Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Heat of Procrastination
Few folks believe me when I say that summers in Milwaukee can find temperatures soaring into the 90’s and 100’s. This weekend was one of those mid-90’s times. It wasn’t just the heat but the humidity that strained lungs to fight for a decent breath of air.
Eastsiders where pretty smug with their “cooler by the lake” talk. Frankly, I’m not discerning enough to tell the difference between the “cooler” lakeside 92-degrees and the 94-degrees experienced by suburbanites. Regardless of your exact location—heat was heat!
There is a mental side effect along with the physical ones of working under intense conditions. For me it appeared as procrastination. It was difficult to keep commitments made months ago. Here is what my self-talk sounded like:
“You don’t really need to water the lawn because it will eventually rain.”
“You don’t need to get all this filing done now. It’s in a pile off in the corner so no one can see it.”
“You can write the blog while at the airport. No sense in hurrying to finish the entry today.”
This same thinking can happen at any time within your team. Client requests, environmental conditions, and disengaged team members all impact your leadership effectiveness. Before that little devil on your shoulder convinces you to delay deadlines or ignore addressing a situation, remember the old adage, “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”
Bottom line: Your team is always watching your behavior and making decisions based on the actions they witness. There will be days when you won’t “feel” like doing what you said you would do. RED ALERT—The minute this thought pops into your brain is the exact minute you need to do something about it!!
At the very least, live up to the promises you make to your direct team members. At the very most, live up to all your promises by living a life in integrity.
Until next time...live like you mean it!
Marjorie