Without Focus it’s difficult for us to see the targets clearly and when you can’t see the targets clearly then your chance of hitting them is nil.
Once we have that Focus we need to share this with our teams so that they have a clear understanding too, this clip from Monty Python clearly shows what will happen when our teams lack focus.
As leaders if we haven’t clearly shared our Focus with our teams then we will end up spending the first part of our projects regrouping our teams and getting them back on track, if we can catch up with them that is.
If we are unsure of our ultimate destination then at least telling our teams the general direction will ensure that they don’t stray too far from the right track and our efforts to regroup them will be lower.
I worked on a very complex project back in 2001, we had to deliver a large system within 3 months rather than 18 months, and we had 350 people on the project. The project was due to start the first week of January so I ended up doing quite a bit of work over christmas.
My boss told me to chill out, take vacation over christmas, and look to start in the first week of January like everyone else.
But given I was the leader of the project I felt it was better for me to spend that week over Christmas and New Year planning, ensuring that I could communicate the direction to the teams from the first minute, rather than wait until after we had started.
If I allowed 350 people to set off without clarity then I would spend the majority of the first month trying to get them back on track, which would require more work and would be more stressful than spending one week preparing, and ultimately we would have failed.
We need to have clear Focus and we need to share that with our teams, the better and earlier we can do that, the higher the probability of our success.
Monty Python! Awesome!
People focus on “short wins” too much. The short win for you in your project back back in 2001 would’ve been enjoying your christmas. But you did what most fail to do … focus on the “long term” win. Long term wins needs foresight and courage to anticipate what may happen if you put things off too long … what the perceived consequences may be. Getting ready and preparing yourself for what may be coming down the line makes you better prepared even if what you anticipated does not come to fruition.
People too often focus on short-term or themselves
I was struck by the post as I go to see Monty Python live today 😉