We can use “we should get started on that sometime soon” in a lot of professional situations.
If we do it too much, though, we can get left behind.
Too often, we get focused only on the immediate deadlines. “I have to get this out this week.” However, if we only focus on the upcoming deadlines, we don’t actually give our team or our company a sense of direction. We are not proactive; we are only reactive. And that’s not great leadership.
Look around you at the organization. What is the biggest change that is needed? Where do you want to grow? What are you all still doing that should have stopped a while ago?
You don’t have to fix everything today, but if you don’t at least START fixing things today, it might be a couple of months before you remember you need to do something about that. Consider a weekly reminder on your calendar. Block off a repeating time-slot on your schedule for addressing strategic issues. Bring your vision of success to the weekly all-hands meeting and build team efforts there.
But don’t wait until you “have more time” or “get everyone on-board” or “it’s finally perfect.” Start those first steps now and build momentum.
(Photo by Clemens van Lay on Unsplash)