Even if not always fully aware of, our professional performance can be summarized in 3 axes.
Our evolution and professional journey will influence the weight of each of them, but they will always exist. Accepting that in an “entry-level” phase it may be more unbalanced with stronger focus on DOING (executing tasks by ourselves), it doesn’t take long until we ENTRUST (delegate and support each other, regardless of the seniority level.
This model aims to synthesize our activity in order to have a global vision, as well as make us understand that everything lies in balance. Pivoting towards one of the axes has the consequence of losing leverage in at least one of the other two remaining ones.
Here’s the “Professional Inner Balance: The 3 Axes Model”, which can be summarized with the following words: DO | ENTRUST | LEAN ON
My advice is to always take one step back (or more), since that should allow us to have a broader vision and, therefore, release ourselves from immediacy constraints and avoid any bias caused by specific and temporary situations.
This model synthesizes the 3 major areas of action/decision/execution that constantly take place in our professional life.
1. What I DO
Other people ask us to do things personally, and consequently we execute them, whether by our own decision or influenced, decided or forced by third parties based on hierarchical rank. In terms of model analysis, it is the first axis where we shall start.
“What does a company expect from us? To ‘do what’ do they pay us for? What should we undertake personally if we’re beholding our own company?”
It should not only be our capabilities that determine it, but also the implied relevance that its delegation entails, “switching costs”, effort optimization and other related elements.
2. What I ENTRUST
Whether if we work for ourselves managing our company or for third parties, we will always end up delegating, which can be done through a vertical relationship (people whom we manage) or horizontal relationship (without a hierarchical link), internal or external. It doesn’t matter, since we are going to delegate in an unavoidable way.
Delegation and trust go hand in hand, the key being the ability to accurately identify what can be delegated and what should be delegated.
3. What I LEAN ON
For task performance we’ve always had support tools at hand, which are (and should continue to be) just that: means to an end. What was once a spreadsheet or software, now can perfectly be resources as powerful such as artificial intelligence based tools.
Temptation about AI overuse is there, but within our “balanced workcycle” model it should remain on the LEAN ON axe, regardless of the seniority level of his/her user.
There is no such thing as the perfect manager. We simply cannot do everything by ourselves, just as we cannot delegate to the extreme (does anyone remember the “absentee boss” figure, uttermost of the “laissez faire” leader?). Support has always existed, but we must strive to not slip into a leverage excess situation.
The model is built around three axes that always coexist. You can explore each situation interactively by clicking on each of the three cards.
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And if we are talking about excessive reliance, AI-generated documents may indeed withstand the ‘stress test,’ but their users often do not.
“We must seriously consider the consequences of relying too heavily on artificial intelligence, because there is a real risk that such dependence could gradually erode our rational capacities and dull some of our greatest gifts as human beings, among them our capacity for abstraction.”
Conclusion
The keyword in this model is definitely “balance“. There is where everything lies: we set corporate objectives, which are outlined in strategic and operational plans until we progress onto execution and monitoring.
But in order to achieve them, we must keep our 3 circles in a harmonious balance. We should never pivot towards just one and ignore the rest, since balance is essential to achieve goals.
The right questions. They’re there and, when perfectly shaped and accurate, they can finally unmask us in an unpolite manner. When LEAN ON slips into excess, our model could end as unbalanced in the short or medium term.
[This methodology has been developed by its author, Oriol Guitart, and is available for download in .pdf format. All rights reserved, with the duration and extension established by the Intellectual Property Law. Its reproduction, dissemination, public communication and/or total or partial transformation is strictly prohibited without the express written authorization of the author, who must in any case be recognized as such in any subsequent use.]
