Teaching Tactics May Not Be Awful...
Following a model can build confidence and understanding...and improve your golf game
Meticulously following someone else’s tactics improved my golf game and taught me how to be a self-thinker.
I was talking with a couple Product Manager friends of mine at work. One mentioned that he and his team had started doing a particular meeting a bit differently than what was considered “the proper way.” This caught the other’s attention and he asked “what made you decide to do it differently?” After the discussion, I asked, “Is there some pressure you feel that keeps you from infusing meetings with your own flavor?” The response was golden.
The curious Product Manager explained that, while it was definitely unspoken, there was a pressure to perform collaboration, or meetings if you will, in the particular way they were taught in order to be successful. But after some time running them according to the “prescribed model,” and subsequently building the confidence to run them, he was able to realize the true agenda, or intent. Armed with this confidence and understanding, both guys felt the freedom to toss out the bits that weren’t working and infuse the meetings with their own flair. One of them said it this way, “When something didn’t make sense or work for us, I said screw it and we tried something else.” Music to my ears!
I believe in choice and autonomy. I try to be a free thinker. I am the type of coach that can, occasionally to my detriment, focus ardently on the principles and critical thinking instead of tactics and mindless imitation. The purpose, at least in the story I tell myself, is that I would rather people understand the “Why” behind every thing they do and decide accordingly. I’m not in the business of creating automatons. But something about what he said struck a chord with me. “I built the confidence to then start making it my own.” What if following a prescribed pattern is just a healthy form of how we grow. (Don’t judge me harshly, I’m having an epiphany.)
Story Time!
I remember, when learning to play golf, a friend of mine graciously agreed to teach me methods he found successful. He taught me the tactics behind how to hold my hands, how to swing the club, when to use which club, what color polo to wear, etc. Most, if not all of his teaching was tactical. I spent months on the course using the tactics he taught me. After what seemed like forever, I built the confidence mimicking his methods to start making my own decisions. I started to understand why he said the things he said, and I started critically thinking about other ways to achieve those same outcomes. All that culminated in a particular round at a par 3 course where, as I pulled out my pitching wedge in the tee box, he mentioned an iron would be a much better choice. I shook my head and said, politely, “just watch.” We took our initial shots and, when we crested the hill that previously hid the green from sight, there was my ball...a mere foot away from the hole. I finished the hole with a quick putt, and It was the first birdie I ever made playing golf.
You may be asking, “What does golf have to do with Kanban? Nothing. Everything. Because Kanban is actually a set of principles and practices, not a project management methodology. You can take the principles and apply them in life and vice versa. There’s no “right way” to run a meeting. Sometimes learning tactics can lead to empowerment. I learned from my golf game and my conversations about Kanban Cadences that sometimes you have to model someone else's tactics in order to build the confidence to make a process YOUR process. The key is balance and knowing when you’re ready to start breaking rules.
Here’s four tactical steps for how to hack this idea. If following the model or tactics of someone can lead to success, the first step would be to identify someone that is successful at the thing you would like to be doing. Some of you just thought of that person. Great! Now, find out if they have their process written down or if they would be willing to share it with you, either in person or digitally. If it’s someone famous, they probably have a book, blog, or email address. If it’s someone you know, like my golf buddy, just ask them directly. You’d be surprised how willing people are to share these tips. The last step, perhaps the hardest, is to swallow your pride and follow that process as closely as possible until you build the confidence to grab your pitching wedge and land a ball within two feet of the hole…proverbially speaking.
Four Steps Recap:
Identify someone that is successful at something you want to do.
Gain access to the method and tactics they use to do it successfully.
Mimic those tactics to build habits and confidence.
Make it your own!
If you have tips or tricks of your own, feel free to reach out to me and share. I am always on the lookout for ways to do things better and you could be the muse for a future Tidbit. Until next time, keep on learning, keep on growing. (Shout out to Sean Norton for that quote)