SCRIPTURE: “Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.” (Proverbs 4:25 GNB)
QUOTE: “Keep focused on the substantive issues. To make a decision means having to go through one door and closing all others.” -Abraham Zaleznik
NOTE:
It was Max Lucado who said “a man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.” In order to lead well, you must be focused. Distraction is an enemy of Effective Leadership. The main task of a leader is to direct attention. In order to do this, leaders have to learn how to focus their own attention. When a leader has focus, they’re able to put a spotlight on any of the goals they have set in all of their different areas of expertise.
The focused leader won’t let anything distract them from reaching their goals. Laser focus demands prioritization with the ability to see the bigger picture. Mental overload, constant disruption, sleep deprivation, stress and a whole lot more can mess up your brain’s executive function. When your job is to make tough calls all day, every day, you need a sustained reserve of laser-like focus. Leaders need strengths in three areas of focus: self (inner), people (other), and system (outer) awareness. Inner focus attunes us to our emotions and intuitions, guiding values and better decisions. Other focus smoothes our connections to the people in our lives. And outer focus lets us navigate the larger world. Leaders must learn the art of staying focused.
ILLUSTRATION:
A convex lens can concentrate the sun’s rays to a point and burn a hole in a piece of paper. A hole is burnt in the paper because a convex lens converges the parallel beam of light rays, and in this case, it converges or focuses a lot of heat rays coming from the sun to a single point (where the sun’s image is formed) which burns the hole in the paper. This illustrates what happens when we focus all our resources and energies on our priorities and on what truly matters. A Leader who cannot concentrate his effort and energy towards a specific outcome will not achieve much. Leaders must be focused to be effective.
REFLECTION:
Are you easily distracted? Are you presently focused on and pursuing your priorities?
TWO YEAR BIBLE READING: Catch-Up Day, Psalm 73