I’ve been working with a team this week that is in the throws of planning the remainder of their business year. One of the team members observed that her group seems to be getting the lion’s share of the load, and the watchful eye of the tiger. That is to say, she felt her team seemed to be unfairly prioritized above the other teams in her group.
The reason she felt this way is because she looked at the organizational objectives at the CEO level, and many more of the priorities on his list fell on her shoulders as compared with her colleagues. Shouldn’t her colleagues have to work equally as hard as her next year? Is it unfair? Or is it exactly what it should be?
The reason she felt this way is because she looked at the organizational objectives at the CEO level, and many more of the priorities on his list fell on her shoulders as compared with her colleagues. Shouldn’t her colleagues have to work equally as hard as her next year? Is it unfair? Or is it exactly what it should be?
Sunlight vs. Spotlight
While some managers believe in spreading out their resources --just like sunlight, this manager has a spotlight on a particular group. Look at the difference between a spotlight and sunlight.
Honing in on your efforts
This organization’s CEO understands that. He understands that to shine sunlight on the organization is to starve the important priorities of needed resources and energy. Unlike an attentive father who needs to be fair to his children by showering them with unlimited and equal amounts of love, a CEO has to be selective and focus the resources of the organization. He cannot shower every team with equal amounts of resources every year.
He has to take from one and give to the other in each subsequent year - like a spotlight. This kind of behaviour would cause a revolution in most households with more than one child. Not so in a business environment.
Shine it all around
There are some other areas of life where this concept applies.
Your own life fulfillment depends on balancing your energy across your 8 avenues of fulfillment: Career, Finance, Social, Relationships, Physical, Mental, Environment and Spiritual. When you spread your energies on all avenues at the same time, like sunlight, you become overwhelmed and unsatisfied with all 8 avenues at the same time.
When you focus your energies on a few of these avenues, you create fulfillment in those areas and you find ways to sustain that fulfillment. As your fulfillment increases, you may find that your standards in other areas where you have not been focussing rise. You might choose to move the spotlight, and create greater fulfillment in those other areas. As the spotlight moves around from one area to the next, sustaining then rising, sustaining then rising again, you reach higher and higher levels of fulfillment in your life.
The same holds true for the team that you lead. You must prioritize your own efforts towards your team. You must play favourites sometimes, even though your parenting mind thinks it’s unfair. In the long run, your entire team will benefit.
While some managers believe in spreading out their resources --just like sunlight, this manager has a spotlight on a particular group. Look at the difference between a spotlight and sunlight.
- A spotlight has a specific focus. It shines its limited amount of energy on one important aspect of a large universe of aspects. It leverages a small focus to make more out of it’s energy. It can be turned on and turned off. It can be turned around and pointed elsewhere on a moment’s notice.
- Sunlight shines on everything. It contains much more energy, and it has no focus at all. In some parts of the world it is on all the time. Have you seen what happens to people who live in 24 hours of sunlight? They become starved of needed rest, and become mere shadows of who they were.
Honing in on your efforts
This organization’s CEO understands that. He understands that to shine sunlight on the organization is to starve the important priorities of needed resources and energy. Unlike an attentive father who needs to be fair to his children by showering them with unlimited and equal amounts of love, a CEO has to be selective and focus the resources of the organization. He cannot shower every team with equal amounts of resources every year.
He has to take from one and give to the other in each subsequent year - like a spotlight. This kind of behaviour would cause a revolution in most households with more than one child. Not so in a business environment.
Shine it all around
There are some other areas of life where this concept applies.
Your own life fulfillment depends on balancing your energy across your 8 avenues of fulfillment: Career, Finance, Social, Relationships, Physical, Mental, Environment and Spiritual. When you spread your energies on all avenues at the same time, like sunlight, you become overwhelmed and unsatisfied with all 8 avenues at the same time.
When you focus your energies on a few of these avenues, you create fulfillment in those areas and you find ways to sustain that fulfillment. As your fulfillment increases, you may find that your standards in other areas where you have not been focussing rise. You might choose to move the spotlight, and create greater fulfillment in those other areas. As the spotlight moves around from one area to the next, sustaining then rising, sustaining then rising again, you reach higher and higher levels of fulfillment in your life.
The same holds true for the team that you lead. You must prioritize your own efforts towards your team. You must play favourites sometimes, even though your parenting mind thinks it’s unfair. In the long run, your entire team will benefit.
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