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RETAILOBSERVER.COM SEPTEMBER 2015 42 Libby Wagner Culture Coach R ecently, I spent two full days with some of the top scientists in the U.S. Their work is solving the world's biggest science questions and problems. You know how people often say, "it's not rocket science?" Well, in this case, it is. These are some of the smartest of the smart, when it comes to the scientific process, analytical thinking, research and development. They come from many different fields of science, including biology, nuclear physics, technology, and environmental science. They've had years of experience and many had formal leadership and management training in their past history. One of my participants was a former Brigadier General. What could I possibly offer to these leaders? Often, we become overwhelmed by our increasing work demands, our triple-booked schedules and our sense of never being caught up, never having enough time. Initially, we might be excited to read the latest business book on effectiveness, managing, or communication, but in reality, once you've reached a particular level of competence in your role as a leader, you actually don't need new leadership skills. This is not to say I don't believe in learning—I DO! Learning is a lifelong venture and an essential pursuit for the greatest of leaders, not to mention the most well- rounded of people. We are learning beings by default. We can't help ourselves, unless we get stuck in our thinking. What we often need is a shift in mindset, which is a different sort of skill set all together. We need to break out of our ordinary ways of thinking and seeing and be willing to explore the extraordinary margins of our own creativity and innovation. And, the tricky part is we cannot shift our mindset or break out of old patterns of thinking and doing if we don't take time to do it. I like to call this white space. For a writer or a poet, white space on a page means something. It's not actually empty; it's actually full of possibility and potential. Most leaders I know do not have enough (or any) whitespace because they are constantly in demand for their time and their presence. The buck stops with them, and they often commit to long hours and long weeks. Typically, when I suggest increasing the white space in their lives and days, I'm met either with a blank look, or a smirk of suspicion. Nice idea, Libby, just exactly how am I going to do this? You have to get creative, actually, because this is counterintuitive: how can you create white space when every moment of your days and weeks are committed? And even if you have this white space, what do you do in it? Here are a few ideas that have worked for me and other leaders I know: 1. Put it on the calendar. Ideally, could you set aside an hour a day? Sometimes people accomplish this by getting up a bit earlier, scheduling a tech-free walk, ending their days at a particular time. What could work for you? If you can't do it daily, what about once a week? Or even once a month? I set aside one Friday per month that has nothing scheduled. This is my "creative" day. What sort of ritual can you create around your own white space? 2. Blue Sky. No technology: no email, cell phones, maybe even no music. Stare out the window or at the horizon. Think "blue sky" and "what if?" Do some day dreaming, or ask yourself a Beautiful Question to ponder and consider. 3. Arrest your attention. The modern organizational life is not conducive to focus and attentiveness. What do you do to be mindful? How can you stay in the moment, fully present and alive with what is? I use poetry to arrest the attention of my audiences and groups because it changes the state of our listening and paying attention. If we listen closely, we can be fully present to a different sort of conversation or experience following that time of arrested attention. 4. Reflect and self-assess. Take time to take a look at what's happened, good or bad, and ask yourself some questions: what do you think about this? How do you feel? What have you learned? What do you wish to change? Use a journal for free writing or proprioceptive writing to discover your thoughts and explore new ideas as they build upon your foundational experience. 5. Give it a Try. Just try it. 30 days? One Quarter? See if it makes a difference. Creating more white space has the high probability of making your work as a leader more fulfilling, wholehearted and effective. YOU DON'T NEED NEW LEADERSHIP SKILLS: YOU NEED WHITE SPACE RO RO Libby Wagner, author of The Influencing Option: The Art of Building a Profit Culture in Business, works with clients to help them create and sustain Profit Cultures. www.libbywagner.com

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