Sitting in the same meeting, one person may notice the dress, writing instruments, or accents of those seated across the table, while you, their colleague sitting next to them, overlook the extraneous factors that don’t directly bear on the ultimate intended outcome of the meeting. Instead, you locate the prime decision maker on the other side of the table and observe the keen interest that individual takes in the numbers and bottom line with seemingly little regard for hypothetical discussions or speculation. During the break, a few casual questions might lead you to the unsurprising discovery that she attended a well regarded college and majored in accounting. Your astute perception of several important details has now provided you with valuable insight on the type of information necessary to secure a future with this client while your colleague is left hoping things went well and wondering where they might find an outfit like the one the decision maker was wearing.
The advantages in distinguishing the important from the unimportant factors in a situation should be obvious. Such a skill allows you to focus on those things that will most likely lead to decisions and actions that will most efficiently and effectively lead to your intended goal and desired outcome. But how do you learn to separate the useful from the useless? The simple answer is that your substantive workplace experience and broad knowledge of the factors impacting your workplace performance are key elements in developing this skill. But research has given us two helpful insights into how those will higher levels of expertise distinguish the important from the unimportant: a) utility and b) principles.
A study of coaches with varying levels of expertise revealed no differences in the quantity of cues detected in the sport environment. Put another way, there was no difference in how much information the coaches gathered from their observations. There were, however, substantial differences in how they interpreted what they saw. Those with less expertise identified a range of factors from what athletes wore to where cars were parked. Those with greater expertise saw a different set of factors in the same environment. The experts perceptions focused on factors that led to performance assessments and subsequently to appropriate actions to improve performance. In other words, the experts located factors that would help them assess the present situation and then plan strategies for appropriate action. The difference between the important and unimportant information for the experts was found in the usefulness of the information when taking action. Experts know what is important and what is unimportant because they know what impacts performance. They then devote their full attention to identifying and then using to achieve uncommon success.
