The Show-up Paradox
In today's professional world, one challenge has continually captured my focus—it's the urgent need for belonging amidst a growing sense of invisibility. As I immerse myself in this topic daily, it's clear: the quest for belonging has never been more vital, yet being seen for who we are and what we bring has never been more challenging. I call this the show-up paradox.
This issue permeates every aspect of our professional lives. It affects us as individuals, shaping our sense of self and our ability to contribute meaningfully. It influences our companies, impacting their culture, productivity, and innovation. It even extends to the products they market, the strategies we devise, and the ideas we bring to the table.
We aspire for genuine connections, to cultivate tribes aligned with our values and ideas, and to leave a lasting impression. Across all levels, we seek relationships rich with meaning, and at our very core, we need to feel seen, accepted and included.
The Age of Continuous Partial Attention
But in the business world today attention is a scarce commodity. Distractions come at us thick and fast; where are you reading this, and what did this pull you away from? Will you make it to the end before another notification grabs your attention? This challenge has been aptly termed "continuous partial attention." Coined by Linda Stone in 1998 during her tenure at Microsoft and Apple, it describes how we are becoming so overwhelmed by what is coming at us that we are paying less and less attention to what is around us—which includes other people.
At the time, the main source of this information overload was email, with its urgency symbolised by the Outlook red dot and the ping of a new message.
Fast forward 26 years, and now think about what demands your attention and what gets it. Within this, genuine connection becomes a rare achievement. We find ourselves striving for meaningful relationships in a landscape where visibility diminishes by the day.
Intentional Presence Is the New Superpower
Given the 'show-up paradox' and the 'continuous partial attention' challenge, how we show up and how we take back control has become critical. We must now approach our presence—both personal and professional—with intentionality. How do we ensure our companies, products, strategies, and ideas resonate authentically in a world of dwindling attention spans?
The need to belong and the challenge of achieving this are the inspiration behind my next book. This thinking has fuelled my latest keynote (which is already earning rave reviews) and underpins all my work.
In the coming posts I will share more ideas about how to purposefully show up to forge lasting connections and relationships; if you can wait, just distract me with a message, and I’ll start a reply straight away and finish it a few hours later.