Strategic Effectiveness: Setting Yourself Up to Win

By Leif Smith

What separates top athletes, coaches, and executives from others in their field? What do they do differently when faced with the same obstacles or circumstances? The answers may surprise you.

Top performers, no matter what the venue or context, establish better habits. They establish effective habits; those habits that produce tremendous results in their lives. These habitual behaviours allow them to go on “autopilot” and position themselves for maximum productivity. They set themselves up to “win” in their lives.

These habits are as follows:

1. Effective Time Management
   
   Effective time management focuses on meaningful task completion rather than crisis task completion. Meaningful tasks are those that directly affect the quality of your life: things such as your relationships, your finances, your career, your spiritual beliefs, etc. Crisis tasks are those tasks, either meaningful or trivial, that need to be completed at an urgent pace. Tasks that would fall into this category include returning phone calls, completing reports, taking the car into the repair shop, etc.
   
   Most highly productive individuals spend their time completing meaningful, non-urgent tasks. This has the effect of actually reducing the amount of tasks that are crisis-based and urgent. Occasionally things come up that need to be dealt with immediately – a friend in need wants some company, the brakes on your car need to be replaced, or your child is sick and needs to see the doctor. However, most of the crises that we as individuals deal with on a daily basis could have been prevented with better time management. Spend time on meaningful, non-crisis tasks in your life and watch as your stress level is reduced dramatically as the number of crisis-related tasks reduce proportionally.
   
   
2. Proactive Thinking Rather Than Reactive Thinking
   
   High-achieving individuals think differently than others. They do this through first establishing a proactive mindset, which means that they are able to anticipate and act accordingly, no matter what the situation. They plan for contingencies. There are three important aspects to proactive thinking:
   
   A. Proactive thinking is future-oriented
   B. Proactive thinking is opportunity-oriented
   C. Proactive thinking is positive in nature
   
   The difference in mental states between individuals that are reactive versus proactive is startling. Reactive mindsets lead to increased amounts of anxiety (due to the inability to foresee change and obstacles) and frustration (due to feelings of helplessness).
   
   
3. People Skills Effective individuals learn to master people skills. Why? Because all of us, no matter how independent, need to relate to others and interact on a daily basis. We are social creatures by nature. Good people skills entail:
   
   A. Responsiveness–good listening skills,attention to facts, faces,moods
   
   B. Empathy–understanding the fundamentals of being human (fear,anxiety, love, etc.)
   
   C. Integrity – keeping confidences (especially your own!), following through on tasks and promises, showing appropriate respect and loyalty
   
   
4. Continuous Learning Successful individuals – those that achieve maximum effectiveness with the minimum output of time and energy – are always seeking to learn more about the world around them. They seek knowledge to better themselves and their understanding of the world around them.
   
   High achievers are frequently able to discuss a myriad of topics – from national politics to local sports to international economics. Part of this may be due to the fact that successful individuals have traveled to many places around the globe, but a larger part of this is because these individuals are curious by nature. They enjoy expanding their intellectual horizons, and this knowledge-seeking tendency allows for their conversations to be characterized by breadth and depth. People who are able to converse about many different topics are both rare and refreshing.
   
   Some tips to expand your intellectual horizons include:
   
   A. Read new books outside your usual area of comfort. If you enjoy biographies, choose instead to find a good bestseller fiction novel.
   
   B. Attempt to meet people outside of your usual circle of friends. Attend gatherings, join a new club, talk to people at your current health club.
   
   C. Spend time each day at Web sites devoted to world news. Become familiar with current issues at home and abroad.
   
   D. Learn a new language. Find a penpal or email buddy from that country to communicate with using your new knowledge.
   

These four habits, of which I have given a brief overview, establish the foundation for successful productivity, and are the hallmark of those who achieve at a high level. Work to improve each habit in your own life, and you will see a steady increase in your productivity and happiness.

Leif Smith, Psy.D., President of Personal Best Consulting, LLC, has worked with athletes and coaches from The University of Iowa, The Ohio State University, and the College of Wooster. He specializes in improving performance and production, and has also worked with corporations such as America Online. Subscribe to the free monthly email newsletter, "Personal Bests: Techniques for Living an Extraordinary Life" when visiting his Web site at www.personalbestconsulting.com.

Published in Networking Today, December 2003.