In their first single released in 1972, the iconic band “Eagles,” had a hit with “Take It Easy.” An insightful line from that song titles this post, “Don’t Let The Sound of Your Own Wheels Drive You Crazy.” It is a light-hearted way to describe one of the key results reported by the participants in our recent leadership workshop in Lima, Peru. The key discovery was that they have a “little voice” constantly jabbering in their heads, that it is generally non-productive, and often defeats them in pursuit of their vision.

This may seem “elementary” or maybe you are wondering – “what?” But stop and take stock for a moment. The truth is, we all have a continuous inner dialogue and we are often only partly aware of it, if at all. This inner dialogue is usually quite a task master and often plays the role of an “inner critic” which is busy tearing down circumstances, others, or ourselves. Many people are so “identified” with this voice, (in other words it’s so continuous and familiar), they aren’t aware of it. They are just reacting to it. This is critical because this places this generally negative/harsh voice in position to be a powerful driver.

I want to back-up and provide a bit more context for this workshop. Chirapaq, was the sponsor. It was founded and is led by the enormously capable Tarcila Rivera Zea (photo right). Tarcila was born in a very small remote village high in the Andes, moved to Lima to work as a maid at 14, and has risen to be a world class leader who appears at the UN, international conferences in Europe and North America, and raises money for projects to further the well being of indigenous peoples. (She is also the recent recipient of a Ford Visionary Award. One of only 12 people in the world selected as an extraordinary social leader.)

Tarcila’s greatest passion is to train young indigenous leaders from Canada to South America. Her focus is fostering a new generation of leadership with a vision of economic opportunity, social justice, and well being for all. Most importantly, she believes to successfully deliver this vision, these leaders will be required to be effective communicators, work collaboratively, and be inclusive of many points of view.

She assembled 36 young indigenous leaders from 11 Latin American countries, plus 11 “observers” from Peru, for a 2-1/2 day workshop called “Leadership Focused On The Vision.” The specific direction was “fostering new leadership: learning to communicate.”

At the end of the workshop each participant shared their learning. This goes back to the beginning of the post and how we were struck by the following consistent results – recognizing the “little voice in their heads,” and how it was an obstruction to results.

So if these young leaders from across the Americas, can learn to hear when the “sound of their own wheels are driving them crazy” and defeating their intentions, are you ready to get to work on that for yourself? Can you hear your “own wheels?” If not, try this simple exercise. Put a bright sticky note on the dashboard of your car that says, “tune in” in big letters. When you are driving and you stop at a stoplight take a moment to reflect on what you are thinking about. Chances are the “little voice” is running at full volume and is probably causing some havoc.