, but it is a discipline that requires intentionality.
Begin with building self-awareness. This is one of the most undervalued, but yet essential, leadership character traits. Having self-awareness is not always something that comes naturally to the visionary leader. It is something that needs constant working on. Check this article out from Positive Psychology, Building Self-Awareness, for some great practical tips for building and developing self-awareness.
It also helps to have the second step in place.
Surround Yourself
Every great visionary surrounds themselves with people who are realists. As a visionary myself, I call them my personal group of pessimists. They are not really pessimists, but that’s the way we view anyone who is trying to slow us down from racing forward toward the goal. And yet, they are the ones that are far more aware of what’s really going on around us. As an ENFP, my mentor is an ISTJ. As a hot-blooded, impulsive Italian, my 2IC is a cool, methodical Anglo. Both drive me nuts at times, but both also have a knack of looking to my left and right while I’m racing forward. They also have a way of humbling us when we’ve scored a few victories and our ego gets a little too big.
It’s not easy to surround ourselves with people who are not necessarily like-minded. It’s the difference between unity and uniformity. Uniformity is having people around you that conform to you and the vision without challenging the process. Unity is having people around you that are on the same page with the vision but see things very differently from you, and don’t always conform.
If you find yourself surrounded by people who are conforming, then maybe you need to enact the next step.
Constantly Evaluate
Evaluating means stopping. Even if there is no way of stopping a plane while it is in mid-air, you can still enter a holding pattern. A holding pattern means you enter into a circular motion, and this gives you time to avail yourself of the tools you have to measure where you at in the course of your goal-getting. It also allows you to view the terrain around you, left and right. When you don’t stop to evaluate regularly, you will run the risk of compounding any unseen/unforeseen problems by creating more problems.
Begin an evaluation by asking yourself some basic questions:
- Am I aware of where I am at right now mentally and emotionally?
- Who are the people I am surrounded by?
- Are they evaluating my left and right?
- Do they feel safe challenging me?
- Where are we at in relation to the goal?
- What is the feel and temperature of the environment around me right now?
I would recommend developing stages, or waypoints, when you embark on a goal. These then act as markers that force you to stop and evaluate. It’s also important to have someone not invested in the vision or goal, someone from outside of the environment who can speak into it. An executive or organisational coach for instance.
Intentionality
Just as you are intentional about reaching your goals, or the goals of the organisation you represent, you need to be equally intentional about the journey. Each step requires intentionality. Intentionally humbling yourself. Intentionally surrounding yourself. Intentionally evaluating. Looking left and right. All with the same amount of vigor and energy you put into achieving the goal ahead. It will help you avoid the pitfalls that you don’t see coming.
