Why Can't I Find What I'm Looking For?

Photo by Henry McLin

Some birds have a fascinating ability to see certain food at certain times and ignore other sources. It's called search image and it works like this: if grasshoppers are abundant, the bird forms an image for grasshoppers and will actually ignore other perfectly edible food sources. This search image ensures that the bird efficiently finds what it's looking for. The disadvantage is that it only finds what it's looking for.

As leaders and managers, we often do the same thing. We form images of what we expect to find, then we go out looking for it and, guess what? We find it.

Too often, we look only for things that are wrong, for problems, or for weaknesses in people. And we find them...every single time.

Effective leaders manage their "search image" - they intentionally look for people's strengths, help team members build on those strengths, and position people to work from their strengths.

Einstein once said, "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

We can have so much more positive impact on the world if we take time to make sure fish are in water, encourage them in their swimming, and don't expect them to climb a tree. If we need a tree climbed, better to find a squirrel - but we have to be on the lookout for those strengths as well.

When it comes to your team members, what is your "search image"? How can you become intentional about looking for strengths?

David M. Dye

PS: My apologies to Bono and U2 (and my daughter) for misquoting their lyrics in the title.

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David shares twenty years experience teaching, coaching, leading, and managing in youth service, education advocacy, city governance, and faith-based nonprofits. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer for Colorado UpLift and enjoys helping others discover and realize their own potential.

"Unstuck" Your Team

Photo by Horia Varlan

I had the honor of serving as part of a Colorado city council led by then-Mayor Joe Rice. Joe went on to serve two terms as a representative in the Colorado State House and has served five tours of duty in Iraq as a U.S. Army Reservist.

Even on matters where our opinions differed, I respected Joe for his vision and, in particular, for his ability to quickly refocus teams. When the council and city staff would get bogged down in criticism of valuable ideas, Joe would move the group from "stuck" to productive with one statement:

"We can find many reasons this idea won't work. Let's talk about how it can work."

The simple statement worked because it refocused the team on solutions, rather than problems. Every idea can have problems, obstacles, and unintended consequences. Leaders don't ignore these issues - they help their team focus on how to overcome them.

If we want to find solutions, we have to look for them.

Thanks for your many years of public service, Joe!

David M. Dye

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David shares twenty years experience teaching, coaching, leading, and managing in youth service, education advocacy, city governance, and faith-based nonprofits. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer for Colorado UpLift and enjoys helping others discover and realize their own potential.

I Looked for the Dry Places

Photo by Tim Ellis

When I was a child, a mentor told me the story of two boys walking home after a heavy rain. Their mother had given them strict instructions not to ruin their new shoes by getting them wet. Both boys tried very hard to do what their mother asked. However, when they arrived home, one boy's shoes were sopping wet while the other's were dry.

Naturally, the mother questioned her sons. How did they both walk the same route, both take her request seriously, yet arrive with such different results? The brother with wet shoes answered, "I don't know mom, I tried to avoid all the puddles."

The brother with dry shoes answered, "I looked for the dry places and I put my feet there."

I always imagined these two boys on their journey home. One of them jumping back and forth, reacting to every puddle, trying to avoid them, but splashing in the edges despite his best efforts while his brother calmly ignores the puddles and steps only on dry patches of sidewalk.

What a powerful metaphor for leaders.

There are leaders who, like the boy with wet shoes, react and try to avoid every threat, zigging or zagging, and creating confusion in their teams. Effective leaders, on the other hand, maintain focus on their vision, on the needs of the team, and on meaningful results. These leaders produce clarity. Their energy and the energy of their team flow naturally to what is most important.

The difference between confusion and clarity is often to simply change our focus from "What I don't want" to "What I do want".

And it keeps our feet dry!

David M. Dye

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Twitter: @davidmdye
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David shares twenty years experience teaching, coaching, leading, and managing in youth service, education advocacy, city governance, and faith-based nonprofits. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer for Colorado UpLift and enjoys helping others discover and realize their own potential.

Where Are Your Eyes?

Photo by ArkansasShutterbug

This weekend my wife, daughter, and I went for a drive over Colorado's Trail Ridge Road. Located in Rocky Mountain National Park, this road is simply spectacular. Herds of elk grazed the alpine tundra, marmots scurried for cover as we passed, and fields of snow reflected the late July sun. It was a perfect morning to enjoy the scenery.

"I need you to focus."

The road winds for several miles 11,000 feet or more above sea level and there are several stretches where failing to pay attention to the road could have dire consequences. My wife spoke these words as my attention wandered to a herd of elk with several magnificent bucks, their antlers still covered in velvet. As my eyes turned toward the elk, so did the steering wheel...

As leaders, it is easy to forget that our energy, time, and teams, will ultimately be claimed by what has our attention. If more than a day or two goes by where we are not consciously reflecting or thinking about what we are doing, we can easily lose site of what is most important for us and for our teams.

Two of the most common distractions include:

1. Focusing on problems, not on solutions. We cannot find what we are not looking for. Focus on solutions!

2. Focusing on the past (what went wrong), not the present or future (what can go right). The past is useful for teaching us and can inform our future, but vision and positive change can only take place now and in the future. Focus on what the team does next!

Where are your eyes?

Take care,

David M. Dye

Know someone who would benefit from this post or the entire blog?

Please retweet, like, share, +1, or email it on. Thanks!

Subscribe today or join the discussion at: http://davidmdye.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @davidmdye

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmdye

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David shares twenty years experience teaching, coaching, leading, and managing in youth service, education advocacy, city governance, and faith-based nonprofits. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer for Colorado UpLift and enjoys helping others discover and realize their own potential.