Fort Myers Florida Weekly

A healthy DEPARTURE

How to keep your dull routine from throttling your business

How to keep your dull routine from throttling your business

How to keep your dull routine from throttling your business

Amy Simmons thought she made a mess of things when she tried to corral a runaway horse during an activity sponsored by an equine leadership organization.

She was supposed to stay behind the horse as she led it through an obstacle course, but when the horse picked up speed and ignored her commands, she moved to get in front of it. An instructor, sensing potential disaster, stopped the horse with one command.

As it turned out, though, Simmons’ failure as a horse whisperer proved fruitful in its own way. As she reviewed what happened, she thought about the team she led at work. She realized how often she got in front of them and how her attempts to course correct prevented them from tapping into their full potential. It became an “aha moment” that she says would not have happened had she remained ensconced in her usual office surroundings.

“A departure from your day-to-day life can open you up to different ways of thinking,” says Simmons, who with her husband, Rick Simmons, is the Forbes- Books co-author of “Unleashed: Harnessing the Power of Liminal Space.”

Amy Simmons and Rick Simmons are co-founders of the telos institute, which helps leaders in business and industry hone their leadership skills, optimize their business strategy, and embrace change as a strategic advantage. They regularly take clients on leadership ventures to such locales as Patagonia, Iceland, and the Grand Canyon.

The Simmonses say businesses thrive when the people who run them remain open to new ideas and experiences. They are at risk when dull routines set in and leaders become resistant to change – even when that change is necessary for survival.

“When we’re operating within the status quo, it feels as if there is no reason to accept or incorporate new ideas,” Rick Simmons says.

That’s why they urge business leaders to occasionally escape their daily routine and surroundings. The benefits to doing so include:

¦ Your mind becomes more open to learning. When someone’s job is making the right decisions — what product to launch, how to respond to a big client — it can feel difficult to be in a learning mode at work. “We are expected to have an answer, or to find one immediately if we don’t,” Amy Simmons says. Changing surroundings and routines “can liberate that learning mindset,” she says. Eventually, when an actual disruption occurs, you are better prepared because of what you learned from your self-induced disruption.

¦ You learn to follow, which teaches leadership. People who are in charge every day may forget what things look like from a different perspective. But when they venture into unfamiliar territory, they are forced to depend on others for guidance. “For the first time in a long time, they may be in a position where they don’t know what they are doing and must rely on someone else,” Rick Simmons says. “That shift can be tremendously productive, as learning to be a good follower is often a path to understanding how to be a great leader.”

¦ You discover that even small changes to your routine are stimulating. A daylong retreat or week-long excursion can make a difference. But so can something as simple as switching up your morning routine, Amy Simmons says. You can spend the day on your feet if you typically sit, or work from home or a coffee shop if you usually come into the office. “To spur transformation within your organization, you may move teams and individuals to new seats in your office, scattering them throughout your building or bringing them together,” she says. “The options are endless.”

“Change is happening around us all of the time, as evidenced by the pandemic or economic shifts,” Rick Simmons says. “But when you are open to change, those times of disruption or volatility provide unprecedented opportunity for personal and professional growth.” ¦

— About Rick Simmons and Amy Simmons: Rick Simmons and Amy Simmons, the ForbesBooks authors of “Unleashed: Harnessing the Power of Liminal Space,” are co- founders of the telos institute which helps leaders in business and industry hone their leadership skills, optimize their business strategy and embrace change as a strategic advantage.

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