Staying Focused When Things Get in the Way

Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes

Leaders are supposed to be the keepers of the vision. We expect our leaders to not only have a vision of where we want and need to go, but also to be able to hold that vision up for us to see. This doesn’t just mean the big vision with a capital “V”, it also means the goals that we have to meet.

But what happens when things get in the way? As leaders we have to make sure that we are able to quickly and effectively get ourselves and everyone else back on track.

Things Got In My Way

Today my organization is launching sweeping changes that will effect everyone in the organization and my team has been involved in the planning, managing and implementation of this project. Everything has been building up to the launch that takes place today. But I’ve had two straight weeks of things getting in the way. Some were planned, some not so planned.

Two weeks ago all of our remote employees had to travel to the home office city for a week of conference like meetings. With only two weeks before our big launch, our team had to split our time between participating in the meetings and doing work to prepare for today’s launch. I don’t know about you, but when I have to travel away from my home office, my productivity suffers because I lose my familiar way of doing things. Couple that with a couple hundred extra people around and it’s hard to stay as focused as I can when I’m alone in my own office.

When we planned today’s launch date we knew about these meetings being two weeks out, in fact it gave us the perfect opportunity to train folks on the upcoming changes. We felt confident that having a week between the meetings and the launch would give us a week to finish anything up and make any adjustments that came up after meeting with the masses.

BUT, for me things just kept getting in the way. While traveling home at the end of the week, I picked up a nasty cold. Not only was I still trying to get back in the swing of things after being away for a week, but I also felt miserable. In fact, two of the days last week I spent all day in bed sleeping, not able to think at all about what work still needed to be done. When I was able to work, my head wasn’t clear enough to focus on everything I needed to focus on.

If leaders are supposed to be the keepers of the goals and visions, how do we keep, not only ourselves but, everyone focused on where we need to go when things get in the way?

Plan Ahead

The first thing is to have taken the time early on to practice vision reflection. When we take the time to reflect on our vision or goals, we’re able to clearly define where it is we need to go. Having a clearly defined vision or set of goals up front should be able to withstand things getting in the way.

Share With Others

Having a defined vision or goals is a great first step, but I’m a big believer in planning for what happens if the leader is hit by a bus. The organization needs to continue should something happen to the leader, even something as simple as a really bad cold. So not only do we need to clearly define where we want to go, but others need to share the vision and goals. When others are part of working towards the vision or making goals happen and something gets in the way for the leader forward progress can continue.

Get Back Up To Speed

When things get in the way, the leader needs to do everything possible to remove the barriers. Clearly if we’re talking about being bedridden the best thing we can do is get better. Then when we are able we need to hit the ground running by getting as much information as we can on the status of things. While the natural tendency would be to rush into action, after quickly gathering the needed information, the wise leader will take the time to reflect on where we’ve been, where we are and where we still need to go.

Leader’s Reflection: Sometimes, no matter how well we plan, things get in the way of our progress. Leaders need to prepare for such disruptions by clearly defining the vision or goals and making sure others have a clear understanding of where we need to go. Once barriers are removed, leaders need to quickly assess where things stand and decide how to move forward.

You also might be interested in:

1. Take the Time to Reflect – Or Else
2. A Giving of Thanks
3. Have You Ever Been Part of a Highly Functional Team?
4. What is Vision Reflection?
5. Characteristics of Flow: Clear Goals