observe what you see from The Middle…
The clearest way to know you are in The Middle is you are taking fire from all “sides.” In politics, another native Texan, Jim Hightower, said it colorfully — “There’s nothing in The Middle of the Road other than Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos.” If you have driven across Texas, that is not a pretty sight 😉 Being raised there taught me to watch out for things that are “obvious.” The “dumb good old boys” would catch you in a second, leading you down the path to their answer, smiling all the way. The skill it developed was not so much what I was missing but what was missing: observing the perspective, the voice, and the data that would offer another approach. Learned the hard way when we “lost” a competition – and literally had the perfect answer on our team…
… it was in an early leadership class, and the task was to put project plan items in the “correct” order. As a trained project manager, it seemed easy and apparent to me, but as we started sharing answers, it was clear my view was not shared. And of course, being a “leadership” class, we all knew we had to “play nice” and “collaborate” … whatever that meant. So we were all very politely discussing how our answer was better than theirs… and came up with an agreed-upon solution that was… worse than any of our scores (clearly NOT the design of the exercise). And… there was a quiet person in our group who had almost the perfect answer… who never spoke up. The discussion was too loud, too confrontational, so she just chose to observe… and none of the rest of us even noticed she wasn’t participating… and we lost her insights, and her answer…
… is often what is missing…
I rarely find a group with enough great albums, great songs, and members to fill up 7 days. This week I will pull that off. Today, we are up to their 4th album, On the Threshold of a Dream, and it follows the same formula – sorta. It starts with a spoken word poem, here set to visuals from 2001 A Space Odyssey, which had come out a year before. It is written by the visible voice/lead singer you always associate with the Moody’s – Justin Hayward. Another British youth who got a guitar at 9, he simply wanted to find a way into music. He was in a few backup bands where he started to develop a talent for writing songs, enough to land a contract to record a few singles that were….. not well received. 😉 He was referred to Eric Burden, who was forming a group (the Animals), but sadly, they had already picked someone…
He was then referred to the Moodys, who had lost their popular frontman, Denny Laine. With a pocket full of songs, and natural charisma and talent, Justin cemented the lineup that was now hitting their stride. The 3rd album showed that their focus on Progressive Rock was not a fluke, and this album, while not technically a “concept” album, had the same themes and structure. By now, they had trained everyone on the “Moody” sound. Critics often look down on this album as not as strong, but it was their first Number 1 in the UK hit Number 20 in the US, and gathered enough recognition to get all the previous albums and songs played around the world. Justin was and is one of the key “voices” of the band, pulling together The Middle of complex harmonies and lyrics into well-crafted songs that eventually became staples of the Progressive Rock movement…
observe that all perspectives matter.
… the competition was not necessary, but this learning stuck with me. Later, I learned that there are 4 significant communication styles — embodied in something called DiSC. The quiet person’s style likely was one that I heard someone else characterize perfectly. “I don’t even start to talk about my perspective, my view of the “right answer” until we resolve the conflict.” Stunned, the person on the ‘other side’ said – “But all I want is the right answer” – yes… and ” … but your demanding style shuts me out of participating”. I had observed that directly – as the loudmouth in most groups, I had to talk WAY less actively and in a very different style to find the “best” answers. Some people think about your facing… and have some pretty amazing solutions – IF – you ask correctly. As you step into your teams today, observe the missing voices, particularly in our Zoomed-out world. How can you pull them into each discussion and tell them it is… Lovely to See You Again.
I think, I think I am, therefore I am, I think.
[Establishment:] Of course you are my bright little star,
I’ve miles
And miles
Of files
Pretty files of your forefather’s fruit
And now to suit our
Great computer,
You’re magnetic ink.
I’m more than that, I know I am, at least, I think I must be.
[Inner Man:] There you go man, keep as cool as you can.
Face piles
And piles
Of trials
With smiles.
It riles them to believe
That you perceive
The web they weave
And keep on thinking free.
