Yes you heard that right ! Sometimes we need to slow down our thinking and actions to move faster forward. In a fast paced business world, we can often forget how important taking time to undertake deep thinking, strategy, analysis and to be in a creative mindset truly are and scheduling time to take a breath, slow down and create the space required to move out of transactional thinking and into these states is critical for individual and organisational success.
This time is not always seen as valuable in organisations and creating a culture which not only allows this but actively insists on this is imperative for higher productivity and achievement. It should never be a ‘ when able’ and should be ‘intentional and scheduled’.
Tips for how to achieve momentum, whilst slowing down :
– Become really clear about your goals and the WHY to achieve these for the business
– Schedule time for thinking, space and the ability to get out of the day to day and look to the future, whilst reviewing progress along the way
– Involve and encourage others in time out to undertake deeper thinking, creative thought sharing and problem solving
– Apply principles (AGILE) that allow ideas to be tested and fail fast if need be, with conviction in testing out new ideas and openness to failures along the way/ learnings that assist future growth
– Create time for yourself, as a leader and for those who report to you, to reflect, review and reset as needed and do this regularly , consistently ( leading from the front).
– Showcase the value in taking a pause to make decisions, with clarity of thought and pause versus reactive and pressured thinking
None of us think as clearly in pressure cooker situations/ environments (I am an ex Emergency Nurse so I have seen this time and time again) and even those who are trained to make good decisions under significant pressure – this takes years of practice and exposure and you will always think more clearly when not in a fight/ flight mode.
Flags / Warning signals you should be slowing down and taking a breather include :
– You feel like you are on a wheel (going around and around) but perhaps not achieving outcomes/gaining wins/making headway
– You/your team appear to be working longer hours and harder but with no visible gains as a result
– You are spending all your time in the details and starting to meddle in other’s work
– You are becoming run down, unwell or displaying signs of stress visible to others
– You may become seen as reactive versus strategic by those around you and you may be struggling to solve business problems as you usually would
– You are unable to recall the last time you stopped and spent time working ‘on the business’ and thinking about the future state
The Benefits of slowing down:
– Better judgement and clarity of thought
– You will be seen as calm, considered and in control of your thoughts and actions/ role modelling the right behaviours
– You will gain increased satisfaction from outcome gains and bigger impact achievements
– Your team will grow through your role modelling and this will enhance the culture and success factors
– You will experience less stress and spend less time dealing with poor judgements and the outcomes these create
Article link you may wish to check out to further explore this:
https://www.fastcompany.com/90844854/why-leaders-slow-down-speed-up
