Mindset Monday.- The 3 I’s for Success

This is episode 249 of the Empowered Team Podcast. Welcome to the Empowered Team Podcast, where we explore how to optimize your performance in career, sport and life. And now, your host, executive coach and life strategist, Kari Schneider. Welcome. Welcome to another episode of Mindset Master Monday. Today we're diving into a topic that I think is going to make a really big difference in your life. And not just in one area, in multiple areas of your life. Today we're talking about the three eyes for success. Now, you may have heard of this before, I'm not sure, but we're going to take a look at it from a little bit of a different angle. So first off, the three eyes, before I tell you what these are, I'm going to tell you a little story, because these three eyes are something that we should look for in the people we surround ourselves with, and more importantly, what it really takes to find those people and have those people in our lives long term. So, years ago, way back in 2005, I was in the midst of opening my business and at the time I was teaching physiology and anatomy labs at the University of Manitoba, and I was working full time with the Canadian Sport Institute, and I was in the midst of opening my own facility and I knew I needed some A players, I needed some key people who are going to work for me, who had all the right stuff. And while I was teaching this course at the university, there was a person there who was showing all the right stuff. I thought of this person as really an A player. This person was doing all the things, was interested, keen, studious, they really seemed like they would be a great fit, personality wise. There seemed to be a great match there, got along with other people in the class. And so eventually I approached him and told him what I was up to, told him what I was interested in and that I potentially had a role for someone like him as someone who could be staff. And I was also looking for other people too, but I knew I needed a couple of key people besides just general employees that would be required. So he was very, very interested. And he was so interested that he even went above and beyond and was doing extra things before we opened the business. So we had construction underway, there was a number of things that needed to be set up and purchased and flooring to put in. And he actually chose to help out and volunteer. And I paid him for some things, but other things, he was working above and beyond and I was really, really impressed. And when we actually opened and got the business started, he was A key player not only in creating the systems with me, but also seeing things that I wasn't seeing and also making suggestions along the way. He was showing up, he was following through on his word. He was on time, I would pay on time. All of the things seemed to be working well. And as things progressed, we were gaining more clients, we were getting into a rhythm. There were other employees there, and it was a really good setup. Now, at the same time as opening this business and running this business, I was a single mom and a single mom who did not have any family support in the area, and a single mom who's the father of my daughter was not in the same city. So I had a real high demand. I actually set up my workspace so that she could be in my office while I was working. And I could see there was a window from my office to the main facility. So it was a really good setup. And ultimately the employee who was working was contracted and actually was getting paid more for the extra work or hours he'd put in. It wasn't just a salaried position. And so he had this great initiative, thinking that he's going to make more money if he brings more people in. So he would bring more people in and he would make more money. And it got to the point where eventually he wanted a different percentage, he wanted a greater percentage. And I was noticing that despite all of the work I was putting in, I wasn't necessarily making any more money. And now that's not his fault. That had nothing to do with him. But we came to a disagreement because he wanted a greater percentage. I was at a point where I didn't think that that was the right way to go, especially so early on. And we had a disagreement over it. And ultimately I yelled. We didn't really come to a solution. We were trying to sort things out. But the finishing result was that he left. And eventually he went to work with another facility. And then he left that facility and. And eventually from there he went and he started his own facility. And I'm going to dive back into what we're looking for for these three eyes for success, because he has them. He had them then, he has them now, and they are something that we really want to look for and be aware of when we are hiring in this situation or when we're bringing new people into our lives who might be friends, perhaps, or even service providers. We could be looking at getting a new dentist or car service provider or cleaning person within our house. And we're looking for these three Eyes, they are critical to ensure the kind of results that you want and the kind of success that you want going forward. And they are this, number one is intelligence. And intelligence is specific to the context that we're working within. So intelligence might be, if it was an auto mechanic, it'd be their skill with mechanics, it'd be their ability to fix the car. So intelligence could be emotional intelligence within a friendship or a relationship. So intelligence is one of the key eyes. The second is initiative. And that initiative is, are they open to sharing their ideas, giving the best value to contribute to growth? Are they looking for the next steps? Do they have a lot of energy that they bring to the table? So that second is I, initiative. And the third, and this one is the most important, it is integrity. Are they honoring their word? Are they doing what they know is needed to be done without being asked? Do they do and follow through with what they know needs to be done? Now, these three I's aren't original to me. These are from Warren Buffett. And clearly he's a very successful person. And in teaching, he would use the three I's to demonstrate to students what really works in business, what really works in financial, investing and success. However, in this situation, I propose that these three eyes go so much further than just a business environment or just for hiring. I use the three eyes a lot in coaching, especially for clients who are looking to hire or clients who are bringing new people on. So I use the three eyes as ways to clarify exactly what they want and be able to see it really quickly. Now, if we go back to my story, I knew what I wanted, but I didn't know about the three eyes at the time. But the person I hired, he absolutely had the three eyes. He had the intelligence in the zone I was looking for for that particular role. In fact, he might have not been the most skilled or intelligent in that realm. However, he had just the right amount and he knew what he didn't know. So he wasn't going to overshoot himself if he wasn't skilled or intelligent in a particular area. He also had massive initiative. In fact, he had way more initiative than I gave him credit for or even thought he had. And lastly, he had integrity. However, at the time, I felt he was lacking in integrity when it came to him asking for a higher percentage. So I thought his integrity was in question in that particular moment. Now, here's the key thing. When we believe that someone is missing one of their eyes, when we believe that someone is not following through with or they just don't have the skill or the intelligence or the initiative, or we feel that they're not acting in integrity. The first step before we go down that route is really to turn back towards ourselves and ask ourselves if we are showing up with the three eyes. Ask if we have shown initiative, are we showing up in integrity? Are we acting with maybe emotional intelligence or the skills that we have, Are we utilizing the skills that we know how to use? Maybe we're not using those skills. So if I look back at the scenario I described, I was out of integrity. Even though I was thinking that he was out of integrity, I was out of integrity. I got to a point where I was upset and angry, and instead of stepping back and dealing with that myself, I went forward and actually yelled at him. And he came to me at one point after and he said, I've never been yelled at like that by anyone in my life. Now, what he didn't know was how much I was shouldering in terms of the finances, of starting the business, being a single mom, navigating a whole bunch of new realms that I just simply was not accustomed to in business. However, there's no real excuse because I was in a leadership role and I had brought him on for a specific role, and it certainly wasn't to be yelled at. So the truth was, even when I thought he was out of integrity, I. I was quickly out of integrity. I was also not using my own emotional intelligence to manage the situation that puts our relationship first and we can sort all the details out in whatever way. I also couldn't see that his initiative was so high, that that initiative could be something that would benefit both of us in the future. I could have explored making him a partner or us working together in a different way because he was clearly showing initiative and bringing clients in in looking for more ways to bring him and the business money. And I was blind to that because my own initiative wasn't being utilized fully because I had so many other things coming at me and I couldn't see what was possible with him. So ultimately, in the three eyes, we tend to go looking for other people. With the three eyes, we tend to believe that when an I is missing that that person might be wrong or that person might be not appropriate for the role. When the reality is, is that is when we need to take a look back at ourselves, we need to take a simple peek and assessment at where are our three eyes, and especially making sure that we're aware of the context. Those three I's are critical on both sides in any relationship with anyone that you have proximity with, whether it's an employee, whether it's a close friend, your intimate partner, or a service provider, a professional service provider. How we show up in that relationship is is what magnifies what they're capable of. It magnifies their ability to step into their three eyes. So the intention really in this mindset Monday is for you to be able to take a look at what's missing in the three I's. If you've elevated yourself in business and you're looking to hire, then you want an A player. You want that person with the three I's. If you are surrounding yourself with peers and friends who are high quality people you really want to look up to, then you're looking for those three eyes. If you have people within your life that are service providers in various ways, you want to be able to rely on them and go back to them time and time again and provide more business to them. And if that's the case, then you're looking for those three eyes. But ultimately what's most important is if you see a missing eye, take a look back at yourself first and do that. Check to make sure that one of your eyes is either being maximized or for sure being utilized and all of them are present for the relationship that you want with that person. Have a wonderful rest of your day. Go get it. Let's do it. Be your best. We've got your back. If you enjoy listening to the Empowered Team Podcast, you'll love being on the Empowered Team. The Empowered Team is our group coaching and accountability program where we provide the tools, skills and community for you to grow your self mastery as a leader and optimize your results alongside other leaders. The Empowered Team runs year round to learn more about our Leadership Consulting for Business and our Empowered Team Group coaching. 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