The sergeant looked at me expectedly, waiting for me to point out my location on the map. It was a simple question, and in most cases, a simple thing to answer but in this situation, it was not straightforward.
I, along with a group of other military trainees, had just been dropped off from the back of a truck. We had been travelling for over an hour and, during that time, we had not been able to see much due to the canvas covering the vehicle. The only glimpses of the outside world were through the flapping material to the rear, and that view was usually little more than a receding track.
So, in this case, the question (from the slightly scary senior non-commissioned officer) triggered immediate feelings of anxiety.
I took some deep breaths to stem the rising panic. I needed to control my emotions.
Having wrestled my pre-frontal cortex back from this temporary amygdala hijacking, I started to think. Where was I? What clues could I see that would help me identify my exact location?
We were not allowed to use a GPS device but there were other things to help me. I knew where I had started and, with a rough time and distance appreciation, I could at least guess at the general area we had been dropped at. Next, looking at the relief of the land, I could see a couple of distinct hills and the track intersected with a nearby stream in a re-entrant (small valley). I found similar features on my map and then made sure their alignment was correct by using my compass.
Don’t start moving forward until you know where you are
I looked up from the map and, using a blade of grass, pointed out where I thought I was to the sergeant. He gave no sign that I was either right or wrong. He just said, “Your next checkpoint is at grid 385957. The clock has started.”
The pressure of the situation rose again. More deep breaths to calm myself. This was a timed march and we had to finish the course in under the set time or risk failing the course. I quickly found the grid reference on the map and started to take a bearing that would give me my starting direction.
As I was trying to do this, I saw people running off in various directions. Worry again. How had they finished so fast? Were they trying to go to the same place? If so, weren’t they going the wrong way? Or had I got the location wrong?
I suppressed the urge to start running. As people left the area, I swiftly re-checked my logic. I came to the same conclusion. my location was correct; I was ready to set off. Stowing my map, I fixed my eyes on a feature in the distance, as indicated by my compass, and started the shuffling run of the over-burdened soldier.
Fortunately, I got it right and I completed the test. Not everyone was so lucky. Hours later, after the cut-off, various figures hauled themselves and their heavy rucksacks back into the wagon. Their bodies sagged with defeat. I recognised many of the same faces that I had seen dashing off prematurely at the start.
The GPS Tool: A Personal SWOT Analysis.
I was not fortunate enough to have a GPS then but most of the time now, when I am in the mountains or on an expedition, I carry a GPS device. It is a great tool for quickly and accurately confirming one’s location. Along with other tools, such as a map and compass, one can build a good picture of the situation.
In our life’s journey, it is also important to periodically confirm our current position so we can make good choices about our next steps. We need to understand where we are to ensure we successfully get where we want to go.
Various conceptual tools can help with this, but it is hard to beat the SWOT analysis. Like a GPS, it gives us a quick snapshot of where we are and provides the data we need to do an effective situational assessment.
You have likely come across the SWOT Analysis tool before, but you might not have used it as a tool to examine your personal circumstances. We might think we know where we are and roughly what our situation is, but what does that actually mean? As Malcolm Gladwell puts it:
“The key to good decision-making is not knowledge. It is understanding. We are swimming in the former. We are desperately lacking in the latter.” – Malcolm Gladwell
The SWOT analysis allows us to quickly identify the key themes of our current situation and then analyse them to have a better understanding and then make better decisions about future direction.
What do you fear is the worst thing that could happen to you/?
Opportunities (external/circumstantial):
How can you leverage your present situation?
Who/what could most help you right now?
How is change providing new openings?
Step 3: Prioritise
Now prioritise the items in each section and work out which are the top three to five things in each quadrant.
Step 4: Analyse
Look at each item in turn and consider the actions you could take. Here are some questions to help:
How can you play to or maximise your strengths?
What personal development goals, people and processes can help address your weaknesses?
How can you exploit, expand or multiply the opportunities?
What control measures do you need to put in place to limit the threats?
Now look for any further relationships you can identify across the columns, rows and diagonals.
Remember that weaknesses are often a reflection of strengths. For example, if you have a strength in that you are very good at coming up with lots of ideas, or you are a business with lots of products, a weakness might be that you find it hard to focus on just one of them.
Similarly, look at the flip side of external factors; you may find that threats can also provide opportunities.
Personal situational awareness: know where you are and what that means
The instructions above are taken from a longer post, so if you would like more background on the SWOT analysis and an example then please read How to Do a SWOT Analysis
Once you are happy, take some time to do a personal SWOT analysis and note down your findings. Sometimes that means facing some unpleasant realities but confronting the brutal facts (as per the Stockdale Paradox) is a crucial element of planning for a successful outcome. As writer James Baldwin observed:
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced” – James Baldwin
If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions
About The Right Questions
The Right Questions is for leaders who want coaching towards greater clarity, purpose and success. We are all leaders (whether we know it or not) as we all have influence. So the question is, what are you doing with your influence?
Wherever you are on your leadership journey, I hope that you find resources on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.
I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and coaching them to achieve their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!
Where have you come from? Where are you now? And where are you going? When we travel, we can answer these questions and connect these things using a map. When we want to think about our life journey – the passage of our lives – we can create a conceptual map to help us.
Having such a map gives us perspective on the past, awareness of the present and a plan for the future. It helps us understand our history, take responsibility for the current direction of our lives, and ensure that we don’t just follow someone else’s path.
“Life is a journey. How we travel is really up to us. We can just flow with the tide or follow our own dreams.” – Paul Coelho
The metaphor that life is a journey is a popular one. Many of our favourite stories, from historical literature such as The Odyssey and The Canterbury Tales, through to modern classics including The Lord of the Rings and The Alchemist,use this premise. We are naturally drawn to such adventures and can relate to the idea of travelling and challenges in life (even if not faced with actual sirens or orcs!)
We can apply the same idea to our own lives. When we thread together the events in our past, and the hopes for our futures, we can picture a path joining these moments together; a road that we travel along.
“Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you. You must travel it by yourself. It is not far. It is within reach. Perhaps you have been on it since you were born and did not know. Perhaps it is everywhere – on water and land.” – Walt Whitman
We are pilgrims, each on our individual quest. The words ‘quest’ and ‘question’ both have the same Latin root; ‘quaerere’ meaning ‘to seek’ or ‘to ask’. This is why The Right Questions framework is about how we lead our life’s adventure.
Fellow seekers are Questors. travellers on their own pilgrimages, that we coincide with along the way. We travel alongside them for varying distances. This might be a few steps, a few miles, or almost the whole journey, with a select few.
Creating a map to represent your life journey is a fun and informative reflective exercise. It helps to pull together the core ‘where’ questions of:
Past: Where have you come from?
Present: Where are you now?
Future: Where are you going?
Capturing these things visually can be powerful and inspirational, as well as very satisfying. Just follow these easy steps to make your own:
Step 1: Get a blank piece of paper
This exercise is best done with a large piece of plain paper. A1 or AO is great but you can do it on smaller paper (or digitally) if you prefer.
Step 2: Identify the milestone and terrain you want to add to the map
Have a look back at the other ‘where’ exercises you have done, using the logbook tool (your CV or resume), the GPS tool (personal SWOT analysis), and the picture/photo tool (vision statement). Choose the key milestones (events, decisions, or achievements) and terrain (situations, obstacles, and challenges) that you want to transfer onto the map.
Step 3: Add the milestones and terrain to the life journey map
Next, you transfer the milestones and terrain onto the map. You can either directly draw these, add photos or pictures you have printed out, or use Post-it notes, using a separate note for each item.
It can be good to use a combination of these techniques. For example, you can first add the information using sticky notes and then, when you are happy with how you have them organised the way you want them, you can draw or stick things directly onto the paper.
Step 4: Draw on your path
Now you can connect up the various items you have added with a path that illustrates your journey. You might want to show where the road was easy or hard, and where there were splits in the way and you had (or will have) choices of direction to follow.
Step 5: Reflect on the path
Now step back and look at the whole life journey map. At this stage, seeing the big picture, you might decide to add or adjust a few details. Take a few moments to be thankful for what you have achieved and to be excited about the next steps of your adventure.
Display the map somewhere you can see it. This will help you to further reflect upon your journey and inspire you in the coming days.
“Anytime I feel lost, I pull out a map and stare. I stare until I have reminded myself that life is a giant adventure, so much to do, to see.” – Angelina Jolie
If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions
About The Right Questions
The Right Questions is for leaders who want coaching towards greater clarity, purpose and success. We are all leaders (whether we know it or not) as we all have influence. So the question is, what are you doing with your influence?
Wherever you are on your leadership journey, I hope that you find resources on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.
I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and coaching them to achieve their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!
