Remember Rowlf the Dog from “The Muppet Show”? Sure, you have images of Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, and Fozzie Bear bouncing freely in your memory bank, but no Rowlf the Dog? He may not have been your most favorite Muppet, but now that I’ve mentioned him, you have to admit he was one heck of a piano player.

Why, when tickling the ivories prior to singing “I Hope That Something Better Comes Along” with Kermit in 1979’s The Muppet Movie, he humbly accepts the Frog’s praise by saying, “I’m no Heifetz, but I get by.”

Rowlf was referring to Jascha Heifetz, the Russian-born violin prodigy. This is not the same Heifetz as Ronald A., who in 1994 penned Leadership Without Easy Answers (Harvard University Press), but there’s a connection in here somewhere, I just know it, so stick with me.

In reading Ronald A.’s investigation into a definition of the term “leadership” that takes values into account, I came upon a reference he made to Sidney Hook’s 1943 The Hero in History, in which Hook claims “Some men [sic] are eventful, while others are event-making.”

History shines a light on event-makers. For some, it’s a spotlight, illuminating the great and wondrous innovations produced by a person of action. For others, it’s the single dangling 100-watt bulb of a damp interrogation room, demanding explanation for unwarranted deeds. Either way, event-makers make history — and, in the end, we’re all just history, aren’t we?

By the way, who invented the electric light bulb? That’s correct: Thomas Edison. And who didn’t invent the light bulb? Correct again: Every other unnamed person on the face of the earth. Who do you remember? Who does history favor, then? Thrice correct: The event-maker.

At the risk of inundating you with Cliff Clavinesque facts, wasn’t it Ferdinand Magellan who first circumnavigated the globe in 1519-1521? This Portuguese explorer had devised a plan, refused to accept “no” as an answer, and leapt forward to carry it out — he was an event-maker.

To relate this to leadership in today’s world, sometimes the best course of action is one that no one has ever taken before. Our teams’ new and varied needs scream out for a divergent approach. Sometimes it’s okay to shun the status quo — verily, there are times that it’s preferable to ignore what everyone else is doing, in the name of growth and progress. In fact, some moments appear before us, begging us to obliterate that old standby and to forge a new path. Into the mysterious unknown we go!

As CEOs, directors, managers, or whatever official capacity we hold, often where we lead is off the edge of the map. Captain Barbossa (from Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean”) may warn us, “Here there be monsters,” but our quest for excellence must know no bounds. We cannot let fear determine our paths. We must be willing to excuse ourselves from the masses and serve as pioneers, breaking ground and cutting waves — this is where breakthroughs lie, this is where obstacles are overcome, this is where questions are answered, and this is where excellence awaits.

History will reward the event-makers, and as leaders we have a choice to make: Will we react to the events of yesterday, or will we make the events of tomorrow?

History will reward the event-makers, and as leaders we have a choice to make: Will we react to the events of yesterday, or will we create the events of tomorrow? Certainly, one might argue that this is a pursuit of glory, of achievement, and the garnishment of superlatives. But what argument for glory ever began with a reference to a floppy-eared, mild-mannered puppet?

No, this is an argument for turning over every stone — in fact, sailing far from the beaten path just to find additional stones to turn over — in order to discover what works for the context in which you find yourself, with the goals toward which you reach. In many businesses, the arcane status quo is often silently revered — we do as was done unto us, even if that original doing was done decades before.

New results require new action. New action demands new learning. New learning insists upon new thought. So go ahead — think off the map, weigh your options, and create a plan. (A plan, mind you, is not the same as shooting from the hip; a plan indicates a certain level of forethought and understanding.) Make it happen. History rewards the event-makers among us.

How can we engage in this off-the-map leadership in a safe, thoughtful, deliberate way? Here are three simple ideas to try:

1. Obtain unobfuscatable clarity of the goal that beckons to you. What is your ultimate objective? Obtaining new clients? Increasing sales? Generating more referrals? Creating breakthrough products? With a compelling and undeniable vision of success in mind, something that you fervently and desperately care about, you can free yourself from the ruts of prior actions by viewing the entire landscape between you and your ambition. If what you did before didn’t lead you to the goal, then you needn’t remain tethered to those unsuccessful plans. Allow yourself to scrap the strategies that didn’t yield success and orient your decision-making process to answer the question, “What can we do that will help us accomplish our goals?”
2. Bring the big brains together. Usually, the same type of thinking that got us into the mess is what we try to conjure in order to get us out of the mess. Nope, that won’t work. We need new ideas, different approaches, fresh perspectives – so bring the big brains in for a brainstorming session or two. And when I refer to big brains, I don’t mean the same collection of C-suiter execs who always gather around the table – y’all can still make the strategic decisions, of course, once you collect a robust assortment of options from the pool of talented, intelligent, divergent thinkers from throughout the organization. The best brainstorms don’t come from titled personnel, they come from a cross-section of the entire team.
3. Test the waters strategically. Before leaping headlong into a wild new idea, practice it first. Run it through a hypothetical trial. Conduct a SWOT analysis. What’s the best that could happen? What’s the worst that could happen? If the ideal, stars-aligned outcome is more extraordinarily positive than the failed, perfect-storm result is negative, then that’s a green light. Give it a shot. Track your progress, maintain vigilance, and keep an open mind to the opportunities to adapt and adjust as you go. Often, we discount uncharted strategies because we fear what might happen if they implode – and fear of something that may not ever happen, is an unreasonable basis for making decisions. Optimism, exuberance, tactical approaches, and objective data analysis are much more likely to result in outrageous success.

As for the Heifetz connection: Jascha, a violin virtuoso who wowed audiences for over 60 years, sought perfection at every turn. Ronald A. could have studied Jascha for lessons in leadership: Part of what compelled Jascha’s incessant desire for perfection was his self-admitted horror of mediocrity.

Rowlf the Dog, meanwhile, just got by.

*Author’s note: A version of this blog was originally published in EducationWorld’s Administrator’s Desk and can still be found in its archives.

Pete Hall is the President/CEO of Strive Success Solutions. You can reach him via email at Pete@StriveSS.com.

“Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.”
-They

Yeah, that’s what They say, but you know better. That’s hogwash! Isn’t it?

I mean, we hear a lot these days about “quiet quitting” and “burnout” and the many reasons it’s hard to keep employees engaged, motivated, and productive. And if we listen to what They say, it’s not surprising that one of the most prevalent pieces of advice, both on social media sites and throughout the working world, is to help people discover what they’re passionate about, and to follow that passion.

If there’s truly a deep, personal connection between what we do (our vocation) and what we love (our passion)…cue the angelic voices, pan out to capture the entire rainbow, and bask in the rare glory of that moment. Without question, this is the ideal. It’s not 100% hogwash!

There is some truth to the fact that when we’re doing something we’re passionate about, we have a different sense of purpose, a revitalized commitment, a greater likelihood of hitting that “flow” condition where time stands still and we become absorbed in what we’re doing.

Ideal as it may be, it is precariously rare. And it’s unequivocally unreasonable to expect that anyone would be wildly and madly in love with every element of every moment related to their job and work responsibilities. Shoot, I love what I do, but I don’t love everything about it!

So, what happens when our work isn’t our passion? When our passion and vocation do not intersect, what’s next? How do we remain engaged, motivated, and productive, when some (or even most of) our work is, well, drudgery?

Almost without fail, my clients either a) experience some form of “I’m not enamored with my job” or b) supervise folks who experience some form of “I’m not enamored with my job.” This condition is everywhere, and no one is immune to it. Remember: Work is hard (it’s a four-letter-word for many people), routines can become tedious, the demands can overwhelm us, it is often challenging to see the big picture and/or remain grounded in our purpose at all times, and the people we work with (and work for) can complicate our relationship with the work itself.

Fortunately, there are many strategies we can employ if we’re looking to ramp up our emotional connections to our work.

When you’re not “enamored” with your job, it’s time to shift your focus. Control your thoughts about work, and watch the emotional connection take hold.

Here are four of the top strategies I suggest to my clients. You know what They also say: “Believe it and you’ll see it.” Almost without fail, these approaches help immensely:

1. Shift your focus. Can you focus on what you love? Often, when we start thinking we’re burning out, we focus on what’s exhausting, unpleasant, and unsustainable about our work. We think about what’s dousing our flame. What if we shifted our lens and really started paying attention to what’s good about it? After all, if you’re feeling like you’re burning out, that means at some point there was a fire a-blazing. So, what ignited your passion in the first place? What are some of the elements of your job that are still flickering? We know that we’ll get more of what we focus on, so why are you focusing on what’s wrong? Shift that focus on what’s right, what’s working, what you enjoy, and you just might get more of that!

2. Know thyself. Do you know what you truly love? Do you know what fills your bucket? Do you engage in the behaviors that help you feel invigorated and positive every day? If you don’t, why not? Can you reorient your schedule to ensure that your energy-infusing activities (tasks, people, projects, locations, duties) are part of your everyday routine? Here’s a simple fix: If you’re lifted by interacting with other people and you find yourself working in isolation, get up and deliver a message in person to a co-worker instead of emailing it. Pick up the phone and call your contacts and colleagues. Here’s another: If you enjoy solving complex problems, and you find yourself in a mind-numbing rut, repeating the same procedure over and over, hone your mental lens on all the possible ways you can do what you do more efficiently, faster, and using your available resources. Once you know what fills your bucket, make sure you’re doing those things every day.

3. Look beyond the work. Can you love what your work produces? That’s right, if the work is excruciatingly difficult, tiresome, unpleasant (etc.), think about what doors the work opens, or what sits on the other side of it. The end might justify the means, in this case. All those hours hanging and mudding drywall in one new apartment after another could become monotonous and tedious. However, when this project is over, you’ll be able to look at the amazing, smooth, beautiful, finished product. If you can envision that beforehand, and if you can feel the pride and joy in that impending accomplishment, it makes each drywall screw and each swipe of the blade more palatable. (In dire straits, remember there’s a paycheck lying in wait, allowing you to put food on the table, a roof over your family’s heads, a vacation on the calendar, or whatever else that income does for you.

4. Find a higher path. Can you love the impact of your work? There’s a Mother Teresa quote I just can’t get enough of: “Wash the plate not because it is dirty, nor because you were told to wash it, but because you love the person who will use it next.” Oy. If that doesn’t ring your righteous, noble bell, I don’t know what will. No matter what we’re doing, there’s a recipient of our hard work sitting on the other side of it. When we consider our neighbor’s journey, and when we intentionally think about how our work can positively impact someone else, this promotes physiological changes in our brains linked with happiness. As we know, happy workers are productive workers, meaning not only will we whistle more while we work, we’ll also be more likely to repeat the behaviors that led to the happiness in the first place: working for someone else, the greater good, or a nobler cause.

If you’re feeling stuck at work, try one of these strategies. Shift your mindset and see if that new perspective brings you renewed joy, a boost of energy, and an additional flicker of passion. After all, if you enjoy your work, you’re more likely to be optimistic, motivated, learn faster, make fewer mistakes, and be someone that your boss, your co-workers, and you yourself will enjoy being around.

Pete Hall is the President/CEO of Strive Success Solutions. You can reach him via email at Pete@StriveSS.com.