I Wish I Had Paid More Attention

I’m in a chat group with eight electrical contractor business owners. We’ve been talking for five or six years. CRM software. Pricing. Systems. The usual.

A few months ago I started bringing something different to the table. I started asking them about their people. Not how to get more out of them. Just, are you actually watching them? Noticing when something’s off. When the energy shifts. When a guy who’s always loud goes quiet.

Almost every single one of them said the same thing.

I wish I had paid more attention. I wish I had actually listened. I wish I had taken it seriously.

Most of us think we’re present. We’re in the room. We’re watching. But there’s a difference between watching and actually seeing. Between hearing words and actually listening. And we’re so wired to jump in and fix things that we blow right past what’s actually going on.

I’ve done it with my guys at work. Done it with Kim. She comes home with something on her mind and I’m already solving it before she gets through the door. That’s not presence. That’s just impatience dressed up as helpfulness.

Done it with Maddie too. Watching her struggle through something new and having to sit on my hands because she doesn’t need me to solve it. She needs to feel it and get through it herself.

That’s the hardest thing. Removing the need to fix. And just being present enough to actually notice what’s in front of you.

So the question this week is simple.

Who are you watching right now that you’re not actually seeing?

1 comment

I Wish I Had Paid More Attention