Getting It Done

This is the time of year when we turn our focus to implementation. We’ve closed out the previous year, we’ve set our goals for the current year, and now we need to get things done.

Some people believe that implementation isn’t a critical part of leadership; that leaders are “vision” people. They may set the course but they look to others to implement. In order to change the order of things for the better, in order to solve problems, leaders have to get things done. They don’t have to do it all themselves - in truth they cannot do it all themselves - but they have to achieve results. Execution without vision is just more of the same, but vision without execution is a pipe dream.

Many of us want to go from goals to achievement, from talking to doing. So why do so many organizations and people fail to achieve all they set out to accomplish when they start moving from talking to doing? There are four common pitfalls we face when trying to get things done.

First, we get stuck in the status quo. The way things are is powerful and it’s easier to keep doing things the way they have always been done. If your goals are ambitious and real problems need to be confronted, then the status quo won’t get you the results you want. Change is hard though because change always invites criticism and resistance. So often, complacency is easier. And so, we give up on those ambitious goals.

The second pitfall is we try to do too many things at once. However, success is not found in doing everything or the biggest number of things. Success is found in doing the right number of things - the ones that will have the most impact - at the right time and in the right order. Prioritization is vital.

Third, we may not be systematic about our goals. We think about things haphazardly, or incompletely and we fail to consider all that is necessary in order to get something done. We have to be systematic. What needs to get done, who is going to get it done, how will we measure that it is actually getting done, and how do we hold ourselves accountable if it doesn’t get done?

And finally, we fail to achieve our goals because we aren’t realistic. So often we plan for the best case, and then we get distracted and discouraged when things don’t go as planned in a world of conflicting, competing priorities and unexpected events. We should plan for the most-likely case. We should think about how we will regroup and recover in the worst case.

Leaders set goals that are ambitious enough to require change but realistic enough to be achieved. They prioritize ruthlessly. Leaders are never haphazard and they do not “fly by the seat of their pants”. They are systematic and thorough in their approach.