Greetings!
I had a great conversation last week with John Rouda from A Geek Leader Podcast. We talked about how leaders can
accelerate
impact in a host of important ways, such as
diligently
prioritizing, delegating assignments (essential as one rises to strategic leadership roles), saying
no
to low-value or non-urgent requests, and more.
He asked plenty of thoughtful questions. One that stood out: How do people in technology companies know when to slow down when many tech company mottoes are along the lines of Mark Zuckerberg's
"Go fast and break things!"
It is a fair question. The fact is, I've had clients over the years, across an array of industries, who are convinced that going fast is the best or only path to innovation and growth. What I've found it that the key lies in knowing
when
to slow down and
when
to speed up. It's important that your team be unafraid to quickly try new things. To move ahead without fear of retribution or blind adherence to "this is how it's always been done."
My client, Marc, a brilliant CEO who is committed to rapid growth, has often encouraged his people to create "controlled explosions" in which they shake things up just enough to break through a plateau. When these experiments work, real transformation can emerge. When they don't, the "damage" is minimal and fixable.
This was one of my favorite podcasts, filled with good, usable advice. Give it a listen. You'll discover a host of tools, techniques and tactics, including:
- creating agreement with those around you
- taking a strategic pause
- prioritizing lists of activities
- delegating to the right people
- me / not me list
- reflection on goals, purpose, and implementation
- pivot points
- now/later/never
- eliminating distractions
- filtering your decisions
- ASAP – Accelerating Success Action Plan
- other easy-to-access resources
Strategic pauses like this help leaders like you get better results with fewer errors and less overwhelm.
#slowdowntospeedup #lizonleadership #strategicpause #prioritize
