Holding onto the Past

As I was leaving a meeting, my friend commented on the small size of my key ring. I only carry three keys – it’s one advantage of being self-employed and working from home. My friend showed me his much bulkier key ring, with the standard ones – house, cars, office – and the keys to his parents’ house, which is 500 miles away. It’s clear that my friend doesn’t need to carry the extra key around. So why does he? Perhaps he just hasn’t thought about it or hasn’t taken the time to get rid of the ones he doesn’t need. But I also wonder if he’s holding onto the past rather than living fully in the present. It’s easy for leaders to fall into the trap of holding onto the past. That “past” may be a program that produced outstanding results in an earlier season. It could be a hands-on leadership style that once worked well, or an organization structure that hasn’t changed in years. Like my friend with the extra keys, leaders that hold onto the past may not even be conscious of what they’re doing. Or if they are, it may not seem like a big deal. But those “keys” can add up over time and start to become bulky. Preserving the old takes time and energy that could be devoted to something new. Too much reliance on the past can keep us from experimenting with fresh ideas that will be more effective in the future. It can weigh us down and keep us from moving forward. Perhaps I’m making too big of a deal about my friend’s extra keys, but I know that yesterday’s victories can be a serious obstacle to tomorrow’s success. When is the last time that you examined what you’re doing, looking for the unnecessary things that you are holding onto? If you can’t remember, then it’s probably time to lighten your load. It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>