Transition 'to' and 'within" - a powerful lesson

A critical lesson learned in my journey of "how did I learn what I know" is the learning about transition - transition to a new position and transition within a position. 

Transition, teetering on the obvious, requires a mindset - a mindset that balances unprecedented “learning” about the organization, the people, and culture with adding value to an organization, to the people you support and the people you lead.  Transition also requires knowing about oneself.

Transition sets the stage for "followership".  Whereas transitioning to a new position is about you and "in" your control, transitioning within in a position is about those you will lead and those who will follow.  It is also "in" your control.

In both aspects of transition there is "unprecedented" learning.  This requires first and foremost, as Covey made so infamous, "seek to understand before being understood".  It involves asking more questions than giving answers.  It involves not only hearing but listening; seeing as well as observing; and resisting making quick judgments or conclusions about the intentions, decisions, judgments, motivations, competence, or etc. of staff, or a department or the organization as a whole. 

I have learned that though situations may appear to be similar to a past experience they never are.  Context, the dynamics of human interaction, and the fluidity of factors from internal and external forces make every situation unique and a "first".  Therefore, constantly and consistently learning is critical and essential.

Consider "hearing and listening" - Hearing is easy listening isn't.  Hearing is all around us.  We hear thousands to hundreds of thousand of words daily.  Hearing is seldom an issue.  The lack of listening however is the problem.  Hearing requires a set of skills.  These skills include wisdom, discernment, sense making, and self-control to name just a few.  These develop over time.  They cannot be rushed.  There are no short cuts - no quick reads or sound clips that can impart the "experiences" underpinning each of the aforementioned skills.

"Seeing and observing" similar to "hearing and listening" also requires experience.  We “see” endlessly during our non-sleeping hours.  Yet, "observing" is more involved, more attention to detail, and making connections as well as interpretations resulting in sense making of how what may appear to be disparate, isolated, or disconnected "things" are actually, in fact, connected.

In neuroscience we understand that our response to stimuli is the constant search for a connection to prior learning to assist us with categorizing or classifying the new stimuli - making sense if you will.  Anchoring new stimuli to create to new learning is in part how we are wired.  If there is no prior learning or something to connect to two things occur - the new stimuli is discarded or the stimuli results in new learning and becomes part of our wiring. 

I am not a neuroscientist nor do I fully understand the complexities of neuroscience.  What I do understand is that the skill of "observing" requires experience - prior learning. 

This leads me to a critical component of transition – self-discipline.  Resisting making judgments or drawing conclusions about intentions, motivations, or the like is challenging especially in light of the need to add value instantly to an organization. 

Our need to transition to as well as within a new position includes the need to validate why we were selected or appointed.  Hence, the rush to conclusions and etc. are defined and determined by an understanding of the role of discipline.  One can balance "self promotion", the telling of your story, or emphasizing your import and what you will do to "improve" this or that with the words you use.

One example that remains vivid and relevant is a critical conversation from a mentor as I transitioned to a leadership position many years ago, he said "you need to use 'our' not 'my'; 'we' not 'I' in every opportunity you can".  "People don't want to hear about what 'you've done'.  Rather, it is what 'we' did or what 'our' team accomplished". 

Transition, in part therefore, is about the words we use.  Listening rather than just hearing, observing rather than just seeing, and exercising discipline resisting premature judgments or conclusions.  These and more are lessons I have learned along the way to "knowing".  Though without hesitancy I acknowledge that I am still learning, still developing skills, knowledge, and experience in these areas, I nonetheless know that I am where I am as a result of learning resultant from transition.