Recently our paster preached a sermon about hurry. When cleaning my office, I came across a note, “ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”  A recent podcast focused on the same topic. Following the law of three impressions, I paused to focus on the concept of “hurry.”

This Week’s Edition

The cost of hurrying may be too great for leaders who want to lead with confidence. Now hurry up and read this.

Clarify Your Thinking

Why do we hurry in life and as leaders? Is it the crushing weight of our never-ending list of things to do? Regardless, I’ve never met anyone who enjoys hurrying, but at times we all fall prey hurrying, defined as a state of noisy, confused activity.

Leaders have shared with me that their hurried state creates challenges:

·      Making less than informed leadership decisions

·      Failing to be present in the moment

·      Getting stuck working in the business (versus working on the business)

·      Lack of true relationship connection with the team

·      Increased stress

As a result, the impact to a leader’s thinking is:

1.   Questioning the purpose of their work, “Why am I doing all of this?”

2.   A lack of alignment with their team who feels hurried too.

3.   A loss of understanding of real priorities that move the business forward.

How does a leader clarify their thinking in a world that is so hurried?

Old Thinking: I have to hurry to get it all done.

New Thinking: I don’t have to hurry to get it all done. I can prioritize.

Thoughts Lead to Actions

 A recent podcast addressed the concept of hurry. The host was talking about his workout regimen. He began to loathe his morning bike ride something he used to love. Upon reflection, he realized the problem: he was hurrying his workout to check it off his list for the day.

Not wanting to give up biking, he made a concerted effort to just ride. Not push himself. Enjoy the workout. He came to terms with the fact that if he did not hurry, each ride would take more time, or he would cover less ground. Much to his surprise, he completed his usual 45-minute bike route in only 46 minutes, one minute longer in his less hurried pace. He was shocked.

Extrapolating his experience to you, the leader, here is the leadership lesson in five steps.

1.   Recognize when you are hurrying (morning workout)

2.   Determine the negative impact (loathing the activity)

3.   Identify the priority (hurry or a better-quality experience)

4.   Allocate more time to the activity (risk that it may take longer)

5.   Celebrate the tradeoff (a little more time in exchange for higher quality)

Slow down to really evaluate how you might ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your leadership life.  Watch as the leadership misery starts to fade and the leadership joy grows. Lead well. Live well.

Boost Your Performance

Who knows? Perhaps slowing down won’t cost you more time. What’s an extra minute for a forty-five-minute activity? Hurry is a state of mind. So, is slowing down. Your mind is powerful. You control your mind. You have a choice in every situation. Make a powerful choice.

What’s Your Opinion?

In what ways do you find yourself perpetually hurrying? Share it with me at robin.pou@robinpou.com.

Don’t let doubt count you out. Have a confident week!

Robin Pou, Chief Advisor and Strategist

If this was helpful, feel free to share it with another leader who needs to defeat doubt and complete their confidence.

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What is “The Confident Leader”?

During the Covid-19 Pandemic, I began a video series called “Panic or Plan?” It was designed to equip leaders to navigate the doubt they experienced and to rise in the confidence they needed to lead during turbulent times. It took off. I then started this newsletter to equip leaders in the same fashion each week for the doubt that crashes across the bow of their leaderSHIP.