How the Power of Focus Protects You
Senbere Teferi was the clear winner of the 2023 Peachtree Road Race. Just yards from the finish line she focused on the wrong thing and ran off course.
You go where you look.
From first to third:
Motorcycle escorts exit the racecourse before runners cross the finish line. Senbere Teferi focused on the escort and ran off the course. She recovered but placed third instead of first.
See her try to recover here: Front-runner at AJC Peachtree Road Race takes wrong turn – YouTube
The key to focus:
The secret to focus is eliminating distractions.
I met the helicopter pilot who flew me to the trauma center a year after it happened. It was November 2012. Curt said, “I turn away when they load accident victims in the back. If I looked, the medical team would probably have another patient. I don’t want to know what’s going on back there. I can hear it when things are getting dicey but I try to ignore it.”
Ignore the things that are important to others so you can do your job.
4 Benefits of ignoring things:
- Staying in your sweet spot. Meddling won’t help.
- Freeing others to stay in their sweet spots.
- Dispassionate decision-making.
- Skillful, consistent execution.
4 Ways to ignore others:
- Respect and honor their skills.
- Trust them to execute.
- Think humbly about yourself. Don’t over-estimate your competence.
- Concentrate on your responsibility.
The leader’s focus:
- Equip and enable others to solve their own problems.
- Explain what’s important when people go off course.
- Notice the way people work. Why? So you can support, encourage, and correct in ways appropriate for each individual. Don’t study problems. Study people.
- Help people notice when they are at their best so they can stay in the zone.
Focus in a world filled with distractions makes you remarkable.
What distracts leaders?
How might leaders focus on the right things?
Still curious:
How to Defeat Distraction and Heighten Satisfaction
How to Transform Distraction into Achievement – Leadership Freak
Isn’t the motorcycle escort suppose to be leading you to the finish line.
The motorcycle escort made an incorrect turn.
The runner was focused on the right thing. The problem here is the escort.
Perhaps it was the instructions that were miscommunicated. I think the point here is that if you have your eye on the finish line (goal, whatever) what others are doing doesn’t matter; your path is clear. Just a thought.
Thanks, Elizabeth. Interesting possibility. So many problems do come down to execution. Someone didn’t execute properly.
I noticed in the video that a race official was flagging the motorcycle to run off and there was another one waving to get the attention of the runners. That’s why I concluded the runner was over-focused on the escort and lost sight of the finish line.
It’s just an illustration of something that happens to everyone.
Interesting question, Paul. I can’t recall ever seeing the escorts cross the finish line. I could be wrong.
On the video it looks like the escort is being waved off and the runners are being waved toward the line.
Distractions for Leaders can be complex at times! We didn’t make enough money on that project, so we focus on “the what if'”, instead of “how can we”! The focus takes away from the source! The fact was the ” C” team did the job, how can we make them the “A” team!
The puzzle can be small pieces or 1 large piece, directions are the same!
Most important we understand the process to enhance the journey!
Thanks for your insights, Tim. Yes, it’s true. Identifying an obstacle to be addressed and a distraction can be a challenge for leaders. So many issues call for attention. I’m glad to create an opportunity for people to refelct on these challenges.