Engage!

I was chatting with a colleague last week and they shared this Estonian Proverb with me:

The work will teach you how to do it.

I was also working on a presentation for a group leadership experience I am helping to facilitate this week and was reminded of how important it can be to embrace an experimentation mentality (which I've written about here).

Both of these encounters reminded me just how critical it is to actually Engage in doing the work.  So often we try and analyze and plan how to go about a task, a project, or even a conversation (how many of those have I rehearsed in my head and they almost never turn out the way I think!), but there is no way to completely plan for everything.  That's why there are times when we just have to Engage in the work, because it will continue to teach us as we go.  Then, once we are actually in process, we can learn and grow and modify as we are Engaging.

For example, learning to drive. We can read all the books, study for the written test, and maybe even engage in a virtual driving course, but there is no substitute for actually getting behind the wheel of a vehicle and Engaging in the driving process!  Then as we start driving, we discover that different vehicles handle in different ways. The acceleration and braking on this car are different than on that one. It's basically the same, but not exactly, and we can't figure that out without Engaging.

The work will teach you how to do it.

As you think about your current circumstances or leadership environment, where have you been hesitant to Engage because you are trying to figure out the perfect plan? Is there a way you could figure out what the first few steps or actions are so you could Engage and start the learning journey?  What conversation have you been rehearsing in your head and what would it look like if you just scheduled that conversation on your calendar as a way to push you toward Engagement? 

Here's to being willing to Engage this week!

Be Well,

Stephen

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