Persistence – Not Enough by Itself
My friend Kevin Eikenberry tweeted today that, “Persistence matters for matters of personal achievement and leadership.” 
Since I had just posted a picture blog of Perfectionism in this poems and quips blog, I thought to add my slight reframe about how persistence is important but that it is only one of the key factors in generating achievement and leading people.
Another factor, perspective, is also important, otherwise we will keep persisting in doing the same things in the same way long after the time has come to implement change.
The related issue when it comes to leadership is that engagement and involvement are critical aspects of generating the intrinsic motivation needed to see things through and to keep pushing and pulling through the mud of reality.
So, my thinking on Persistence is that it looks something like this:
Perspective comes from “stepping back from the wagon” and from asking for the perceptions of others about the issues at hand. Pulling on a rope may generate the good feelings associated with working hard, but the rope will also insulate the wagon pullers of the world from the reality of the hands on existence at the back of the wagon. Stepping back will also allow everyone to see new opportunities for improving performance, and implementing new ideas generates the feelings of success that produce continuous continuous improvement.
So, thanks, Kevin, for the impetus to add another round wheel to the thinking of performance toolkit.
For the FUN of It!
Dr. Scott Simmerman is a designer of team building games and organization improvement tools. Managing Partner of Performance Management Company since 1984, he is an experienced presenter and consultant.
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