Break Free from Urgency-Driven Management

Your Fortnightly Inspiration with Lily Woi

A fortnightly newsletter inspires you to take action and unlock greater performance in your organisation, your team, your career and most of all in yourself. All in 10 minutes or less.

?? Focus of the Week: Urgency is not the same as priority.?

Many leaders mistakenly class urgent items as the priority and, in doing so, can easily lose sight of the important (but not urgent) items. Also, what is urgent for others is not necessarily urgent for you or your team.?

Because of the various firefighting leaders and managers are doing, it's also easy to keeping postponing those important but not urgent items. There never seems to be the right time to address this bucket of activities.

However, this leads to “reactive management”, causing leaders and their teams to spend the majority of their time on stressful problem-solving rather than strategic planning. In the intermediate and longer term, this tends to result in a high employee turnover rate within your team, which will eventually result in major underperformance.

Here’s a reality check we all need.?

There will never be a best time - you need to make time.?

Urgency can certainly be an important factor in addressing and resolving problems. However, relying solely on urgency as the primary approach to problem-solving is not typically effective. It can lead to short-termism.?

Here are 5 reasons why urgency alone may not be the right way to solve problems.?

1 - An unhealthy cycle of reactivity: An urgent response to a problem often focuses on immediate fixes and firefighting rather than addressing the underlying causes. It can lead to a cycle of constantly reacting to crises without implementing long-term solutions. Taking a proactive and strategic approach allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the problem and the development of sustainable solutions.

2 - Inadequate analysis and decision-making: Urgency can create a sense of pressure and haste, leading to rushed decision-making and insufficient analysis of the problem. This may result in suboptimal solutions or overlooking critical aspects that could impact the effectiveness of the chosen approach.

3 - Lack of collaboration and stakeholder involvement: Urgency often leads to a top-down, tell approach, where decision-making is centralised and limited to a few individuals. This can hinder collaboration, limit diverse perspectives, and overlook valuable insights from employees or stakeholders closer to the problem. Involving a broader range of stakeholders can lead to more innovative and effective problem-solving.

4 - Sustainability and long-term impact: Urgency-driven problem-solving often focuses on immediate fixes without considering the long-term implications. This can result in Band-Aid solutions that do not address the root causes, leading to recurring or similar problems in the future. Taking the time to understand the underlying factors and implementing systemic changes can lead to more sustainable and lasting solutions.

5 - Burnout and reduced effectiveness: Constant urgency can lead to high-stress levels, burnout, and reduced effectiveness among individuals or teams tasked with solving problems. It can create an environment where people are constantly in reactive mode, compromising their ability to think critically, be creative, and contribute effectively to problem-solving efforts.

While urgency can be an important driver for action, it should be balanced with a thoughtful and strategic approach. It is crucial to take the time to diagnose the problem properly, involve relevant stakeholders, conduct thorough analyses, and develop sustainable solutions that address the root causes. This is where systemic assessment comes in. This allows for more effective problem-solving and the prevention of recurring issues in the future.

Interested in learning more about how we can help? Hit reply, and let's start the conversation.

If you have any friends who could use a Fortnightly Inspiration, please share this newsletter with them! If someone sent this to you, sign up here to get the next Fortnightly Inspiration.?

Warm regards,

Lily

Lily Woi - People & Culture Catalyst?

Website | LinkedIn?