Week 53, 2020
Personal Productivity, vol. 3: Locus of Control, Circle of Influence, Zone of Adaptation
Each week: three ideas for how to make work better. This week: ideas geared towards helping us get more things done in 2021:
Why am I writing about this? We’re (almost) done with 2020. Thankfully. And as we peer into the new year, I thought it might be worth reminding ourselves to focus on what we can control:
1. Locus of Control
Is life something you can control? Or is life something that controls you? Your answer indicates your “Locus of Control” — the degree to which you believe yourself to be the master of your own fate. Developed in the 1950s by American psychologist Julian Rotter, the concept is closely associated with personality and thus varies a lot from person to person.
For more about this: Wikipedia is your friend.
2. Circle of Influence
In 1989, Stephen Covey published The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. And in that book, he introduced the two concentric circles of Concern and Influence. We all have them. But what sets highly effective people apart, Covey explained, is their ability to grow their Circle of Influence over time. That is, they think and act in such a way so as to consciously grow their Locus of Control.
For more on this: Covey on Youtube.
3. Zone of Adaptation
Your locus is a spectrum. And where you sit on that spectrum can change over time. But there’s always going to be lots and lots of things that fall outside your Circle of Influence and inside your Circle of Concern. The trick is to know which is which and act accordingly. And in their 2008 book The Critically Reflective Practitioner, Sue and Neil Thomson suggests that the only viable strategy for the latter is to accept and adapt.
For more on this: visit Mindtools.
Thomson’s Control-Influence-Accept (CIA) model is shown on top.
So, what’s the moral of the story? A few things:
First. When thinking about the year ahead, be mindful of your Locus of Control. Something you consider impervious, someone else might consider eminently actionable. It’s all a matter of perspective. So don’t take things at face value. Ask for feedback.
Second. Take a cue from Covey and consider ways in which you can grow your Circle of Influence. Mindset is probably the most powerful tool. But the experiences you gain, the relationships you cultivate, and the learnings you amass can help as well.
Third. Don’t fret about things you can’t control. Accept and adapt. And remember: you might not be able to directly control outcomes of certain events etc., but you can control your response to the same. And that’s almost the same thing. Stoicism FTW.
That’s all for this week.
Until next time: Make it matter.
/Andreas
PS. Have you read Carol Dweck’s 2006 book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success? If so, you will probably spot a few similarities with the above. If not, w312018 will give you a short intro.
