Stay the Course

I recently moved to Florida and have a view of the garden from my office. I have been fascinated watching the lizards and geckos running around with amazing speed and changing direction on a dime. Feel familiar? I often felt that way at work – we were constantly changing direction and not staying with anything long enough to allow it to work and see any results.

Having the ability to be agile and change course is a critical skill in today’s world. However, it is also important that there is a willingness to stay the course to meet the desired outcomes and a “why” tied to any changes. If not, it becomes frustrating and unproductive for those involved. Team cohesion is lost.

It’s in our nature to want to see quick results, YET experience has taught us that it is necessary to allow time for those results to appear. How do we reconcile the two? Use the power of the team. State the desired goal. Have frank discussions upfront about the roadblocks and speed bumps that may appear. Balance them against the timeline. Agree to stay the course with the end goal in mind. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t course corrections made along the way; any race you run has those. It does mean, however, that the team is running forward together – all focused on running across the same finish line. That’s the power that gets you to the endgame.

This Week: Do you find yourself running in all directions in an effort to meet your goals? Hit the <pause> button. Take some time this week to assess what your endgame really is. Once you have clarity, invite others to brainstorm on ways to get there. Commit to stay the course and see what results.

In Next Week’s Post: Taking off your armor.