Of course there is. We set priorities all the time and leave the problems behind that aren’t critical right now or that aren’t holding us back in a significant way. It makes complete sense, because we have limited resources and only so much time to tackle our most important problems. However, at some point, this […]
Is there a deadline we’re likely to miss? What am I doing besides observing it?
As leaders we see lots of projects being worked on – and lots of deadlines. Are we paying close enough attention to know that one of our projects is slipping? What are we doing when we see or sense that a project is falling behind schedule and will likely miss the deadline? What is our […]
Am I just reacting to situations or do I have a plan?
If our original strategy and plan is successful, it can lead to more growth than we anticipated. While this is a welcome outcome, our focus on maintaining the growth and taking advantage of opportunities can divert us. We shift from executing the plan to reacting to rapid expansion and unexpected problems of fast-moving progress. Shifting […]
Is our trust for each other growing the longer we work together or is it staying the same?
I enjoy working on teams – formal or informal. As we get to know each person’s strengths and weaknesses, we learn who is best at doing a particular task or part of the project. We learn each other’s idiosyncrasies and we learn when someone needs encouragement or needs to be challenged. Like a good basketball […]
Is our balance between strategy and tactics correct? Is there an adjustment we need to make?
One of my favorite quotes is from Sun Tzu, “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” It seems like that balance constantly needs adjusting. If we focus on strategy, which always seems like a good thing, we are able to pull ourselves out of the […]
Is misinformation causing us delays?
Often, it happens as we are working on “Plan A” and someone brings forth some information, that they believe to be true, that makes Plan A unworkable. Instead of challenging the information, we all take it at face value. As a result, we don’t do Plan A. So we start working on “Plan B” that […]
In trying to standardize things have I put so many rules and procedures in place that I’m killing innovation?
As we grow, we have the opportunity to create procedures and standards into place that make us more efficient and less likely to repeat failures. This is a good thing and usually reflects a growth in the maturity of our organization. However, after several years of building the repeatable procedures and infrastructure for a stable […]
How much time do I spend serving those who report to me? How much time do they spend serving me?
I always spent a lot of time helping others. But I noticed that as I moved up higher on the leadership chart, I spent more time being served than serving. I don’t think it was intentional, but as I moved up, others would say, “Let me take care of that” or “You shouldn’t have to […]
How am I spending my time? Am I maintaining the status quo – or am I innovating and pushing forward?
It takes work and intentional effort to maintain the success we already have and keep our processes and procedures working well. No one wants to fall back to where we were when we were going after every opportunity and trying to figure out how to achieve ongoing success. We have spent a lot of time […]
How much time are we spending actually analyzing the situation before we make a decision?
The balance between analyzing/planning and doing is a dynamic one and while there are guidelines, every situation is different. It seems like spending more time analyzing, thinking and planning would always seem the better way to go – just to make sure the decision is the right one. But once we delay the decision, it […]