Leadership effectiveness: use the five fingers of your hand to create clarity and focus pragmatically

Leadership effectiveness: use the five fingers of your hand to create clarity and focus pragmatically

Did you know that our short-term memory can process an average of seven, plus or minus two, units of information simultaneously? This fascinating phenomenon, known as “Miller’s law”, shows how our brains process information.

🔍 More than short-term memory
Our memory is a complex system. Alongside short-term memory, long-term and working memory play a crucial role. Understanding these differences is essential for effective leadership. For leaders, this means focus is everything! By directing attention towards a limited number of tasks simultaneously, we maximise our mental performance. It helps us set long-term goals while keeping short-term tasks in view.

Here is a concrete example of how to use it:

🧠 The magic of the five fingers of one hand

I often favour MINUS TWO rather than PLUS TWO: it is much easier to count on one hand. People who have worked with me for a while often know immediately what I mean when I raise a hand with all five fingers outstretched. Here are five practical examples you can try today:

🤚 Ten goals for 2024? Which five matter most?

🤚 Fifteen leadership principles? Which five will really take us forward?

🤚 Wow, that is a substantial project. How can we group all those tasks into about five work packages or workstreams?

🤚 An impressive presentation—more than forty slides. What are the three to five core messages you want to convey, and can you summarise the presentation on five slides?

🤚 Twenty-five pain points currently hindering collaboration? Which five should we tackle first?

The list could go on. Try it yourself!

🌟 Conclusion: focus, leadership, clarity
In a world full of distractions, maintaining focus and clarity in action matters more than ever for leaders. Understanding and using our memory capacity can strengthen our leadership abilities and lead our teams to success.

The five fingers of your hand are a simple symbol you can try in your working day today.

Let me know whether it worked.

Focus #Leadership #Clarity