Why We're Not "Built" for Collaboration

If our eyes are not up and we're not looking around us it's difficult to collaborate. It's sort of like running a race while hopping on one leg.

In soccer, a key behavior is keeping your eyes up so you know where to run with or without the ball (as well as where the options are to pass the ball or possibly shoot on the goal).

It sounds easy enough until the ball arrives at your foot and opposing players descend on you like bees on honey. The same thing happens in business situations. A deadline is approaching, we're over budget on a project, we desperately need to achieve this quarter's revenue target or we're working with someone that has a history of difficult behavior.

Other examples

I played my worst game of the soccer season a few weeks ago. The key reason? I forgot to keep my eyes up. In turn, I didn't keep moving with the ball, I didn't know where my team mates were and subsequently lost the ball or made bad passes many times.

Another example of "it sounds easy enough" - not "seeing" while looking. It sounds easy enough until you're in front of 500 people. I was a lector at Mass this past Sunday at St. Monica Catholic Church. I have served in this role for years and this past Sunday, I stepped-up on the pulpit and I looked at the lectionary with the Old Testament readings without "seeing" and I proceeded to read the wrong reading for that day. If I would have looked and seen, I would not be writing about this right now.