Presence vs. Performance

Among baby boomers, I was probably pretty average in my shallowness. I have spent much of my life basing my identity on what I do, seeking to offer a presence of competence and confidence. And in those times and seasons where I wasn’t either of those, I would disingenuously keep that stuffed under my best “presence” while trying to keep my identity propped up as inconspicuously as possible too. The consequence of all this posturing led to shallow, superficial relationships, whether it was social or professional. I found myself pretty lonely a lot of the time and my learning and leadership were also limited and shallow.

Right now many of you millennials are smiling to yourself thinking, “Our generation is not nearly so shallow, we value being more than doing!” And that’s generally true. A person’s story is valued, often told in the tattoos they wear. You desire significance over success, wanting to make a difference in the world. Your peers wear transparency like a badge of honor, putting the good, the bad and the ugly out there for all to see and hear, especially on social media.

Performance Over Potential

But some of your peers have also encountered the consequences of all that "transparency" when they apply for that first or second job after college. Ouch! In a clash of cultures, most boomer/buster leaders and their organizations today are operating in the old culture of performance and doing. The exception would be if you’re among the few working for companies like Google, Zappos, Southwest Air or REI, that value both being and doing. You may not be consciously aware of it, but the underlying fear and frustration you carry as emerging leaders in your organizations is that what you do is more valued than who you are. You are often trained, developed and promoted based upon your performance, not your potential. The weight of this tends to morph one’s identity and presence into performance mode. 

What’s even worse is that perpetuated shallow presence (personally and organizationally) limits learning agility. This in turn impacts and diminishes trust and collaboration, fostering instead competition and hording of vital information. All this bottlenecks not only performance and results, but stifles our very being and the joy of life, both at work and in the world.

From Success to Significance

So how can an emerging leaders escape the kryptonite of doing over being? How do you maintain a healthy presence and identity based upon your being? How do we help our organization embody this shift also? Sure, our mission statements say we value being and doing, but living that out is another story. As a leader and organizational coach, I maintain that the shift from success to significance comes through learning agility. And the first step begins with each of us personally! That’s what we’ll be unpacking in the weeks ahead. We’ll discuss what is known as the fullness of being: body, emotion, language (mind), and spirit. We’ll talk about how to expand our capacity to learn and grow utilizing the fullness of our being, not just our mind and conversations.

I hope you’ll join me on the learning and leadership journey from success to significance because I believe each of you as emerging leaders can and will make a difference. A difference that shifts both the organization you work in, and well as a shift towards a greater significance in the good it produces in the world beyond a simply successful commodity or service.

This post is part of the 31 Days of Leadership Agility series. Subscribe here so you never miss a post.

Coach Dave is a Leadership Coach specializing in elevating emerging and entrepreneurial leaders. He has a Master’s Degree in Divinity and years of experience in coaching. He is a father, and husband to Coach Sue. Learn more about Coach Dave here.