Most of the research in leadership tell us that effective leaders have a clear vision for their organization. This includes identifying desired outcomes and working with others to achieve those outcomes. All good, right? Most of the time, yes, but when could working for desired outcomes limit possibility and be potentially damaging? When we as leaders try to impose our will and force an outcome to occur; an outcome we think is the "best".
In being our decisive selves, it is very easy to fall into the "there is one right answer" trap. That "right" answer is often our view of what should or shouldn't happen. Anything falling outside of that vision may be ignored or actively fought against, although it may be an excellent outcome.
What I am talking about is being aware of the distinction between forcing an outcome and letting one unfold without intervention. Allow me to give you a personal example to illustrate my point. Recently a coaching client sent me an email expressing concern about the speed at which he was achieving his desired outcomes for coaching. In a moment of defensiveness, I began to rehearse the questions I would ask him to cause a positive outcome. I was going to force my will and my agenda on him to "make" him feel better about the situation. Fortunately, I caught myself in the act and told myself to let the conversation unfold and be in the moment; experience what happens and respond accordingly. I was able to drop all of my "rehearsing" and just show up fully present. I am happy to report we had one of our most productive coaching sessions. His attitude was completely different than the one I expected. If I had stuck with my analysis of how he was going to be, I would have been ill prepared to give him the support he deserved.
When can you think of a time you have tried to force a particular outcome? What did you do? How did you feel? What was the actual outcome? Whenever we decide on one best outcome, we limit the possibility of there being other great outcomes. It's like looking at a website of shelter dogs and deciding ahead of time which dog you want before you even meet a single dog. You may end up missing a dog that would be a better choice. I don't want you to miss any dogs :).