HOV POV

Despite my extroverted nature, when it comes to work travel, I much prefer to go it alone. Negotiating meal decisions, coordinating departure times, determining who drives, singing loudly in the car without judgment (see previous DIAL about my singing voice), I think I’m more effective as a lone ranger. Last week, I had 3 days of crisscrossing Southern California. I counted 15 hours in the car (mind you, only about 250 miles). As I sat in LA traffic, singing my heart out, I kept noticing the carpool lane and how fast those cars were moving compared to me. Just one additional person and I could be getting to my destination sooner. It made me wonder, where else in my leadership does my bias toward going it alone for the sake of efficiency keep me from getting to my goal sooner, let alone with more joy and quality? Does my ego keep me stuck in traffic or do I recognize how "deeply tied" I am to others and can I get into the lane that allows me to get moving? It doesn’t always need to be a caravan, perhaps like the HOV lane, it just might be one more passenger…as long as they know how to work the radio.