WAiTING
When you approach one of the lines at the store, do you try to choose the one that will go the fastest and then keep watching the other lines to confirm you made the right decision?
When you drive in traffic, do you try to figure out which lane is going the fastest, but before moving over try to remember a car in another lane so you can make certain your lane is better?
When trying to push your company to greater success, do you have a habit of moving too fast, too early, or without fully considering the risks?
Are you thinking these are dumb questions - OF COURSE I DO (you think), everyone does that!
Actually... some people do not.
Great transformational leaders wait to get things right rather than be hasty and miss "the way."
The balance of pushing hard for results and waiting for near-term perfection, as in completeness, is challenging to say the least.
Yet the skill of waiting, in contrast to the habit of procrastinating due to laziness, can be one of the best competencies of a GREAT leader.
Consider the Meeting Ideas below for one approach to learning how to wait for wisdom.
WAiTING... not a typo. The little "i" is pointing out the way GREAT leaders make their best decisions. They do it by keeping their ego in check, balancing their wisdom with the ideas of others.
P.S. There are many holidays this season. I hope you make the time to be thankful and have a lot of healthy laughter no matter what you are celebrating.
Remember...
You Are An Intentional Leader.
David Russell, CEO
 MEETING IDEA |
Are you upset because you had to WAIT until the Meeting Ideas for thoughts on how to wait for wisdom? (I had to ask...) Proverbs 19:2 says, "It is not good to have zeal without knowledge nor to be hasty and miss the way." Here is one approach to developing a habit of waiting for wisdom: 1. Depending on your spiritual beliefs, meditate or pray with an open mind on the decision for three days. Do NOT ask for a specific outcome. Instead ask for wisdom, that the right "door" be opened, and the wrong paths be blocked. You will get an answer of go, stop, or wait. Any answer is good. Accept the answer adn move on. 2. Before making any major commitment... write down in clear, specific ways the seven most significant risks the decision will create. Can you and/or your company survive one or more of those risks? 3. Create an extremely candid list of pros and cons to making the decision one way or another. Meet with two people strong enough to say you are wrong and one person wise enough to say you are right - three people total. Consider the counsel of these people in light of your conclusions from #1 above. These counselors, no matter how wise, do not necessarily overrule what you feel your Greater Power is encouraging or even requiring you to do. 4. Too often as leaders we think go / no go, yes / no, right / left... when the best option is something in-between. Work with others involved in the decision to develop seven alternative approaches and weigh the risk/rewards of those options. Repeats steps 1-3 if necessary. 5. Once a decision is made, implement as a pilot to limit risk. Jim Collins puts it another way: Fire bullets first and cannonballs later, once you have zeroed-in on your target. Long-term survival is paramount (most important). Make certain you still have enough resources to stay in the game competitively. |
