Can our politics get any more depressing? On both sides of the Atlantic, leading politicians of all persuasions are happy to pontificate and posture but seem temperamentally unable and unwilling to reach out, find common ground and understand what’s actually feasible.
Our politicians may have given up on the art of the possible, but this is still a key skill of any successful business manager and leader for two very good reasons.
First, as my own coach tells me, life’s about success, not perfection. In the end, seeking perfection is the road to frustration and depression. We need to be content with success and delivering what’s actually possible, rather than beating ourselves up for not achieving something that was never realistic.
The second reason is that, as another colleague once put it, our ability to get anything done is directly related to the strength of our relationships with others. No business leader is an island and, in the end, your own success is largely driven by your ability to listen, understand, persuade and encourage others to deliver the best version of your own priorities.
How strong are your skills in finding common ground and how effective are you at discovering and pursuing the art of the possible?
Off The Record: Common Ground by Frank Turner
If there’s hope to be found
We’ll find it in our common ground
And if that ground is to be reached
There are walls around us to be breached
© Stuart Cross 2019. All rights reserved.