Too often amongst the clutter of activity to get things done, effectiveness suffers in the pursuit of efficiency. How often do you see lots of doing and too little thinking? Managers who would much rather reaction than a moment of reflection?

In such cases where leaders lack clarity and the ability to create focus, teams are left aimless and disunified. In these environments teams can only resort to ‘getting things done’ rather than ‘getting things right’. All because of too much doing and not enough thinking.

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest path to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat” – Sun Tzu

How long has it been since you or your team dedicated time to think about how and why you’re doing what you’re doing? Taking the time to stop and reflect is a critical leadership practice.

  • Unless we pause and think, we can forget why we’re here and what we stand for;
  • Unless we pause and think, we can lose perspective of life and work;
  • Unless we pause and think, we can overlook what matters;
  • Unless we pause and think, we can fail to learn from our mistakes;
  • Unless we pause and think, we remain reactive, and unable to overcome the unexpected.

Leadership requires deep thinking. Our behaviour, action and results are the products of our thinking. If we are not happy with the results we are getting we need to stop and think about what needs to change.

As we take time to pause and think about what is important, we develop clarity. When we have clarity about where we need to go, and can pause to adjust our decisions and actions accordingly, we create effectiveness. To ask “What needs to be done right now? This week? This month? This year?” can bring focus back to our work. It can help free us from our need for ‘action’.

The reality is that we cannot be successful unless our actions are focused on that which matters most.

Are you clear as to what’s the most important thing right now?