The Best Way to Handle Those "Best Laid Plans..."

A few months ago, I was having a conversation with one of my coaching clients about his goals for 2022. He had a few major initiatives he wanted to implement and was excited that one of his trusted team members would be overseeing this work. He was ready to enact real change, and he had a solid plan to make it happen.?

A few weeks later, he joined our bi-weekly Zoom session in a worried state. His team member, the one helping him spearhead the initiatives, had resigned to take a role with another organization. Suddenly, my client's vision for the upcoming year turned fuzzy. In the moment, all he could foresee was spending the majority of the new year trying to fill his former team member's role, all the while watching his goals fall to the wayside in the process.?

All leaders have had their version (or multiple versions) of this moment over the past two years. We've laid the groundwork for a goal and then watched it get uprooted, sometimes right under our feet. Increasingly, the collective question has been: how do we move forward when the path in front of us seems to be perpetually littered with obstacles? How do we achieve our objectives when the future is murky?

In my client's case, I suggested we start by responding to this latest hurdle with a "Yes, and." One part acceptance, one part action, this simple but powerful mindset shift can help us simultaneously acknowledge what has been lost and quickly turn our attention to what can be gained. "Yes, your colleague is leaving - and who else on your team might relish the opportunity to step up and take the reins? Yes, the timeline on these initiatives will change - and what can I do in the short-term to move them forward?"?

There are a few reasons why I love the "Yes, and" exercise:?

1. It helps us shift our focus to what can be done in the here and now. As Dorie Clark and I wrote in?a piece on resetting goals, it's the short version of asking yourself: "What is the very next thing I can do to bring me closer to my goal?"

2. It offers a fresh perspective on your dilemma. Plan A is off the table - what do Plans B, C, and D have to offer??

3. It often leads us back to connection. We might reach out to colleagues or our larger network for advice. It might inspire a moment of connection for team members: "Yes, this is a challenge - and we will get through it together."

Is it clear that 2022 will bring leaders more unexpected twists and turns?

Yes…and this time, we have the tools we need to navigate them.