Leadership Lesson: Where there is little anticipation there is little excellence.

“The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.”  (Proverbs 22:3)

Anticipation is the process by which you project what may come and then move to meet that projection. Anticipation is observable probability. There is big difference in waiting expectantly than waiting indifferently. Leaders who simply show up asking for mediocrity.

Anticipation signals preparation. Leaders who don’t prepare won’t anticipate—they can’t. Preparation puts you in the best position to anticipate future outcomes or situations, thus more readily increasing productivity and moving to head off issues as they arise. Issues that are unchecked become problems. A problem unsolved becomes a crisis. A crisis is a sign that excellence is lacking. Most crises can be avoided or quickly solved if they are anticipated.

Excellence is a relentless pursuit of the impossible. You become what you pursue. There is no successful pursuit without anticipation.

There is no anticipation without observation. Your aperture must open wider and wider to be more and more effective at anticipation. The best athletes, the best leaders are the best at anticipating because they move quicker, move better and move earlier to avoid trouble or seize an opportunity.

Leaders who fail to anticipate get punished. And when a leader gets punished, the organization gets shaken. This is called being blindsided. In football, we used to call it getting “ear-holed.” Wearing a helmet significantly limits your vision. If an opposing player hits you in the blindside, you typically get your feet separated from the earth and go flying. Getting hit in the earhole is getting blindsided. To avoid getting blindsided, leaders must keep their head on a swivel, their eyes open and their hands free.

A distracted leader is a leader who will get blindsided. A leader who is hyper-focused on a single element or a strategy, but loses sight of the bigger picture, will get blindsided. It’s pride that most often puts leaders in a position to be blindsided. Pride actually decreases awareness because it increases assurance. Unchecked assurance is arrogance. Arrogance in a leader will spread through an organization. When the organization is shaken the force of the shaking reveals the cracks or blind spots  that pride has caused.

Anticipation is where awareness meets action. Anticipation comes because of awareness. You can’t anticipate what you aren’t aware of. A leader must be relentless in his or her awareness. If not their body, then their mind and their questions most roam and travel the width and breadth of the organization to asses readiness and productivity.

“The wise man avoids evil by anticipating it”
Publilius Syrus

(C) Alex Vann