Is the for-purpose seat you’re in wobbly? Get balance on these three legs to make more impact
Have you ever found yourself trying to sit on a wobbly three-legged seat during work? It can be a real pain in the…. You spend more time and energy just trying to keep balanced than actually getting things done.
The three-legged chair is a great analogy when assessing how we can make more impact in the for-purpose world. I often use this with my three-part Head, Heart, Hand framework that I teach in all Do Good Jobs' courses and with 1:1 coaching clients.
Let's break these three parts down…
What is the Head, Heart, Hand framework all about?
The first leg is the head pillar, which is about shifting your mindset from scarcity to abundance. Often pesky blocks and barriers build up in our minds (sometimes without us even knowing it!) - ones that say “there is not enough money, time, resources, _____” and that might be holding us back from achieving our goals. We need to learn to rewire these thoughts into ones that better serve us and our causes.
The second leg, the heart pillar, is about moving from aimless to focused - getting crystal clear on your vision and creating a roadmap to get you there. A strong vision serves as a compass to keep you on track and helps you make decisions that align with your goals.
The final leg is the hands pillar which is about action-taking and finding the tools and systems to transform the way you work. Too often, we get caught up in the "busy" trap and don't make time for the impactful work. But with the right systems in place, we can free up more time to focus on what really matters.
Now, you might have one or two of these legs/pillars down pat, but if one or two of them are missing or wonky, it can cause some serious issues.
For example:
If your heart pillar is wonky, you might feel aimless, lost, or stuck, or your strategy is made up on the fly.
If your head pillar is wonky, you might find yourself in a space of lack, scarcity, overwhelm, or self-doubt and worry, with loud stories looping around in your head on repeat.
If your hands pillar is wonky, you might be working all the hours in the day, doing ALL the things, and not slowing down long enough to assess whether what you are doing is still needed, creates more work than impact, and may be it’s a task you should be delegating to someone else or creating a system for.
Below, I’ve outlined some ways each of these legs can be shaky and encourage you to assess where you are on each to get some very quick insights on areas you might want to focus your energy on ASAP.
If you feel like one or more of these pillars need some work to get better balance, check out the end of the blog for a clarity support form to get some direct support from the Do Good Jobs team.
#1: Your heart isn’t beating - murky vision and strategy
Just as a body without a strong heartbeat cannot survive, without a crystal clear vision and strategy, an organisation (and individuals!) may struggle to keep moving forward and achieve goals.
A wobbly leg in this area can look like this:
Having a rough idea of where you are heading (personally or as an organisation), but it’s fuzzy or murky at best (the leg of your chair is a bit short and wobbly) and you don’t look at it or refer to it at all.
Feeling completely aimless when you think longer-term and feel lost or stuck (essentially you’re down to a 2 or 1-legged chair).
Without a clear and compelling visceral vision that you can see and feel, it’s hard to stay focused, motivated and engaged. A strong vision serves as a compass that provides a direction to keep you on track, and when it’s really clear, it can also be used to help make big decisions easier by checking alignment with your vision.
A clear vision is good, but we also need the roadmap to get to it – a useful strategy for the next year, 90 days, 30 days and into the day-to-day activities that keep our heart ticking, pumping blood throughout the body to help you move forward. Maybe you have a clear vision, but lack the strategy and the next baby steps - sounds like your chair has a bit of a tilt to me.
ASSESS YOURSELF: On a scale of 1 to 10, where is your heart/vision and strategy pillar?
1 - murky, aimless
10 - like you’ve seen the future in a crystal ball. You know where you are going, and the next steps, and look at your plan DAILY to inform your work.
On the other hand: you might swing the other way and be a 10/10 on the heart pillar with a crystal clear vision and passion - but if you don’t have the tools to turn this plan into action (hands), or the mindset and beliefs (head) that it’s possible, your chair is still going to be lopsided.
#2. Your head is in the wrong space - living in a space of scarcity and lack
You might have an amazing strategy, and an outstanding set of tools and systems in place, but when your head is in a space of lack, scarcity, overwhelm and doubt it’s really hard to move forward.
A wobbly leg in this area can look like this:
Thinking there is never enough time, money, or resources to do it all!
Feeling like things have to be perfect, or often getting stuck in a cycle of procrastination and distraction
Feeling overwhelmed with how much there is to do
Fear, self-doubt and lack of confidence (aka imposter syndrome)
These are the most common mindset barriers I have seen while coaching many for-purpose leaders over the past few years.
It's said that success (or a more fitting for-purpose term, impact) is 80% psychology and 20% skills. The head pillar is about looking deeper than external strategies and tools and assessing the way we think, the stories we tell ourselves, and the blocks and barriers we build up in our minds that we need to start dismantling and shifting when they hinder rather than help us tomove forward.
"Change your thoughts and you'll change the world" - Norman Vincent Peale
ASSESS YOURSELF: On a scale of 1 to 10 where are you in terms of your head pillar?
1 - you are feeling stuck in doubt, lack, procrastination and fear
10 - you feel that there is plenty of time money and resource out there and you’re confident and ready to get out in the world and learn and grow
#3. Your hands are tied up - you’re drowning in work
Even with all the motivation and clear thinking in the world, if you haven’t got your processes and tools in place, your progress is going to be slow.
A wobbly leg in this area can look like this:
Being bogged down, firefighting and feeling a bit like you are drowning in work - your hands are tied up just getting through the day.
Not having systems and tools to pass on knowledge or delegate to others - everything relies on you and you are a bottleneck for growth and impact.
The hand pillar is not just about using technology tools to free up time, but also learning time and more importantly, self-management techniques to transform the way you work and help you get more done in less time. When you do this, you can free up time for impact-making activities – or your own self-care.
ASSESS YOURSELF: On a scale of 1 to 10 where are you in terms of hand pillar/tools?
1 - You feel like you are drowning - bogged down and busy in reactive firefighting work
10 - you’ve got time for a swim. You have the tools and systems that streamline your work and you have more time for impact-making activities and prioritising your and your team's wellbeing.
On the other hand: Maybe you rely too much on tools? I was in this space for too long! I LOVE my systems and tech, but without a strategy and without the right mindset, it’s like treading water - using your energy to keep afloat, hitting up against mindset blocks or the side of the pool, but not seeing any way to get out.
Where do you stand on the Head, Heart, Hand spectrum?
On a scale of 1 to 10:
How clear is your vision and strategy?
Do you have the right tools and systems in place?
And most importantly, what's going on in your head? Are you telling yourself stories that hold you back or propel you forward?
How to get your head, heart and hands working in unison
The good news is that there are ways to ensure all of your three legs are even and working together. Here are a couple that can help:
Take baby steps - Look at your assessment results and focus on shoring up the shortest leg on your three-legged stool first. Just focus on ONE!
Rather than feel overwhelmed with how much work there is to do, break it down into the next one small step. If it’s going to take longer than 60 minutes, it’s not small enough. Once you have your next task, lock it in your calendar. Don’t wait until you can find a whole free day to work on your strategy, or to put in place a new system - get started with just 10 minutes each day. It’s small, but this creates massive shifts over a year.
Get support - If you are still struggling with any of the three elements, getting support could be the boost you need. Whether it’s helping you nail down your why, banishing those scarcity and self-sabotaging thoughts, or developing a clear plan for action – getting support can shortcut your success and impact. We need more of this in the for-purpose world!
Working with a coach might be a good fit and can help bring clarity to your specific challenges and give you accountability.
Need support?
If you feel like one or more of your pillars needs some work to get better balance, fill in this clarity support form and let me know the challenges you currently face.
I’ll take a look at each form, get in touch if I need more info. Then we’ll send you in the direction of resources that we might have, point you towards someone in our network that might help, or even invite you to a free 1:1 chat with me.
If you are keen to talk about getting support and coaching for the year ahead - sharpening that vision and strategy, overcoming some blocks and building systems, indicate your interest in the form and we can jump on a 30-minute clarity support call to see if it might be a good fit for you.