Circles of Influence and Concern or Yes, Mary, you can make a difference!
Take a blank sheet of paper and a pen. Draw a large circle and then put a dot in the centre. That dot represents you. Now draw a smaller circle around the dot fairly close, but not too close to it. The outer circle is your “Circle of Concern”; the inner circle is your “Circle of Influence”. Now here’s how it works…
Within the Circle of Influence reside all the things in your life that you have a direct impact on – getting up in the morning and brushing your teeth is your decision and completely within your power to do or not do. Getting your kids to get up in the morning and having them brush their teeth when you want them to – well that may need a bit more exerting of influence, so that is closer to the edge of the Circle of Influence. Getting the whole of NZ out of bed and brushing its collective teeth would be on the outer edge of the Circle of Concern!
The trick is being able to push your Circle of Influence out further than you may have thought possible, particularly on issues that interest you or move you in some way. Here is an example of how that can be done, and I know this story is true because I listened to the guy explain how he made it happen. And as I listened I realised this was Stephen Covey’s Circles of Influence and Concern in action.
John married into a family that within its whanau had a child with Spina-Bifida. This child was taken to a daycare centre and placed on a bean bag. It appears this is where he spent most of his day. John was not prepared to accept that this was the young lad’s lot in life, so he went home and started Googling. He found that a Canadian firm was making standing braces and something called a Parapodium in which people with Spina-Bifida (or, I assume, other mobility problems) could stand erect and propel themselves around independently of others. He also found they were expensive – well beyond his means.
His solution was to talk those who could help into helping. In this case, the Titahi Bay Lions Club. They raised the money and imported the first brace – and convinced John he should join their club. It had never occurred to John before to join because he thought the Lions were a businessman’s club and he certainly was not one of those. This project for Titahi Bay Lions then became a Regional Lions Clubs project and more money was raised and more standing braces were imported. By this time John’s Circle of Influence was expanding at a rapid rate – he was now Titahi Bay Lions Club Secretary. The project then took on national status as Parapodiums were imported and distributed throughout New Zealand. This all came about because John married into a family where one member had Spina-Bifida and he chose to take responsibility to do something – and he didn’t know what that would be when he started – to improve that person’s quality of life.
But the real kicker for me was the postscript to John’s talk. He added that the caregivers of these children found that once they were upright in the brace or Parapodium, previously undiagnosed problems came to light – such as dislocated hips. I was not happy imagining what they had been going through.
How can this concept be used in the workplace? Well, how about:
- Taking responsibility for identifying improvements in work processes and pushing your ideas forward – and not just the ideas, but how to put them in place and what you will do to see it happen.
- Identifying opportunities to increase your work knowledge and taking them.
- Challenging your skills.
- Being ambitious with your ideas and what you can do to implement them.
What are you doing to expand your Circle of Influence?
Kevin Jones
