A post hyperfocussing only on the element of approach, it’s impact and implications. Which role does approach play in day-to-day lifes? What significance does it have, and what difference does it make?
Fair warning, this post is written in a unique style, which I’m trying out for the first time. The core of this post are key learnings which I put in quotations. These serve as the guideline and are the key points of this post. I then guide from quote to quote, connecting the dots.
With that said, let’s kick things off with this first bunch:
We have one thing completely wrong in life. There are no rules, existing out there. There is a way you can approach. And how you approach changes the rules.
Change your approach, change the rules.
These point to the significance of approach. In how many ways does the approach change the situation?
The way we ask a question.
The way we start speaking.
How many different ways of approach exist? In what different ways do you already approach different people, situations & problems, to facilitate different outcomes?
Generally, I’ve seen variance of approach practiced by many, but mastered by few.
If approach is so fundamental, shouldn’t we talk more about it? Shouldn’t we be trained in different ways of approaching, as an elemental way of trial-and-error problem solving?
We spend alot of our time on education, more than 10 years atleast. Yet these finer aspects remain undiscussed.
Moving on…
When you always approach in the same way, there seem to be fixed rules. When you become totally flexible in your approach, you find, there are no rules.
When you keep changing your approach, suddenly there are no rules.
…
How significant is approach? I claim, change of approach is rule-breaking. That is how significant it is.
If we were able to keep changing our approach, we could change the rules of the matter entirely. Taking it to the extreme, there is no fixed situation out there, but there is a way, that you can approach.
If you ultimately care about the outcome, you would try every possible approach, until you get it. I have seen many leaders and company owners taking this stance on problem solving. They do not care how, but it will get done.
Now these leaders are often also rigurous and ruthless in their approach, even though they might go through different iterations. A rigurous approach has its place. But in a nice environment, in a healthy environment, approaches which become personal are much more effective, much more sustainable.
Appreciation happens when somebody changes his approach for you.
Dictatorship means making it happen.
Leadership means having a team making it happen.
That first one you would only be able to relate to from experience - if you had such a boss before. Some superiors do exist out there, who apply this knowledge of approach. And it makes you feel good, seen & respected.
When we talk about leadership, we need to be talking about approach, because we’re talking about people. And a team that is on fire and stands behind you, it will probably do that, because you changed your approach for each of them.
The second one, do we instruct a team, or do we lead them? The difference is subtle.
Finally, in a way, people dont really care what happens. People really dont care what happens, also at work. But only as long, as you approach them right.