When people go snowboarding or skiing the goal is not to see how many times you can ride the chairlift. The goal is to have fun. Riding the lift, rope toe, or hiking is just a necessary consequence of the activity.
In business and in life there are many situations we can apply this thinking too. For example. How might this look if I only focused on results as a parent? By allowing myself to be distracted by some outcome which is actually a byproduct of teaching and training and helping kids grow, I run the risk of missing out on some really important and enjoyable steps along the way.
On the other hand, if I see my primary role as a parent to create space where my kids can learn to grow, to be kind, to be generous and ask them to start showing up for themselves, things start to change. I believe they start growing into their best versions of themselves, no doubt it’s going to be hard but it will also be full of joy, connection, and wonder that could never be matched by any of those previous desired outcomes.
How about in the workplace? Well, if you only think of your employees as a means to get to the end of the day, week, month, or year you will probably 1: never get very far in business and 2: never know the joys, connections, and wonder that are, not surprisingly only found along the way.
So here is my suggestion. Just stop. Stop asking people to perform tasks for you or for your boss or for the organization. Stop obliging people to the structure that you yourself probably don’t even know how or why exists. Just stop.
And then do a really brave and generous thing, ask people to do it for themselves. Ask people to start showing up for themselves. Invite them to show up at work, at home, at school for their own benefit. And I promise you that the consequences of that activity will be wonderful.
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