The 15 Dimensions and Questions That Get at the Heart of Focus and Effectiveness.
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom”—Aristotle
In the introduction, I sought to identify the difference between Technical Knowledge (Tk) vs. Attentional Leadership Knowledge (Alk).
Technical knowledge represents “what” you know in your professional or personal arenas (i.e., business, athletics, medicine, law, school, hobbies, at home or with friends, etc…) while Attentional Leadership Knowledge represents the Internal, Time, and External factors that impact your performance (i.e., motivation, vision, goals, prioritization, attitude, focus, perspective etc…).
Technical Knowledge: Tk = X1+ X2 +X3 +X4+X5…
Attentional Leadership Knowledge: Alk = X1 + X2 +X3 +X4+X5…
To be a high performer you must look at both equations. Being knowledgeable or skilled is necessary but not sufficient to be at the top of your game and to demonstrate your “X-Factor”.
To be a high performer you must look at both equations. Being knowledgeable or skilled is necessary but not sufficient to be at the top of your game and to demonstrate your “X-Factor”.
When I work with corporate clients and university students I prompt them with the following thought on focus: “The quality of individual, team, and organizational performance is directly related to ‘where’ and ‘when’ we place our attention, and the ‘duration’ of our attention.”
After 25 years of research, teaching, and practice, I have sought to make sense of the world of leadership development—especially personal leadership development. With so much to read (hundreds of new books coming out monthly) it’s difficult for many to sift through all of the “muck” and make sense of what to work on now. Solving this issue is the purpose of the Finding Your Flow book (click here to download the first chapter free) and the workshop by the same name (click here for workshop information).
What I discovered through the years is that most of the books, articles, and workshops can be sorted into 15 inter-connected dimensions. These 15 dimensions contain the principle-based-topics that provide further insight into the nature of flow, peak performance and personal leadership—all based on future, internal, external, and past alignment in service of present moment focus.
As I craft this Flow Series, I thought it might be helpful to give you a brief overview of the 15 dimensions before diving into the 60+ topics that will comprise the series. Let’s begin with a few targeted questions—each of which reveals the value of each dimension in the service of your personal flow and peak performance:
Looking at your Internal Dimensions:
Physical (Acting)
- Are you eating well, exercising often, and taking good care of your physical body? Are you resting, sleeping, taking breaks in order to optimize your energy?
Emotional (Feeling)
- Are you aware of your emotions, have control over your feelings, and able to generate positive and productive moods? Are you becoming more resilient and able to manage the stresses of your work and life?
Psychological (Thinking)
- Are you intrinsically motivated to be your very best? Are your thoughts, images, and perspectives helping you to excel?
Philosophical (Valuing)
- Are you performing in accordance with your ideals, beliefs, and deepest values? Does your personal philosophy govern your daily behaviors towards your best self?
Spiritual (Aligning)
- Are you constantly seeking after principles that reveal truth, and right? Are you moving towards your full potential and ultimate purpose?
From the perspective of Time:
Long-Future (LF – Envisioning):
- Do you have a clear picture of what success looks like in this arena? Is your mission set, vision clear, and legacy defined?
Short-Future (SF – Planning):
- Are your goals SMART and plans developed? Do you have a structured and detailed plan to achieve success in this arena? Are you maximizing your time every day to align yourself towards your envisioned future?
Focus (F – Attending):
- Can you observe broadly (seeing systems) yet engage narrowly (with focus)—placing your “Attention with Intention” on your WIN (What’s Important Now)? Are you eliminating distractions and removing the “noise” that interferes with deep focus?
Short-Past (SP – Learning):
- Are you measuring your inputs, observing the results (outputs), getting feedback, and reflecting on your principles while internalizing the lessons learned from every performance?
Long-Past (LP – Cultivating):
- Are you tapping into your successes, cultivating mistakes, and mining every past experience? Are you challenging previous assumptions, testing boundaries, and expanding the possibilities (about yourself, others, and the world around you)?
Looking at your External Dimensions:
Personal (Performing)
- Are you controlling what’s controllable and managing the manageable? Is your immediate environment well-resourced, organized, and comfortable—an optimal environment for full engagement?
Interpersonal (Relating)
- Are you aware of all the individual relationships that surround you in this arena and how they influence you (positively or negatively)? Are there any misalignments that need your attention?
Team (Collaborating)
- Are you aware of all the team dynamics/issues in this arena (if a teaming-based arena) and how you fit and function (positively or negatively)? Are there any misalignments that need your attention(role clarification & expectations, resource needs, coordination, communication, accountabilities, transparency, etc.)? Does this team give you what you need for maximum collaboration and performance?
Organization (Contributing)
- Are you aware of the organizational dynamics/issues and how you fit and function (positively or negatively)? Are there any misalignments that need your attention (mission, vision, values or culture differences, policies, etc.)? Does this organization, or your roles within it, give you what you need to fully engage and contribute?
Community (Thriving)
- Are you aware of the community where you live, work, and serve? Are you “at home”, “in the right place”, and “connected” to this environment? Are there any misalignments that need your attention (geography, resources, values or culture differences, policies, culture, etc.)? Does this community give you what you need to live, work, and serve?
More general considerations include:
- Do you have an ongoing plan to grow your flow assets?
- Do you have an ongoing plan to decrease your flow liabilities?
- Are you fully engaged in your “moments of performance”?
- Do you regularly find your flow?
From a personal leadership perspective, this is a lot of ground to cover. These questions embedded in the 15 dimensions help provide a framework for how to think about what aids you (Flow Assets) and what inhibits you (Flow Liabilities) from being fully engaged in the moment with your “A” game present.
If my work with clients has revealed anything it is that we all have our own unique formula for success. These questions are just scratching the surface. Below these are more subtle principles and practices that add to the mix. Your goal is to discover which ones are most important to you at any given time, then decide where to place your time, attention and resources in order to move the needle in that area.
This Finding Your Flow Series will touch briefly on each of the questions within the Attentional Leadership 1080° Sweep™ Assessment, workshop and book to provide not only insights, but also resources you can tap into for further development.
For the next few days, ponder these questions and begin raising your awareness of the factors that contribute to and inhibit your current performance. The awareness itself is half the battle!
As always, if you have personal questions, feel free to send me a note and I’ll do my best to answer them.