While developing the 90-day Business Leadership Programme I was reminded about the concept of tunnel vision and the human error we all must look out for. The 90-Day online programme is based on my 7-Step leadership strategy, and when I designed a visual representation of the 7 steps, I wanted to make sure it was eye catching, clear to understand and had meaning.
I then shared content across my social media platforms, staying consistence in my messaging about the 90-day programme, what it represents and who it can help. After several posts I also included the visual representation itself. “Natural progression” I hear you say, and you would be right! HOWEVER, after 24hrs I received a message from my cousin……. there was a spelling mistake!!!! Communication was spelt incorrectly (communication). I had produced it in a software that didn’t have spellchecker, which has also just made me laugh, because as I am now writing this, I have had to correct it back to the misspelt wording!
I don’t use my dyslexia as an excuse or a “feel sorry for me” subject, however I do use it as a trigger to surround myself with individuals I trust and who sit at different layers away from my inner circle. What I mean by my inner circle is the distance from the centre/focus of the running and development of my business.
I had already shared this across several groups where it would be seen by my prospective audience, and 4 business owners had contacted me to set up calls to learn more about the 90-day programme.
We only see what we see, there must have been upwards of 400 views of this up to me writing this post.
What is it Tunnel Vision?
It’s talked about and linked to the concept of human factors (HF) which was first seen in the aviation world and is now used by the NHS, the nuclear industry and many safety-critical industries operating in dangerous environments. Part of my remit during my time with the RAF was as an HF Instructor, creating interactive and thought-provoking workshops to teach personnel the fundamentals of HF, a fantastic awareness tool which achieves a high percentage of success.
Tunnel vision is saturated task focus. Not seeing other options, other people, different directions, and missing opportunities that could lead to better ways of working.
I realised on reflection that I had only shown this image in question to just 2 others, so that makes 3 including me that didn’t see the error. This isn’t a blame game or a negative but an opportunity to turn this into a learning point and re-focus moving forward. Will it happen again…….? Well it will happen less often if I build my awareness and use/trust my processes which I will work on in the next few days.
Can you relate this to your leadership journey?
There is a fine balance to overcome this and set yourself up for a more successful journey, supercharging your leadership, driving individuals, teams, and your business forward.
The process
Surround yourself with people you trust and who’s input you value. They need to share your vision, but at the same time be happy to challenge your ideas, so creating healthy conflict.
I love to start a lot of the work I do with teams and individual clients by saying “my job is to make you think”.
Not at all – negative
We sometimes shut the door, thinking we need to know all the answers and internalise processes which as in the case of my 7-Steps image, can lead to errors or single-minded leadership.
Too much – waste time get too many options
There can also be a negative, going too far the other way. Too many cooks in the kitchen.
Only you can find the balance, and this might change and become a dynamic process that YOU control depending on the situation. Leading from the top.
We are all only human at the end of the day, which is a fantastic blessing of uniqueness, but we are also prone to errors.
If you can relate to this and think you need to create an inner circle, my 90-day online programme is a perfect start, because it’s not just me, we are building an online community of likeminded business owners just like you.
We create a healthy environment to unlock your leadership potential – Look, Listen, Learn, Lead.