Thanks for taking the time to read our weekly newsletter to help you get Unstuck! Check us out every week for your dose of agile inspiration. We’re striving to keep the content in our 4 Qs brief and powerful so you can get a lot of impact from a little reading!
Quintessential Thought
We're on a mission to help you and your team navigate complexity and find clear paths forward. In this series, we’ve explored three key areas that unlock action:
Taking Control: Identifying small steps you can do independently.
Influencing Others: Making requests to impact situations outside your direct control.
Accepting What You Can't Change: Recognizing and letting go of unchangeable factors.
Now, it’s time to put it all together! When you encounter a sticky situation, look at it through these three lenses to discover the most effective ways forward. This simple tool can become a powerful "unstuck action button" for you and your team!
Grab some paper and draw three circles, one inside the other - an Unstuck Action Button. Label the inner circle "Control," the middle one "Influence," and the outer one "Accept."
Define the Challenge: Write the sticky situation you're facing outside the circles.
Accept: In the outer "Accept" circle, list anything beyond your control or influence.
Influence: Within the middle "Influence" circle, brainstorm requests you can make to others that might impact the situation.
Control: In the inner "Control" circle, write down all the small steps you can take right now, without needing anyone's permission.
Need a Visual Guide? Check out my 5-minute video walkthrough!
As you work through the circles, remember it's okay to move around! You might start with something you think you control, only to realize it's actually a request for someone else. Don't be afraid to adjust as you go!
Once you've mapped out your situation, identify the most impactful actions from the "Control" and "Influence" circles. Then, go out there and make it happen!
Credit where credit is due! Here’s the original article that inspired this model, Diana Larsen’s Circles and Soup.
Quotes
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference” – Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr
“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
“Your big opportunity may be right where you are now.” – Napolean Hill
Quick Step
Take your sticky, critical situation through the circles and find your best actions.
Question
Who can help you brainstorm things for each of the circles? Find a creative partner and help each other get unstuck!
Get a new perspective on value through immersive learning! Register for an upcoming class below:
Want to chat? Reach out to info@unstuckagile.com so we can help you get Unstuck!
Also, subscribe to our YouTube channel or connect with us on LinkedIn, where we’re posting content that goes beyond the ~200ish words we have in this newsletter.