I had my annual review in February. I thoroughly enjoyed it. (I’m not saying that just because my boss reads these blog posts, either.) Nothing was a surprise in the review, which if you have a good leader, should always be the case. For years I’ve had the feedback to slow down and I experienced highs and lows of success with it. My urgency and accountability is why I was sought out for various roles within our organization. If you can picture it, imagine trying to catch your breath over six years, trying to get to the point where you’re seen as a strategic leader because you bring to the table experience and urgency.
So here we are now. From a Specialist to a Sr. Manager in six years. I’ve somehow chronicled all of those on the blog. As I took this role I knew this is what the break-neck speed racing was for. “Okay, so the racing and speed and urgency got me here.” This is what I’ve wanted. But, that break neck speed is now becoming a detriment.
My task is seemingly simple.
Slow down.
Work slower so you can focus more? Sounds like a dream. Don’t I always say good things take time?
But the reality is this is going to be really hard. And I like to talk to you about hard things and be transparent about them. So today I’m sharing the three reasons why working fast isn’t working for me and the specific goals, actionable items, around them.
Working Fast Makes Work Harder
(on myself and others)
My leader told me directly, when I’m working faster, I’m often making things harder on myself. At first, even though I agreed with it, I couldn’t think of a tangible instance where this was true. However, I intrinsically felt that reverberate as it reached my soul.
One of the ways I know I’m still growing into that strategic leader is the way I tend to assume the burden of proof is on me. Surely I don’t just…. tell other people to do things, right? “Am I now the person who reports down and then asks for an update by the EOW?” (I very much always have been that person anyway.) My very tactical side and “we just need to get this done no matter what” personality is having a moment of reckoning. Yes, I do the work, but I do the work that guides the team and offers insights and feedback. I can’t provide that critical eye when I’m the one that is building, testing, reviewing, giving feedback and then presenting. I’m a people leader for a reason.
Here’s an example just last week. I needed to create a deck quickly. Instead of taking a moment to think about all of the resources available to me, I just bulldozed my way into an 85% effective deck. Was it bad? No. Was it hard? Yes. Was it the right kind of hard? Maybe. When I presented to my leader they were able to show me that last 15% I was missing. Oh and guess what? I could have combined a lot of previously created work into one 95% effective presentation with that final 5% of Alissa-feedback.
Goal: Respond to emails slower. Ask more questions. Gather what’s available to you before you begin. Make yourself less available for those small, insignificant pings that distract you from that day’s goals.
Working Fast Impacts My Judgement
Oooft, this one hits hard. Speed, much like a substance, alters your perception of almost everything. Sure, you can do something, but that doesn’t mean you should do something. I can work fast, but I probably shouldn’t because I’m becoming aware of the blind spots it presents. Right now I’m in a bit of a vicious cycle of working fast, reviewing less than I work on it, sending it up and then seeing the opportunities and gaps. Ultimately, I think it’s undercutting my credibility to deliver the work that I want. Not the work that’s being expect of me, but the work presentation, effort and intention that I want to ensure my name is synonymous with.
I’ll never be able to read someone’s mind, but I know my leaders well. And they know reach other really well. So well I think my leader is psychic. The reality is that she has really good awareness and judgement in a situation to understand that is going to be needed. That’s she needs me to step into for her and what I want to step into.
Goal: Show better judgement. That’s it. Literally show better judgement in whatever circumstances present themselves.
Working Fast is Often Unpolished
(for me)
We’ve all been there. You see the duplicated word that somehow Word didn’t catch. And you didn’t catch until you were presenting to leadership. Yeah. I’m finding the more I allow myself to be rushed or derailed from the goals of my day, the more I’m becoming an inconsistent editor of myself.
I think a lot about the people I admire in my organization and in career fields and they all possess an incredible amount of poise that I find connected to their quality of work. Speed doesn’t allow you to polish. (Polish, not perfect. That’s an entirely different conversation.) Slowing down does allow you to have your own polish and inspection.
Goal: Don’t watch tick off the to-do list unless it’s really done right and in the way you know it needs to be done. Not to someone else’s acceptable standards, but to the thoughtful standards I want to be known for.
I’m putting in roadblocks to help me grow both personally and professional this year. Becoming a more intentional person who represents thoughtful, considerate strategy and dialog is who I want to be. And it’s going to require re-wiring my brain and many starts and stops.
If you relate to this, I have good news, we can do be the leader we want to be perceived as. We’re in this role because we have what it takes. But we have to take a step back and unlearn some of the habits we have that got us here that won’t serve us as we enter this portion of our careers.
We’ve got this.
Slowly.
