{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"T.A. Watson.","provider_url":"https:\/\/tawatson.com","author_name":"Dr. Tommy Watson","author_url":"https:\/\/tawatson.com\/author\/admin\/","title":"The Answer Has Been Before You The Entire Time!","html":"\u201cPeople at the periphery of organizations are usually the most creative and often least consulted.\u201d\r\n\r\nWarren Bennis, Leadership Expert\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nDo you want to know\u2026\r\n\r\n\r\nHow to get more satisfied customers?\r\nHow to expand into new markets?\r\nHow to increase the academic performance and graduation rate for students?\r\nHow to live a life of purpose and meaning?\r\nHow to have a safer neighborhood?\r\n\r\nI am often times blown away when I am speaking, coaching, consulting, or training by the number of people who do not ask me \u201chow\u201d I have been able to do what I have been able to do after hearing my story: of growing up in foster homes with drug addicted parents, having a learning disability, living in 25 different homes and being homeless, to going on to Play Big Ten football, winning the McDonald\u2019s Leadership Award, becoming a school principal, obtaining 4 college degrees (including Doctor of Education in Leadership), to being a successful entrepreneur who left a six-figure income in the midst of the great recession.\r\n\r\nEven in our organizations, communities, and personal lives we miss golden opportunities for new discovery and change due to the questions we ask or don\u2019t ask.\u00a0 Questions like \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d or \u201cWhat\u2019s missing?\u201d lead us to discover what the true source of the problem may be (not the solution). \u00a0\r\n\r\nWhat if we asked the following questions?\r\n\r\nWhat departments or individuals are having success expanding into new markets?\r\nWhat is working for the Black males\u00a0who are doing well in schools and graduating?\r\nWhat is working in the midst of the challenges? \u00a0\r\nWho, in our company, is getting outstanding results in the area of customer satisfaction?\u00a0\r\nOr what occurred in schools that helped successful Black males graduate?\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nHence, the reason for my dissertation research that focused on The\u00a0Impact of Teacher Expectations on Black Male Doctors (M.Ds., Ph.Ds, D.Ds., Ed.Ds, J.Ds., etc.). \u00a0\r\n\r\nWho are the people around us living a life or purpose and meaning in our tough economy? And how are they doing it? Who are the people and families who are not involved in drugs, gangs, and violence in many of our distressed communities?\r\n\r\nIn Positive Deviance, the authors (R. Pascale, J. Sternin & M. Sternin) shared that many times we become accustomed to the voices of those expressing, \u201cIt\u2019s just the way it is\u201d and \u201cIt will never change.\u201d Research has shown us that this \u201cIt\u2019s just the way it is\u201d perspective also known as prolonged equilibrium is a precursor to organizational, community and individual stagnation and death. When an organization, community or individual becomes stuck in the space of equilibrium and status quo, they, ignore, and suppress, positive exceptions to the dilemma they are facing.\u00a0Soon these individuals and organizations become irrelevant to the environment and people in which they strive to serve and attract.\r\n\r\nSeeking what\u2019s working shakes the position of status quo to its core for organizations, communities, and individuals. \u00a0If we are to become more solution focused, we must be deliberate in seeking out those observable exceptions; individuals who are outliners and succeed against all odds. You can be assured that at least one individual in a community or organization, with access to the same limited resources, has conquered the problem. This is the person who deviates in a positive way from the status quo and norm. We have to make the invisible behaviors of these individual visible to the community and to organizations. Our attention has to move from what\u2019s wrong to what\u2019s right?\r\n\r\nOnce we discovered what\u2019s working, we must then decide what behaviors will become unlearned in the community and in organizations. There is a Vietnamese proverb that goes, \u201cA thousand seeing\u2019s aren\u2019t worth one doing.\u201d Once we discover from those outliners around us what\u2019s working in the areas of customer satisfaction, expanding into new markets, increasing graduation rates for Black males, living a more purposeful and meaningful life, and maintaining safer neighborhoods, we then have to move people into action.\r\n\r\nWe need a reminder of our previous successes, when we were at our best. Here are a few things to consider:\r\n\r\nRemind yourself about a peak experience or high point in your professional life \u2013 a time when you felt most alive, most engaged, or really proud of yourself or your work.\u00a0 What were the circumstances?\u00a0 Who was involved?\u00a0 What were the outcomes\/results?\u00a0 What was it about you, the situation, the organization, and the leadership that allowed that peak experience to emerge?\u00a0 What did you do?\u00a0 And what do you recall feeling about that high?\u00a0 What made this experience such a high point for you? What will it take to duplicate the same success in your current situation? (Geri England)\r\n\r\n\r\nHere are the four Ds (Positive Deviance) to make the invisible, visible in individuals, communities, and organizations:\r\n\r\nDefine: Define the problem- involve other individuals, communities, or organizations who are close to you in defining the preferred future from the current conditions, list the behaviors and challenges conducive to the problem, establish a time frame to eradicate the problem.\r\n\r\nDetermine: Determine who is having success in meeting the desired outcome despite the challenges others are facing- do research and look at data to identify those outliners, talk to others in the community and in organizations to discover who these people are.\r\n\r\nDiscover: What they are doing to lead to their success? What are the uncommon successful behaviors, establish a list of criteria for those behaviors?\r\n\r\n\r\nDesign: Design a strategy to expand the behaviors in individuals, communities and organizations \u2013 demonstrate successes and provide opportunities to practice the new behaviors.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAre you looking to take your performance to a higher level, focus on action and future goals, create solutions to the barriers around you, learn new skills and implement effective choices, reach your vision, embark on new discoveries, achieve excellence and greater success?\r\nIf so, I am your COACH! Contact me for more information at tawatson@tawatson.com .\r\n\r\nAre you in need of a speaker to inspire and motivate you and your organization?\r\nIf so, I am your SPEAKER! Contact me for more information at tawatson@tawatson.com .\r\n\r\n\r\nBe sure to follow us on Twitter (DrInspiration1) and like our Facebook page at:\r\nT.A. Watson Speaking\/Coaching\/Consulting\r\n\r\n\r\n","type":"rich"}