I don’t know exactly what I want
You know something feels 'off' but you're not sure what it is. When you try to figure it out, your thinking goes round in circles. This is very common when leaders have been in a role for a while, or when they, the business or the industry reaches an inflection point.
I call it "mental wheelspin". To get what I mean, think about physical wheelspin. The kind you get driving up a steep, snowy driveway. The wheels are spinning and they can't get traction. However skillful the driver, there's an angle where the wheels are going to spin regardless. Even with four-wheel drive. Even with traction control. More revs make things worse. The car isn't going anywhere.
Very often the solution is either to dig the snow out from in front of the wheels, or put down some carpet. Then the wheels can get enough grip that all that energy can be converted into forward motion. So how do you get mental traction?
Mental wheelspin is caused by going over the same old ground with the same old assumptions and the same old points of view. When you do this, you can only seem to think of a few options, even though there are almost certainly many more just outside your awareness. The harder to try to figure it out, the more you cycle through the same few ideas. In these situations, there's no substitute for interactive help. You need someone to help dig out the old assumptions and to ask you new questions so your thinking can escape from its circular trap.
Either James or Alex quotes about my questioning.
When I work with clients in this way, the business objective can be almost anything. For some examples, click here.
And if you ever find yourself looking for renewed mental traction, request a call.