Noooo…. I had set myself 30 minutes to collate and share some important papers ahead of my Board Meeting. I had just pressed the send button and included an email group address I had not intended. ‘Slowing down to hurry up’ is a lesson I occasionally must re-learn.
I have been managing and leading teams for over 40 years and I have prided myself on instilling a sense of urgency into our culture. I believe being responsive and decisive is important to the success of our operations, however there are occasions when you need to slow down and shape the ground before you act.
I have been fortunate that I have surrounded myself with talent and learned from people who are more talented and competent than me.
When I mentioned I was going to cover this lesson in an article three people, who I admire and respect, kindly shared their thoughts on slowing down to hurry up:
Joyce Raw Coming from a large northern family, the idea of slowing down is not always to your advantage. Going slow can mean the difference between losing out on edible treats or even a seat on the sofa! However, my father would always advocate the practice of “slowing your brain” if you were in a dilemma or dithering about a decision. His take on it would be that if you could slow down your rate of thinking you would find the best and natural answer which would yield success. He was never wrong on this method.
Farren Drury MBE ‘GO SLOW TO GO FAST’ you might like to quote from this which I always use when bringing the ‘go slow to go fast’ mantra to life. It comes from Peter Senge et al. … ‘Presence’. “If the situation is new, slowing down is necessary. With a freshness of vision, you have the possibility of a freshness of action, and the overall response on a collective level can be much quicker than trying to implement hasty decisions that are not compelling to people”.
I like the idea of cultivating the ground if you’re trying to bring people with you in realising a vision or indeed in collaborating effectively to craft a Vision or plan more effectively and with more likelihood of securing backing.” Farren
Rebecca Alexander. “This is a very interesting concept! Especially as I’m at the other end of the scale to you – my first instinct is nearly always to wait to see what will emerge before I jump in.
I love that you have remembered Farren’s advice to shape the ground. It reminds me of something I sometimes cover in leadership workshops, about ’taking a mindful pause’ before reacting to big events. It’s as much about managing emotions and gathering one’s thoughts than it is about managing the actual situation, but I’ve noticed that in many workplace cultures, there is a feeling that leaders should always act quickly and decisively – even when it may not be the right thing to do. So, finding the balance is always important, and allowing oneself to take time can also be necessary.
There are also times when it is very important to act quickly. I guess the real secret is knowing when to move fast, and when you need to slow down to hurry up!”
When to slow down so you can hurry up by asking yourself five questions:
- Is my personal timing right before I need to commit? Am I operating at peak energy? I am at my best early in the morning but on a steep downward slope towards the end of my day.
- ‘There is nothing new under the sun’! Have I needed to take this action or make this decision under similar circumstances before?
- If I have experienced this scenario before, what did I do?
- As Farren often said when I worked for him in the military: shape the battlefield! Is everything (people and or resources) in place (and where they need it to be) before I act?
- Have I carried out my final check? I normally check over an email including addresses before I press the send button.
Related: Something I have learned from Bettina, my daughter who copes with a learning disability and autism, ‘Patience is a Leadership Virtue’ https://leadershipintheraw.org/2021/02/16/being-bettinas-dad-patience-is-a-leadership-virtue/
Five Benefits of slowing down before you act – or as Joyce, my wife & coach often tells me “Less haste….Steve”.
- Will the action I need to make fix itself in the process of time without me rushing in?
- By focusing on your long-term vision over short-term wins can be tempting, but they are not always the right place to focus. Moving slower and more deliberately means you keep focused on long-term vision, goals, and outcome.
- You can see potential implications and consequences from your action or decision you may not have considered if you acted too quickly.
- By slowing down your decision making and actions you save time you may lose from trying to remedy a situation after acting too hastily.
- The problem or challenge you are considering responding to has an opportunity to play out.
Sometimes when we get the feeling that life is too hectic, it is usually because of what is probably going on in our heads. Maybe we are worrying about worst-case scenarios or running over in our minds what we will say to our colleagues. I have found in both my careers, the pressures we feel are those we impose on ourselves. So, the next time I need to make an important decision, or I have an urgent and important situation to deal with e.g., ‘to collate and share some important papers ahead of my Board Meeting.’ I will procrastinate on purpose.
Leadership in the Raw 