Weekly Planning Hack #54 - Discernment

How are you doing with discernment. Are you finding yourself getting pulled into areas you are not quite sure how you got there?

The Merriam-Webster defines it as “the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure”.

Today’s work context can be a bright landscape of lots of different options, and priorities. Discernment helps us ascertain what is truly important.
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When we don’t discern what’s important – now, or in the bigger picture – we can find ourselves falling into the trap of the Shiny Red Object Syndrome (which I recently heard abbreviated as SROS). The shiny red object syndrome is like today’s social herding – lots of noise and light draws a big crowd. While it may appear “just the thing” to do or follow, below the surface it may not meet your needs.

Our time and attention are limited which makes DISCERNMENT a critical skill to support focus, especially in a digital and remote context.

In order to build your muscle in the area of discernment, consider these questions:

1. What’s really important?
2. What are the top 3 priorities- for you? For the organization you work for/lead? For others?
3. What has been imprinted by URGENCY? (Note: Urgent does not always mean important. Someone else’s crisis may not be your own.)
4. In the bigger picture, what’s important to pay attention to OR put a focus around?
5. If you were to look back at this item/task/priority in six months, what would you say was the value of it?

I hope that these questions will get you thinking about what’s truly important for you, and your work, and organization.

For more on this topic:

• Check out this article by Patti DeDominic about the Importance of Discernment for Business Leaders and CEOs here.
• Check out this post about Discernment and the Entrepreneur, particularly as they focus on collaboration here.

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Best,
​Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton - Potentials Realized
Author of PlanDoTrack (2019), Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Pick up a copy of any of her books at Amazon.

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​Contact her by phone at (416)996-8326

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