Fire fighting or fire prevention?
Many high achievers love fighting fires – they swoop in, figure out what’s wrong, and solve the problem. They get an adrenaline high, and positive feedback for saving the day.
What isn’t regularly recognized is the person who put in place a process that prevented the problem from ever occurring. Nothing happened, so it seems like they didn’t do anything, because it’s harder to see what fires would have erupted if they hadn’t anticipated those problems and pre-emptively handled them.
I work with a lot of executive clients who are transitioning from fighting fires to fire prevention, and it’s emotionally hard on them because they no longer get immediate positive feedback.
I’m writing this post to remind everybody that anticipating problems and preventing them is quiet, unsung work, so please appreciate those people in your organization.
#executive #leadership #emotionalintelligence