What insights do Virgin CEO Richard Branson, Overstock.com CEO Jonathan Johnson, and executives at Google, Neiman Marcus Group, Bain and Company, and other top firms have to share about what it takes to be successful? Business coach Christina Curtis combines the wisdom from years of being a business coach, and brain science research, to help the general public achieve better outcomes in their professional and personal lives.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.American Essence: One lesson you share is that successful people understand that they don’t know everything and seek to hear more perspectives. How should we open ourselves to learning and to different opinions?
Ms. Christina Curtis: I often say, it’s really important to seek to understand, rather than stand to be understood. So many of us just want our voice to be heard, and our perspective to be heard, when in reality, people I see who are ultra successful are the ones that are doing the most listening. They’re constantly seeking and learning information, so that they can expand their view and they have a better vantage point to figure out the path that will get them to their goal the fastest.
Get feedback from others on your behavior that could be getting in your way in life. This is a really exciting one for me. I love this exercise. Ask the people you trust, “Hey, what do you think has been getting in my way of happiness, or having strong relationships?”
The other thing I recommend is making time to ask questions. Sometimes we’re so busy, we forget to ask questions. But slowing down to ask questions on why something is being done a certain way or what someone is working on—it’s amazing how it could shape the way you end up seeing things for the rest of the day, or the week.
AE: How can we train ourselves to see the bigger picture?
Ms. Curtis: When you think about the bigger picture, it’s often a multi-year view. So instead of focusing on this work week, I’m focusing on this stage of my career. Instead of focusing on this disagreement in my marriage, I’m focusing on the pattern of the argument that seems to be showing up. So, it’s taking the micro to the macro and shifting your lens, so you can not just look at the moment, this particular snapshot, but the full landscape. And by zooming out, suddenly, you can have insights that weren’t previously available.
Some questions you can ask yourself is, is there a pattern here? Why does what I’m working on matter? They open you up to a bigger vantage point.
