Challenges to test whether you are being for-the-business:
- What actions and communications would serve the business goals right now?
- Is what you are doing (or what you feel like doing) useful here? Does it further the business goals?
- Are the things you are focusing on fair, data-driven, and future-focused?
- If past-focused, are you using the lessons of the past in a way that is focused on creating a better future?
Remember, these challenges are part of the three-step reset process discussed in Lesson 4 in regards to being for-the-business. Here it is:
First, identify whether you are being triggered. Second, pause and consider whether any of the filters described below are present in how you are making sense of the situation. Third, use the list of challenge questions provided here to test your approach.
Let's walk through each step.
First, ask—are you being triggered?
If you find yourself upset, negative, or reactive, you might be triggered. As we all know, the workplace can be a breeding ground for conflict. One key difference between having a workplace that leaves you triggered and one that is stimulating is whether you are self-aware about the things that trigger you.
Do you know what your triggers are? A trigger can be a word, a behavior, or anything that stirs up negative feelings.* Pay attention to what does this for you. Common examples include: Meetings where there isn't an agenda; people arriving late; certain manners of speech; and so on. Instead of reacting to what triggers you with anger, words, or an outburst you might regret, you can use the trigger as a flag that it’s time to hit the reset button.
Second, check out whether any of the following filters is at work in your mental landscape:
- You want to teach someone a lesson or get your pound of flesh
- You are “should-ing” all over yourself (e.g., he “shouldn’t have gone against me in the meeting” or “I can’t believe she interviewed for that job I wanted, she should have known I was interested”)
- You have feelings of entitlement (e.g., “I deserve _____”)
Yes? Then take a closer look. These filters are all signs your focus is not for-the-business right now. (Instead, it sounds like it's somewhere halfway up that darn ladder of inference!)
Third, use these challenge questions to tune your approach:
- What actions and communications would serve the business goals right now?
- Is what you're doing (or what you feel like doing) useful here? Does it further the business goals?
- Are the things you are focusing on fair, data-driven, and future-focused?
- If past-focused, are you using the lessons of the past in a way that is focused on creating a better future?
What you give voice to, the language you use, and the actions you take, are all windows into the quality of your thinking. Use the three steps described here to reset, ground yourself, and get back to being for-the-business. Now that’s how Challengers demonstrate integrity and practice being executive.
*Note, our use of the triggers concept in the CCO is not to be confused with the concept of trigger warnings (alerts that professors, journalists, and other types of presenters are expected to issue if something in a course might cause a strong emotional response). Here, we are simply referring to something that prompts an emotional response in you which distracts you from your purpose and knocks you off your best game.