When work is piled up it’s easy to get stuck, feeling that you need to rush through everything. But when you hurry too much, you’re prone to make mistakes and miss opportunities. You “can’t see the forest for the trees”. We get stressed and forget that we can increase our speed if we first slow down.
Recently, a CEO realized her team’s productivity was suffering. They were constantly behind schedule and fragmented in their everyday tasks. Although they worked in the same space, they were not working strategically together, thus losing out on the efficiency of being part of a team.
Even though they were behind schedule, the CEO scheduled a half-day strategy session for her team. They needed to take a breath and find ways to work more effectively together. She reminded herself of the old saying, “You have to go slow in order to go fast”.
It felt counter intuitive to take time off when they were so busy, however, she believed it would significantly increase her team’s chances of making the next move the correct one.
Her team:
Established a common view of the situation. Individuals were so focused on working alone on their own projects that they had lost sight of the big picture. Developing a common view helped them see why working together toward a common goal was important.
Re-established goals. It’s essential that the leader has goals for the organization, but equally important that the team shares these goals. This sharpens their focus on where their priorities should be.
Acknowledged everyone’s voice and ideas. Members of the team came up with fresh ideas about how to work together more efficiently. They were enthusiastic about what could be possible with this new system.
Will measure progress. Together they decided on how to determine if their changes were making a difference. They agreed to regroup if problems arose or the results weren’t as expected.
It was a start and the CEO was gratified by the buy-in of her team.
If you’d like to learn more about “…the incredible power of slow change”, check out Seth Godin’s blog.
The road is easier together,
