In
The Focused Leader, Daniel Goleman explains why the ability to
focus is essential for leaders. Focus on yourself, the people around you, and the broader society.
"Because a failure to focus inward leaves you rudderless, a failure to focus on others renders you clueless, and a failure to focus outward may leave you blindsided." (Goleman, 2013).
Inward focus is paired with self-awareness in Goleman’s argument. Self-awareness means being in touch with your
authentic inner self and listening carefully. If you listen carefully, you may find out what it is that requires your utmost attention and focus. Then you can plan and execute on that, especially taking into account the
reason why you intend to focus on that activity.
Focus is an incredibly powerful capacity in the current world, I would argue. The ability to focus may make a difference in the effectiveness of the work you produce. Focus is the ability to systematize your core processes and manage them intentionally, as opposed to
hyperactively collaborating through instant messaging. You may be underestimating how much of our work happens through instant communication tools, without thought-after systems behind it.
Try to attend a university lecture of whatever level (undergraduate, graduate) and you may experience owe at the amount of constant messaging and multi-tasking people are attending to while sitting in a high-end ergonomic chair in an institution they are paying thousands of dollars to attend. Everything but listen to the lecturer. As if there was a sudden increase in status if you were continuously chatting with the outside world and doing something completely unrelated instead of listening and opening yourself to learning. An increase in status from letting yourself be perceived as “busy” while you type your soul out on the keyboard. Busy work is different than important work. Focus is necessary to do things that can make an impact. The ability to focus can be cultivated and increased through deliberate practice and intention.
Can you let go of the small talk you are having on Whatsapp with your tenth date of the month in order to focus, right now, just for thirty minutes?
