Your team comes to you with a list, and I mean, a BIG list, of initiatives, deliverables and projects. They want to know how to tackle the list...
What most leaders will do in this situation is recognise immediately that the list is waaay too long, then respond by sifting through it and selecting the items that are mission critical.
This would be done quickly, using intuition, experience and expertise. The team would breathe a sigh of relief and get on with the priority projects.
If you're a leader, you could probably do this pretty easily. But can you articulate why those items are the mission critical ones?
What would the impact be if you could?
Your team would understand what, overall, you were trying to achieve.
You would have a clear direction for the mahi that your team does and what they contribute to the wider organisational objectives and strategy.
Your team would understand the rationale and principles that you based your decisions on, and they could apply them to their own smaller decisions about how they execute the projects.
You would be able to succinctly communicate to your peers and boss the focus of your team's efforts so you could make the case for the resources you need.
When shiny new things got added to the list, your team would already know the answer before they came to ask you if they should say yes or no.
Is it just me, or does that list feel compelling??!
Deciding what's mission-critical is one thing (and an important thing), but being able to articulate why is another. It's a skill. And it's a gift. Especially when we all have waaaay too much to do.
Here's a few helpful questions to consider:
If you could only achieve 3 things this year, what would they be?
Why those 3 things?
What impact would they have? What goals would they achieve? What challenges would they address?
What is guiding your thinking when you decide on your priorities?
Do your team understand the impact of your top priorities?
Is pursuing too much diluting your efforts as a team? As an organisation?
That last question… ouch. Sorry.
I know it hurts (if you've answered yes).
It's a hard place to work yourself out of because it requires some tough decisions. But let me encourage you, when you can answer the first three questions, that is likely to give you the courage you need.
Kia kaha. Keep pushing for focus, it will pay off in the long run.
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