A conversation took place between a student and his teacher.
“It’s no good, sir,” said the hopeless pupil to his English teacher. “I try to learn, but everything you say goes in both ears and out the other.”
“Goes in both ears and out the other?” asked the puzzled teacher, “but you only have two ears, boy.”
“You see, sir? I’m no good at math, either!”
Could it be that the boy was simply not paying attention?
I had a very colorful life when I was in High School. Red is mostly the color. I flunked in many of my subjects. I had an attitude problem. I was so bored in class my mind would wonder. And then the reprimand comes, “Francis, pay attention!” Sure; for the next 20 seconds maybe but after that my mind would drift again. I was talkative. Some teachers were so frustrated with me they just decided to ignore me. Others were so mad at me they punished me. I was made to stand in a corner so often they almost named that corner after me. And when my failing grades came in bright red ink on my report card, the one frequent explanation of the teachers was that I was not “Paying Attention.”
My parents were disappointed with me. I was disappointed with myself. But who was I to blame? I was not paying attention.
Do you know that the same problem still exist in the work place.
Many leaders are not paying attention.
Here is a major thought I would like you to consider. Anything you pay attention to expands. Anything you pay attention to grows. You pay attention to the repair and maintenance of your house your place of dwelling improves. You pay attention to your pets and plants and they grow. You pay attention to your spouse and loved ones and their love for you blossoms. You pay attention to your business and it thrives and here is the point I would like to make. You pay attention to your people and you will be amazed at how your people will grow the business for you.
So many meetings and conferences are time wasters because the people are not paying attention to the important things. Some are doing texting. Others are constantly walking out of the room talking on their cell phones. What a waste of time. Do you know that so many wasteful meetings could be avoided if the people would only pay attention?
Now here is another thought.
When you talk to your team, keep paying attention to the end results you want, not the effort to achieve them says motivational speaker Steve Chandler. When you compliment your people pay attention to the results they achieved that you wanted and not the attempt or effort to do it. This is where many leaders err.
Pay attention to the results. Not the attempts. Do not confuse activity with results. The trying should not be rewarded, they certainly can be encouraged maybe should definitely not be rewarded. You have to make sure that you reward end results more than anything else. This way your people will not think that if they can show they are busy, and they show that they are trying and they can show that they are doing the best they can they will be rewarded for it, then there won’t be so much focus on the end results.
Paying attention is powerful stuff. Yet there are many things around us that compete with our attention. Emails. An unannounced visitor. Family matters. Unfinished job. Pending deadlines. All these distract us from the main thing. And then we get frustrated when we miss our targets.
Pay attention. Do not let your minds wander. And when you talk to your team really make an effort to listen. When you are on your job, pay attention.
This was what I did when I went to college. I paid attention. And on Graduation Day, I was rewarded. Top in class and top in school. Paid off big time!
(Francis Kong will be the lead trainer for the Dr. John Maxwell’s “Developing the Leader Within You” leadership program this February 18-19 at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel. For further inquiries contact Inspire Leadership Consultancy Inc. 632-6872614)