Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Going It Alone—Persistence Needed
Snowbound! Four snow storms in 10 days has made me temporarily forget why I choose to live in the Midwest. At first, the flakes make everything magically beautiful, but today - Day 10 - I want a little pity. Here was my strategy on managing the snow which I hand shoveled after the snowblower broke down.
Snow Storm #1 - Take it a little bit at a time...because we all know that the race does not always go to the swift, but often to those who use persistence.
Snow Storm #2 - Persistence didn’t help when ice covered the snow. It demanded an immediate strike by a plow. Unfortunately, all drivers were already booked. Started hacking away at the ice chunks.
Snow Storm #3 - Pray for a 40-degree melt and hope a neighbor lends a hand shoveling (or at least the use of their snowblower). No such luck.
Snow Storm #4 - Go for the pep talk...within each of us is a hidden source of energy that gives us the strength to face any challenge.
Do you see me using resources from my team any where in these strategies? Nope - and that is exactly why I wanted a Pity Party! When team leaders forget to draw on the skills of team members the results will always be less than spectacular. You may even wonder what was so attractive about being a leader in the first place.
In the midst of a crisis is when you (and your team) need to pull out the contingency plans you worked on during quieter times. Implementing a plan which was created when calmer minds prevailed will bring you much closer to your goal then keeping it to yourself and trying to go it alone.
The trick to creating painless contingency plans is to write them in 18-minute increments. Why 18 minutes? It just works for me psychologically - it feels like enough time to get something of quality done yet not so long it interferes with normal business. Our contingency plans were completed in five 18-minute sessions during our normal staff meetings. You may just be surprised at how your team will “step up” and totally own the outcome.
It stopped snowing for a bit which gives me a chance to gather the team and regroup before the next storm.
Until next time...live like you mean it!
Marjorie