Self Brilliance Leadership Article
Are You An Arrow Catcher?Are you an arrow catcher?
You're talking with a co-worker about your great idea. "Why don't we consolidate all the outside phones to one person instead of rotating this responsibility? That one person could concentrate on satisfying outside customer needs and the rest of our work wouldn't be interrupted."
"We don't have time to make that kind of change," someone points out. "There is too much going on. Besides, who would want to handle all the phone calls?"
An arrow has taken flight and landed squarely in your back. Are you an arrow catcher?
New ideas are important to the growth and success of our work. We can problem solve better, meet changing demands, and improve our bottom line. It can be risky to present new ideas, yet critical to build our success.
As new ideas germinate you must be gentle. Most of the time a new idea comes from an emotional level. It takes time for its value to become apparent. To quickly confront a new idea with a barrier or ask for data is like launching an arrow.
As new ideas are suggested in a group, many folks notch their arrows, pull the string back, and kill the idea along with the sender. The idea may take many hits before it dies. Some are left to bleed to death on the side of the road.
Finding new ideas is like panning for gold. You lift a pan full of rocks. Most you won't use. It takes time to sift through the unwanted items to find the gold. An arrow shot in the arm will force you to drop them possibly losing the new idea forever.
We've all been there. We present a new idea only to be shot with an arrow. Our reaction can be denial that someone would dare take aim at the wonderful idea. We are often angry with the sudden loss of our brain child. After too many arrows we learn to keep our head low so we don't become an easy target.
We build islands of comfort when we have been hit often enough. It's the space or rules where we know we will not get shot at. We know what to expect from others. Yet it's an area where few risks are taken and no new ideas are generated. We become stagnant on these islands. We don't want to cross the moat that surrounds us. We know that we will be easy prey to the archers on the other side.
I conduct adventure training. We challenge folks to try new ideas and behaviors through physical and mental challenges. It is important that as a group we build a safe environment for this training. Not only do we pay attention to the physical safety, but the mental area as well. This allows the island dwellers to safely wander off their islands. Folks learn how to present new ideas and not get shot at. We also tutor archers on how to disarm their bows.
Now it is your challenge is to help create an arrow free environment. Use these three steps to get you started.
View your own behavior. See if/when you shoot arrows. Stop it!
Make allies. When you're hit with an arrow, have someone you can call on to remove the head and prevent infection. Allies can even help form a shield.
Recognize the arrows. When you see it coming - DUCK! Seeing the arrow and recognizing where it came from can help you address questions and keep your idea in the open. Sometimes you can elect to present the idea when the archers aren't present.
Become an arrow catcher - someone who asks folks to park their quivers at the door, intercepts arrows headed to colleagues, and don't use arrows themselves.
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