My days of being a free taxi service are numbered.
My daughter Alex is learning to drive, and I am blissfully, eagerly hopping into the front passenger seat as she navigates through and beyond our neighbourhood.
Alex, much like her mom, learns through conversation. So, as she negotiates her way around blind corners, down snow-covered hills and through lane changes, she talks it through via a steady chatter of ‘okay Mr. Red Truck, I think you’re a tad too close,’ or ‘I salute you lady in the minivan for signalling before you made that turn.’
Now that she’s behind the wheel, Alex is acutely aware of everyone and everything around her.
“You know, Mom, learning how to drive a car is pretty easy,” she said on one of our Sunday drives, “it’s learning to be aware of all the other stuff outside the car that takes all the work.”
Leading through change in 2022 is a lot like that too; learning to be aware of your impact is the tricky part.
While we all love to brag about our positive impact on the world (my LinkedIn feed is awash with that news – congratulations everyone), if we’re honest in wanting to solve any of the world’s wickedly complex problems, we need to examine our full impact, the good, the bad and the indifferent.
We need to ask ourselves what follows in our wake?
The starting point for me is this core value statement: I want to seek solutions that provide the greatest amount of good with the least amount of harm.
In my work and in my life I ask myself these two questions.
Who do I help?
Who gets included in my circle?
As a journalist, answering the question ‘who does this impact?’ sat at the centre of most stories I wrote.
To answer that question, I would think about the ‘who’ through a series of concentric circles emanating out from the central issue.
The first circle is those who are directly invested. They’ve got skin in the game; most notably, they’ve invested their money (investors) or their talent (employees).
The second circle is those who are directly impacted by your actions; customers, suppliers and neighbours. Every time you make a significant move or change, they feel it.
The third circle is those who are indirectly invested. These are the people and organizations that aren’t directly involved but will enjoy financial benefit if you succeed or suffer a loss if you fail. This involves three primary types of organizations: governments that provide grants, loans or favourable regulations on the expectation of a larger tax base; public and private property owners that lease space in return for rent, royalties or increased property values; and other businesses that benefit from having you nearby.
The final circle is those who are indirectly impacted. These are the people standing off to the side, watching and judging your actions. If they approve they can be connectors, helping you as you go. However, if they don’t like what they see, they can morph into a chorus of naysayers, casting doubt on your words and deeds.
Now let me ask you some questions to consider.
How do you define your circles?
Where do you make waves?
Do you know what follows in your wake?
Why do I ask? Because our problems are too complex – too wicked – for any one person or organization to solve.
We need to come together, each with our specific talents and perspectives to widen our circles so we can create powerful waves of change for us to ride together.
