There’s a common problem that we notice—many leaders don’t value planning. They think they are gifted enough to be able to just figure it out in the moment when needed. It’s worked for them so far, but the problem is if you want to grow past where you currently are, you’re going to have to do things differently than you always have. There is a habit that needs to be developed to help improve your skill level, and that habit comes in the form of learning how to plan.
If you’re crushing it and growing like crazy, this article is not for you. This is purely for people saying and thinking things like, “I feel so overwhelmed. I’m not growing the way I want to. I got to bed at night and don’t sleep well because I have so many balls in the air and don’t know what to do with them.” If you can identify with that, our upcoming article series is for you!
Why people don’t like to plan
We’ve found most people don’t like to plan because they think a plan is a concrete formula for getting something done. So, when an obstacle pops up and the plan no longer works, they give up on planning altogether. They believe planning doesn’t work. However, a plan is more of a guide with benchmarks to move you along the journey to getting something done.
Let’s look at it for a minute from the lens of planning for a vacation. It’s something we’re all familiar with doing. Even people who despise planning in the business world are likely to have a plan before they take off on vacation.
So, imagine that you are headed off on a road trip. You know the location where you’re headed, you have it plugged into Google Maps, and know what path you’re headed. You’ve preplanned where you’re stopping for gas and where you want to eat along the way. But what happens 2 hours into the trip when your daughter tells you she has to go to the bathroom? It wasn’t in your plan to stop that early, but she can’t wait for your pre-planned bathroom break.
Do you make the stop at the rest area and then throw the rest of your vacation plan out the window because something happened that wasn’t part of your plan? Of course not! That would be ridiculous. So, why do we do this in the business world?
As soon as an unplanned event or situation occurs, people decide to scratch the plan completely because they “tried it and it just didn’t work.”
It’s time to learn to overcome the obstacles to planning
We need plans, and we need to learn how to adjust, or “realign” as we call it at SPEARity, those plans as we move along and circumstances change. We also need to learn to stop falling back to our old excuses like “I planned things to a T and it didn’t work out so I’m just quitting.”
Here at SPEARity, we’re ready to help you overcome your obstacles to planning. You can get started by contacting us today about our coaching options in Milwaukee. We also invite you to subscribe to The Monday Morning Strategist to get quick leadership tips delivered to your inbox.
