We often think that a leader‘s main task is to manage resources, define budgets, or design strategies. However, in a hyperconnected and stimulating environment, the most critical and valued skill of a professional is nothing less than attention.
As Daniel Goleman himself points out:
“Directing attention to where it needs to go is the primary task of leadership.”
A leader doesn’t just manage tasks; they guide and channel attention, both their own and that of their entire team. To achieve superior and sustainable performance, Goleman proposes in his book Focus that every professional must cultivate and master TRIPLE FOCUS: AN ESSENTIAL BALANCE BETWEEN INTERNAL FOCUS, FOCUS ON OTHERS, AND EXTERNAL FOCUS.
If even one of these three pillars falters, the capacity for influence and leadership falters.
1. INTERNAL FOCUS: THE FOUNDATION OF SELF-AWARENESS
Internal focus refers to the ability to connect with our own biological signals, emotions, values, and intuitions. Without self-awareness, true emotional intelligence doesn’t exist. A professional who ignores their internal state drifts aimlessly:
- They react impulsively to pressure and stress.
- They make decisions inconsistent with their personal values.
- They lose the ability to self-regulate their emotions in the face of adversity.
Authentic leadership begins from within. When you know what motivates you, where your limits are, and how your emotions impact your decisions, you can lead others with a firm direction.
2. FOCUS ON OTHERS: EMPATHY IN THREE DIMENSIONS
Leading is, above all, a relational activity. Focusing on others isn’t about seeking approval, but about deeply understanding the people you work with.
“When we focus on ourselves, our world shrinks… But when we focus on others, our world expands.”
Goleman structures this focus through three levels of empathy:
- Cognitive empathy: understanding the other person’s mental model. How does your team think? How do they interpret a situation?
- Emotional empathy: feeling what the other person is experiencing. It’s the glue that creates rapport and builds real trust.
- Empathic concern: the genuine drive to support, guide, and develop team members when they need it.
A leader focused exclusively on numbers, but blind to the needs of their team, may achieve short-term results, but will ultimately exhaust talent and destroy commitment.
3. EXTERNAL FOCUS: SYSTEMS THINKING
No matter how self-aware and empathetic a leader is, if they don’t understand the environment in which their organization operates, their project will become obsolete.
External focus involves:
- Looking beyond the everyday: identifying market trends, technological changes, and environmental dynamics.
- Understanding complexity: evaluating how a decision in one area impacts the entire organizational system.
- Navigating uncertainty: anticipating scenarios and adapting the value proposition before changes in the context force you too reactively.
THE CHALLENGE: ATTENTIONAL AGILITY
Excellence in leadership isn’t achieved by excelling in just one of these areas, but by developing mental agility to alternate between the three as the situation demands:
- A leader with only an internal focus fall into egocentrism.
- A leader with only a focus on others falls into complacency and a lack of firmness.
- A leader with only an external focus becomes distant, calculating, and dehumanized.
In executive practice, training attention is a daily habit. As Goleman reminds us,
“Your attention is your most precious resource.”
Ask yourself today at the end of your day: Which of these three areas have you dedicated the least time and attention to this week?