PAY ATTENTION!

My grandson Lucas, stood on the steps of the pool crying as his swimming instructor attempted to coax him into the shallow water. I held my breath as I watched from poolside, wondering how the very young teacher would react to a panicked four year old. With wisdom that belied her age and with the skill reminiscent of a seasoned coach, she asked her student the first of a series of four questions, “Lucas, what do you want as a result of swimming lessons?” Choking back more tears, he responded, “I want to learn to swim.” Then came question number two. “When you think about what it will look like when you learn to swim, what are you doing?” “Jumping off the diving board and swimming in the deep end, playing with my friends.” Question three: “So, Lucas, if you want to jump off the diving board and swim like your friends, what will you want to pay attention to?” “I’ll need to put my face in the water, breath when I take my face out of the water, and move my arms and legs.” With a gentle smile, the wise young woman brought her point straight to the heart of the matter with her fourth and final question, “And Lucas if you are doing all those things, what will you need to be?” “I’ll need to be brave.” Grateful and a bit awed, I watched as she urged a now “almost” happy child a little farther away from the steps.
As I watched the remainder of the lesson, I was struck by similarities between the instructor’s questions and a tool we frequently incorporate with our clients. The Pyramid of Intention is useful when a client has identified a goal, knows with clarity what he or she wants, and may not know how to get there or may not know if the desired results outweigh the sacrifices. Once a client determines INTENTIONS (or sets a goal), that determination focuses our client’s ATTENTION, which results in ACTION toward those Intentions. Intention is the foundation of the pyramid representing what is important to the client, and just above is attention-what our client will pay attention to-thus opening the door for action aligned with intentions.

Now think of the client who determines a goal – to influence a positive organizational morale (the intention) and think about the attention piece. The client may want to pay attention to how he/she greets colleagues and direct reports, conducts meetings, creates opportunities for celebration, and/or reacts to unexpected issues and opportunities. After the attention area is considered, and only then, would the client move to action. While there are many ways (actions) for achieving the desired outcome, making attention the intermediate step encourages the client toward a state of “being” – to be proactive rather than reactive.

We encourage our clients toward attention as a first step so that their actions are congruent with their intentions. The attention becomes the integrity of the action and the legacy of the client. Again if we attach this to “being,” our client may choose to be a leader who empowers others, remains open-minded to new ideas, and gives credit to the achievements of individuals on the team.

Lucas will soon be eight years old. He still remembers the summer he learned to swim, and that memory has catapulted him to other risk-taking experiences. Lucas is an achiever. He never mentions the genius of his swimming coach; he often recounts his own courage of that summer. And that is the way it should be with coaching.

By Reba Schumacher, CFR Member

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