Are You Pushing Your People Hard Enough?  The Potential of Personnel Productivity from the Perspective of Einstein.

As executive coaches, we’re often asked about expectations from the leaders we coach.  Specifically, are the expectations that leader’s possess realistic, accurate, and relevant for today’s workplace and workforce?  Furthermore, what’s the best way to manage those expectations?  Consider the work of Einstein and several expectation solutions reveal themselves.

Einstein was arguably the greatest “thinker” of the twentieth century, and one could/should argue that he was the greatest of all time.  His work in physics has been the basis for much of the progress of mankind.  Even more impressive than the outputs from his thoughts is the process from which these outputs were generated.  The productivity of Einstein’s thoughts was truly amazing!  For example, from the fall of 1915 to the spring of 1917, he generalized relativity, found the field equations for gravity, found a physical explanation for light quanta, hinted as how the quanta involved probability rather than certainty, and came up with a concept for the structure of the universe as a whole.  All the while battling stomach ailments that had him bedridden at times, going through a difficult divorce, and being separated from his kids.  Dennis Overbye, noted science expert of the New York Times called this period “arguably the most prodigious effort of sustained brilliance on the part of one man in the history of physics.”

So often in our Executive Coaching we are presented with the leader’s challenges when it comes to expectations, a few of which are worth mentioning:

• How to deal with difficult conversations (or the more popular “crucial conversations” and “crucial confrontations”)
• Establishing the proper success measurement criteria
• Having members of the staff take initiative, both at the leader and non-leader organization level
• What to do when you realize the people that “got you here” won’t be able to “get you there”

It is in these moments of expectations, and the time period after, where as an executive coach we work with the leader to establish the potentials regarding what could be.  In other words, what is it that they really want and how will they go about getting it.  Far too often, a leader is limited in their thoughts of what can be accomplished by self-imposed barriers to progress.  The leader simply can not remove themselves from their current reality in order to effectively assess the future potential possibilities.

So how was Einstein able to complete such a range of activities, and what can you do as an executive to increase your expectations (as well as the productivity of your team)?  The following five expectation enhancers should be considered:

1. Multiple Tasks Require Multiple Thoughts – Einstein was a master at being presented with several tasks, but deriving a single outcome.  While his thoughts might have been scattered, he had the ability to simultaneously focus on several items in order to produce solutions.  Executive Coach Question – Are you able to focus simultaneously with intensity on several tasks?
2. Distraction Yourself – Einstein was known to escape from his current reality when he could not derive a solution by playing the violin.  He often said that the answers to his dilemmas would come to him while playing Mozart.  Executive Coach Question – What activity do you engage in when you need to have your best thoughts?
3. Visualize the Elements – Thinking spaciously was the key to Einstein’s abilities to see what was possible.  He was able to break down the complex into simple “real world” analogies.  It was in this ability to visualize that he would then set out for solution.  For example, his theory of relativity was partially constructed when he was a boy by a vision he had of a speeding train and the actions of the participants on it.  Executive Coach Question – Can you see what is possible in your organization?
4. Seek Support – Einstein, while a steadfast loner spending countless hours by himself while developing his theories, would in the end present them to family, friends and trusted colleagues for verification.  While you might not have the ability to contact a Nobel Peace Prize winner such as Madame Currie to help manage your expectations, there needs to be a “sounding board” to which you can get perspective from. This board should be external to your situation.  Executive Coach Question – Who will you verify your expectations with?
5. Challenge the Norm – There are many lessons that can be learned from Einstein, but perhaps the greatest was his ability to not take what was known or thought of as a given.  He continued to almost rebel against the current norms of the time and push towards elevated accomplishments.  Often criticized, ridiculed and labeled, he was Teflon-like in that he did not let the thoughts of others regarding the accepted influence his thoughts of expectation.  Executive Coach Question – What are the norms in your environment that you will challenge?

The leaders who can successfully manage their expectations and follow-through on them typically achieve much more than was prevsiously thought possible.  The five tips presented are not an exhaustive list of the many characteristics that made Einstein successful.  Instead, they are intended to offer a glimpse at the possibilities available for leaders to set expectations beyond where they normally otherwise would.  After all, the one sure method for accomplishing less than full potential is to establish expectations within a “comfort zone” or far below what is possible.

For more information on how the Executive Coaching and Organization Development techniques at Pathos Leadership Group and Sam Palazzolo CPLP, PCC can assist you and your organization, contact us at 877.455.3133 or info@pathosleadershipgroup.com.