The fine art of pivoting
I love basketball. I played for nine years, growing up. In fact, I had the privilege of playing on a State Championship team back in the day.
We spent hours in practice, and pivoting was a crucial element to the game. Pivoting is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “the action in basketball of stepping with one foot while keeping the other foot at its point of contact with the floor. It’s usually done by an offensive player usually standing with their back to the basket, and they pivot in orderer to relay passes, shoot, or provide a screen for teammates.”
The move is the essence of agility, and I hear it used a great deal in the corporate sector. Earlier this year, when I heard it used, something about it didn’t quite sit right. A few different organizations I was working with used it with high frequency. It wasn’t until today when my sister and I were speaking that I was able to articulate why, a word I like so much, and a skill I believe is critical to success wasn’t working in the context the clients were using it.
My sister, Nan, is Chaplain at a very competitive parochial school. The standards for academic achievement, as well as success in extracurricular activities, is highly encouraged and sought after. Her observation was that the children were racing to raise their hands, to get things right, to win with the best answer. We began reflecting, together, that the practice of sports is one thing, and there are several parallels to be drawn between it and academia, or in my case, corporate practices in communication. For instance, teamwork, graciousness on the field, discipline, and yes agility (pivoting) and competition also have their place.
But the classroom and boardroom are not always like a game. To draw a continuous metaphor to that world of urgency and competition isn’t necessarily apt. In fact, it may be that much energy and pace that is driving a wedge between you and your clients. When I said that to my sister, that’s when I had my aha moment. My clients were rushing in for an answer, sometimes the drive to get things right, or ‘win the game’ came at too high a cost. At work, they were coaching one another toward an agile response when a more appropriate approach would have been to create space and listen.
Knowing how to pivot is a valuable skill— and I highly suggest practicing it but knowing when to pivot…
Knowing when to pivot is something else altogether. It’s the moment you slow down, and listen not only to the other players, but also to yourself, and your reaction—taking a moment to actually feel, and hear what is needed. A fast, muscle memory-based reaction isn’t always your best move. And it could cost you the game.
That, in my playbook, is the great differentiator and more suggestions and practice of pivoting can be achieved with one on one coaching or a workshop.
Right now, we as a society are being asked to pivot in significant ways—one of them is to work from home. If you want to continue working on your communication skills in this time of disruption, contact me, and let’s pivot together and connect online.
Are you curious about how I might coach you? Here’s a tip for anyone out there who tends towards being a devil’s advocate and using phrases such as, “That’s a challenge” as the first response to a problem, Pivot. Take a breath, and even if that phrase or another habitual one slips out: Pivot, by asking a question instead, such as, “How do you think we can achieve that?” And see if that one simple move, in and of itself, isn’t a gamechanger.