For many business professionals adapting to the new normal, the sense of time has changed dramatically.
In a recent dialogue with a group of leaders going through a leadership best practices business leadership simulation, the conversation turned to the topic of “creating a sense of urgency.” It started with the group agreeing that it was a very ambiguous topic and very hard to define as leader after leader shared different perspectives on what a sense of urgency means to them and what a sense of urgency means to their direct reports and colleagues.
An urgent issue and not the same as having a sense of urgency
Urgency means something is urgent and it needs to be addressed immediately. Having a sense of urgency means you always see things as urgent and want to take care of them as quickly as possible. Someone who has a sense of urgency:
2) Challenge your teams to do better - Everyone in your organization needs to understand they are working together to meet the needs of customers, employees, and shareholders. Creating the products and services customers can’t live without is critical to your success and if your company isn’t going to do it, there are 10 more who are dying for the opportunity and to see you fail.
3) Measure all outcomes and have great capabilities and systems - How do you know if you have achieved success? It is important for you and your team to constantly measure your performance and ask for feedback in terms of improving and aligning with the changes happening in the market today. In that context, you must also determine:
4) Create a culture of transparency - When organizations grow and change, it becomes difficult to understand what things the organization is doing to sustain the business and differentiate for the future. The best practice is to make the business goals transparent to everyone and explain to them in a way that is understandable and easy to align to all team and individual goals and objectives. This clarity can be a catalyst for more transparency and openness.
5) Look to hire great leaders, not just managers - Organizations are built through great leadership, not great management. It is critical to have a talent management strategy that is acquiring, developing, and retaining top talent that is leaders and not box checkers or task managers. You want to make sure you have people who can inspire, give feedback, can take feedback, are action-oriented, protect the company’s values, and can keep creating a sense of urgency.