Blog Layout

Magic in the Room #25: Unlocking EQ: Defaulting to Action (Part 1)

Aug 12, 2020

In Part 1 of this conversation about action orientation, Luke, Chris, and Hannah each share examples from their lives when they activated a specific initiative and its impact.

Hannah reflected on her early career when she joined a sales team within a technical organization. But what she really wanted to do was make an impact and help bring out the best in people. After just a few months in her role, the company received a call to action from an executive leadership team at a huge company to start a college hire program. The mission was to help them expand their hiring policy and make a concerted effort to bring in new talent.

 

Hannah shares how this became a pivotal moment in her career. She had never done anything like this before, what the right steps to take were or how to design a training program for new college grads. But the intent was obvious. She knew exactly what needed to happen and had a vision for what this could look like. Hannah defaulted to action and volunteered. A compass, clear intention, and purpose enabled her to take action and make it a success.

 

However, Luke asks his hosts who are blessed with an internal bias for action, how they deal with challenges, barriers, and roadblocks that slow them down. What’s the answer? Do you refocus? And how do you choose how to take that energy and be productive? Chris shares how Zig Ziglar inspired him to see that it’s all about relationships.

 

The relationship we have with the institutions and people we’re connected with will play a crucial role in our success. When Chris is not happy with the relationship, he feels compelled to take the responsibility away from the other party. He then asks himself, what are the things that I have to do to improve this relationship or effectively change that condition?

 

For Chris, ensuring that he is doing everything that he can do to give him the paths, opportunities, and chances to get where he wants to be will also enable him to default to that action. But it’s also a delicate balancing act between taking a moment to pause and clarifying the right action versus just taking action because we feel like we need to do something.

 

How do your teams lean into taking a bias for action? How do you lean into the ownership of individuals on this team? Empowering employees with the courage and confidence to progress forward is possible in creating unique strategies for your organization. The hosts of Magic in The Room share the same passion for helping people in teams succeed and raising awareness that there’s no reason for anyone to do it alone.

 

Momentum is everything. But to have momentum, we have to have action.

By Sarah Whitfield 02 Apr, 2024
Today, we continue our series on the skills needed to lead a team. We started with building trust in episode 178. In this Magic in the Room episode, Hannah, Chris, and Luke discuss a new skill: creating an environment of commitment and accountability. The core idea in this conversation is that people can only be accountable if they know what they are committed to. People can hold themselves accountable once we have a common understanding of commitments. To download the free guide that goes with this episode, subscribe below:
By Sarah Whitfield 05 Mar, 2024
In today's episode of Magic in the Room, we continue our series on leading a team with the foundational skill leaders must have: the ability to build trust. It may sound cliche, but trust is the foundation of a high-performing team. In fact, Luke and Hannah argue that dogs have better lives and fewer people die when teams have high trust! When teams don't have trust, the result is lower performance, lower well-being, and ultimately, people leave. If you focus on one thing as a leader, it should be building trust. In today's episode of Magic in the Room, we continue our series on leading a team with the foundational skill leaders must have: the ability to build trust. It may sound cliche, but trust is the foundation of a high-performing team. In fact, Luke and Hannah argue that dogs have better lives and fewer people die when teams have high trust! When teams don't have trust, the result is lower performance, lower well-being, and ultimately, people leave. If you focus on one thing as a leader, it should be building trust. To download the free guide that goes with this episode, subscribe below: 
Show More
Share by: