Step 2 of Finding Your A Game – Agency

Have you ever looked in the mirror and said…I wish I was doing more or further ahead of where I am today? If so, you’re not alone. I’ve been there and this “voice” still pops into my head every so often. I actually think it’s a healthy thing to get this feeling once in a while.

I shared my story a couple weeks ago in this post. I was almost fired just eight years ago and I was super fortunate to have the chance to resurrect my career and even get promoted to lead a sales team four years ago.

Two things changed for me. First, a mindset shift where I decided to serve first and add value over everything. I was selfish before then and even with some levels of success, I wasn’t going about things the right way. And, second, I cultivated an approach to getting better on a daily basis.

Through this season and beyond, I got really curious about learning from others and what they were doing to move closer to their potential. I started to study and interview a lot of high performers and some common themes kept coming up.

For those of you who’ve watched any of the videos I’ve published or listened to the podcast, you know the name of it is With Intention. Here’s what I’ve learned and it’s by no means perfect. I found that any intentional action I took led to something. Same for any coaching I was doing. By the way, as a sales leader, that’s what I consider myself – a coach. Forget about the title – coaching is coaching.

With the right focus and some effort I get to see people transforming. It’s like sowing seeds. Like a farmer, you plant your crops and they grow. Some take longer than others and that’s okay but I feel like the intentionality is crucial and more often than not, leads to a positive result.

So, let me share step 2 of the Intention Flywheel. I call this step, Agency. Remember, the first step is Awareness. You can read more thoughts on that here.

Agency is taking control of what you can control. It’s ownership. Extreme Ownership as former Navy Seal, Jokko Willink, likes to say. Once you know where you stand (awareness), the next step is taking ownership. This is agency.

I was working with my coach/builder, David Deck, a couple years back and he challenged me to stop and write. He had me draw a circle and then a smaller circle inside. The outside circle was called the circle of concern and the inside circle was called the circle of influence. He challenged me to only focus on what I could control. Only on that circle of influence. It was a brilliant depiction and light bulb moment for me. It’s easy in concept but is much harder to execute. I often think back to that conversation and that drawing. Simple, not easy.

So, I ask you, are you taking ownership for where you are and where you’re headed? Are you controlling what you can control? This step is an important step. We all have the potential to impact many lives in a meaningful way. That’s right, I’m talking to you 😊

We’ll cover step 3 (Ambition), Step 4 (Action) and Step 5 (Adjustment) soon.

Please hit me back with any thoughts. I’d love to hear from you!!

Have a great weekend!

P.S. Don’t mind my bad sketching below. 😉

The Intention Flywheel