ComputerHunter.org

 

Etch a Sketch or Oil Painting: Where Do You Need to Take a Stand?


Maybe can be a great place. It's full of possibility, it can feel like there's an escape hatch available at all times. Maybe can also be what holds us back the most.

Take the Etch A Sketch, for example. One of my favorite childhood toys. Full of temporary satisfaction, and a great place to play with maybe. Sometimes we get stuck in the Etch A Sketch place in our lives, carefully keeping one eye on the exit. Etch A Sketch life is a great place to try things on: dating without commitment; temping at a job; renting instead of buying; testing a business instead of truly owning it; dabbling at being leader without claiming it. It can be a valuable place-a testing ground on which to get a sense of what it might be like.

There are deeper Etch A Sketch places, too.

I often hear from clients that their number-one frustration is that they feel as though they're not making an impact-or at least that impact isn't palpable. They feel as though they're in the soup in their jobs and lives and that there's no distinct footprint they're leaving behind. They are in the Etch A Sketch place of making daily transitory impressions, but nothing long lasting-there's no momentum of purpose.

And they're hungry for it.

Next comes the oil painting stage. What's scarier (and more exciting) than standing in front of a big white canvas with a tube of oil paint and a brush? You can't shake a canvas and make the picture disappear. It's there in three-dimensional color-beauty, imperfection, ugliness, permanence. There's boldness in putting oil on canvas. There is a place of taking a stand.

It's visible. It claims space. No matter what is depicted on the canvas, painting is bold.

What's the place in your life that has been Etch A Sketch too long? Where are you ready to switch to oils?

Here are some examples I've seen:

A bright, energetic, hard-working IT middle manager feeling as though there were no options for her at her large company after eight years of slow progress. Frustrated and ready to quit.

A successful, highly compensated coder in the financial world who couldn't care less about the field after six years. Bored and ready to quit.

Both had carefully preserved the land of maybe. They were not committed to their current jobs, although they continued to do good work. But they were not committed to finding the better path, either. They were going to work every morning and writing in the Etch A Sketch of life. Shaking it blank and leaving to go home every night.

What does oil painting look like to them?

The bright, energetic IT middle manager decided to quit dabbling in leadership and really claim it. She started carrying herself differently in meetings-speaking up more and taking risks about what she said. She became aware of her body language-she took up space instead of being invisible in the hallways and in groups. She started treating the people at the level above her as peers, rather than being deferential and quiet. She set up ongoing dialogues with the CIO and developed a relationship with him. She voiced a vision about where the IT department could go and was clear about how she wanted to play a leadership role in that vision.

She took a stand. She voiced what she wanted and stood ready to step into it. She was courageous. The result: She became seen and heard by her company and they created a new position for her. She got more money, more prestige, more opportunities. She was even asked to sit on the board of directors of a company.

She's flexing her leadership muscle and loving it. She's painting in oils.

The highly compensated coder also started taking risks. He wanted to claim the space of risk-taking. He bought an apartment building in New York City. Took a real estate course and exam and gave notice to his employer. He traded in short-term security and cash for a longer-term vision. He intends to do many things, including starting a school for English as a Second Language and being an honest, friendly real estate broker. He wants his day-to-day life to be rich with quality, fun, learning, and adventure.

He took a stand and claimed faith in himself. Faith in his ability to navigate ambiguous waters. He's painting in oils and loving it.

For these two, taking a stand evolved over different lengths of time. The IT middle manager took five months to claim her leadership. The coder spent nearly two years taking small steps at various levels of the process. For some, a big leap of dramatic, death-defying proportions is the only way to wake up. It's move or die. For others, purposefully moving forward can be a dance slowly increasing in tempo...a cha cha from Etch A Sketch to oils.

Which is comfortable for you?

If you're already painting in oils in one part of your life, what's the next part that's ready?

Where are you ready to take a stand?

-Elizabeth McAloon, CPCC

Elizabeth McAloon, CPCC
http://www.TheMcAloonGroup.com
Coaching for Leadership, Career Management, Sales and Entrepreneurship







Google News - Top Stories

guardian.co.uk

Preston Hollow is buzzing about the Bushes
Dallas Morning News - 3 hours ago
President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush will return to old friends and the familiar haunts of Preston Hollow when he leaves office in January.
Video: President Bush, First Lady Buy House in Dallas AssociatedPress
Bushes buy $3M house in upscale part of Dallas Seattle Times
guardian.co.uk - New York Times - FOXNews - Newsweek
all 550 news articles


The Associated Press

Rice: 'It's well past time' for Mugabe to leave
The Associated Press - 32 minutes ago
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday that it is "well past time" for Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to leave office as evidenced by the nation's calamitous cholera epidemic and health care crisis.
Mugabe hints at Cabinet without opposition CNN International
Go Mugabe or fact arrest - Tutu BBC News
AFP - Reuters - International Herald Tribune - ABC Online
all 991 news articles


guardian.co.uk

Opposition vows to topple Canadian leader Harper
Newsweek - 2 hours ago
By ROB GILLIES AP Writer | AP (TORONTO) Canada's opposition parties vowed to oust Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government next month after Harper shut down Parliament to avoid almost certain defeat in a confidence vote, but infighting among one of ...
Canadian Parliament closed in bid to keep prime minister in power International Herald Tribune
Canada Prime Minister Stephen Harper heads off defeat Los Angeles Times
CNSNews.com - guardian.co.uk - Xinhua - Seattle Times
all 3,868 news articles


Ghana Broadcasting Corporation

Officials Say Possible Mumbai Attack Planner Arrested Months Ago
Voice of America - 1 hour ago
By VOA News India is looking into the possibility that one of the planners of last week's deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai has been in police custody for months.
India unsettled by warnings of airborne attack Los Angeles Times
Pakistani group under fire after India attacks The Associated Press
PRESS TV - Press Trust of India - Hindu - Reuters India
all 4,629 news articles


Telegraph.co.uk

Thai king's illness sparks anxiety amid crisis
The Associated Press - 42 minutes ago
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Thailand's ailing king, a pillar of stability during his six decades on the throne, failed to attend celebrations marking his 81st birthday Friday as many Thais feared his fading from the scene could deepen the turmoil that has ...
Politics on hold as Thais pray for ailing king Reuters
Thai airport starts normal operations amid political stalemate Hindu
Los Angeles Times - AFP - Inter Press Service - Aljazeera.net
all 834 news articles

Google
 

Copyright © 2006 Computer Hunter - A Division of Arthur´s Job Base