How are we in May? Seriously. The year is flying, and every senior leader I am speaking with is saying the same thing, that there is no time to breathe, gather or reflect before the next thing lands.
When the pace is this relentless, understanding your default lens to high stakes, and whether it is working for you or against you, is one of the most useful things you can give your attention to right now.
Which is why, ahead of my book launching on 16 June, I’m giving you an early and exclusive look at a framework from Part One, on what high stakes really means in today’s world of leadership. Consider it a thank you for being part of this community.
It’s The Five Lenses of High Stakes, drawn from my research interviewing twenty five exceptional senior leaders, including C suite leaders, Olympians, Academics and former Military Officers, about how they define and lead through the moments that have tested and shaped them.
Enjoy! And keep reading to discover more about my new podcast and how to sign up to receive Chapter One before the official book launch in June.
There is no right or wrong answer to define high stakes, it is simply your interpretation. Two leaders can go through the very same high stakes moment, yet take away two very different meanings, lessons and outcomes.
The difference in personal experience is coloured by the lens you use.
This in turn has been formed by your life lessons and the patterns that drive you, especially when the pressure is on. This lens is often subconscious, and your opportunity lies in making that lens work for you, not against you.
The Five Lenses of High Stakes
The Emotional Lens
Leaders with an emotional lens to high stakes are driven to get an emotional reward from their achievements and feel a sense of satisfaction.
The Purpose Lens
Leaders with a purpose lens look past the challenge or opportunity of the moment and ask what this choice sets in motion for years to come, focussing on legacy and missions beyond their own success.
The Action Lens
Leaders with an action lens like to make things happen. They’re driven by short-term outcomes over long-term legacy and trust themselves to decide quickly, whatever the situation.
The Growth Lens
Leaders who see high stakes through the growth lens are hungry for the personal and professional challenge that’s available to them. They crave a sense of personal progression and professional development.
The Resistance Lens
The resistance lens kicks in when you feel the cost of change first. High stakes land as risk and exposure with a real chance of losing something, so your instinct is to slow the game to allow breathing time.
Try and ask yourself the following…
∙What does high stakes mean to me?
∙What can you learn from that answer?
∙Do you feel positive and optimistic, or a burst of adrenaline and a fight or flight pull?
∙Do any of these lenses instantly connect with you?
∙Can you see where your definition fits?
Now you have connected with your own definition, perhaps for the very first time in this way, here are some of the responses from the senior leaders I interviewed, and how they mapped against the five lenses.
“…high stakes are when there is something on the line that will impact lives. Your life, but for me particularly, other lives.”
Ali Riley – Former Captain, Angel City FC – The Emotional Lens
“High stakes are moments that define the pathway of your life and your business”
Greg Levine – CEO Vitality Group Operations & Deputy CEO Vitality UK – The Purpose Lens
“…high risk, high return. Debit and credit. Something that puts you in jeopardy but there’s an upside if you jump in…”
Margaret Jobling – CMO, NatWest Group – The Action Lens
“They’re career defining moments. High stakes is about going for it…”
Mark Evans – Author, Advisor & Former MD, Direct Line Group – The Growth Lens
“High stakes is something that is meaningful and important…it’s survival…”
Colin Burgess – Exec. Director of Operations, BAFTA – The Resistance Lens
