Focused on success? Now focus your attention.

Number 202

Perhaps best known for his book, "Emotional Intelligence," psychologist and prolific writer Daniel Goleman has had an enormous impact on how organizations understand leadership. In "Focus - The Hidden Driver of Excellence," Goleman says leaders, and all the rest of us, must learn to better direct our attention if we want to get things done and live full lives.

Focusing our attention in the midst of constant distractions is a big challenge in today's workplace. But neuroscience and other research demonstrates we can learn how to focus more clearly. It turns out that attention can be trained, like a muscle. Work it well and it can grow. "Focus" is not a how-to book. But in a series of essays, Goleman offers research and examples spotlighting the "elusive and under-appreciated mental faculty" of attention.

Goleman says leadership and a well-lived life require you to be nimble at focusing your attention in three ways: on yourself, on others and on the wider world:

Focusing on yourself.

It is now recognized that effective leaders typically have a high degree of what Goleman labeled "emotional intelligence." And an essential component of emotional intelligence is self-awareness. You are self-aware if you can recognize your moods and emotions and understand their impact on other people. More elements of emotional intelligence are self-management, empathy and social skills like relationship building and networking.

Goleman is intrigued by the synergy between emotional intelligence and increasingly popular approaches to training attention, like promoting "mindfulness." One way to understand mindfulness is to consider the alternative -- mindlessness -- that occurs when our minds wander and we lose track of where we are. Mindfulness training helps us build the capacity to stay in the moment and choose where we want to send our focus.

Goleman describes a mindfulness program where second graders learned to become more relaxed and able to focus on their work as a result of regular deep breathing exercises. The children lie on their backs and listen quietly as they are led through deep belly breathing. They silently count "one, two, three" with each long inhalation and exhalation. Not only can children learn in this way to be more self-controlled and aware of how they are feeling, but so can adults of any age.

Focusing on others

Excellent leaders tend to be the ones who keep some focus on other people. They try to understand things from others' perspectives. And they have the ability to sense what others are feeling and to recognize what they need.

People who lack social sensitivity are easy to spot. They may be bullies or simply unaware of those around them. Goleman says that as we move into leadership we must be aware of a trap. Research suggests that as we climb up a hierarchy we tend to lose our focus on lower ranking colleagues. But where a leader is able to maintain a balanced focus, including empathy, the result can be greater employee engagement and better team results.

Focusing on the wider world

Goleman urges today's leaders to take a wider view, to consider the environmental and worldwide economic implications of whatever they may be doing. He says leaders with a strong focus on the big picture are not only good listeners but also good questioners. They step back from immediate challenges and take a longer view. They inspire innovation by making new connections within patterns that at first may seem to be unrelated.

Balanced leadership requires systems thinking, but it is seldom easy. Goleman says that a blind spot in the human brain may contribute to the problem. Our ability to focus in and fine tune is part of the apparatus that has paid off in human survival. But our brains haven't evolved to think about huge systems, and learning to do so can be exhausting.

Sometimes it's not easy to know where to focus, whether on immediate problems or the broader future. But Goleman says we can build the ability to focus our attention, and get better at making choices about where to look.