SubscribeThe Essence of Urgency
URGENCY! My clients use the word a lot these days. I find myself using it a lot too. As I sit sipping my pre-dawn cup of tea pondering my own challenges relative to creating and sustaining urgency, I'm asking myself "What is the true essence of URGENCY?" Here's what I have so far… I'm just scraping the surface here, and I hope you'll contribute through the "Comments" area below.
In terms of core emotions, the emotion I find that correlates most directly with my sense of urgency is fear. It could be fear of a missed opportunity, fear of failure, or fear of losing integrity in a client relationship. Regardless of the source, fear seems to be at the root. True urgency, it seems, is not rooted in opportunity but rather in fear.
But for someone to feel "urgent" instead of just afraid, I think there must be some sense of personal responsibility. If I don't feel personally responsible for the required action, I'll feel the fear but dismiss it with an "It's not my job". We must "own" the fear and the required action as being our responsibility, and then we'll be motivated to act upon it.
Motivation to act isn't enough either. We need to know how to act - what to do. When I find that I'm stuck, it's often because there isn't a clear action to take. Give me 2-3 good options and I might choose to evaluate them (a.k.a. procrastinate) instead of act. Clarity about what to do is certainly key to action.
The last thing that occurs to me is priority. It isn't enough that I'm concerned about something. Urgency that elicits immediate action seems to be tied to the thing that is my #1 priority… not a secondary priority. I've got a long list of things to do in front of me that stand as proof that items sitting below 3rd on my list aren't going to get the same urgent attention as item #1.
So, how do we get our team to feel our urgency?
It seems that…
- Urgency requires a very real and shared fear
- Responsibility must be owned by every member of the team
- Actions to take must be clear and well understood
- Everyone must agree upon the concern as priority #1
Regarding the challenge and urgency of "sales" in this economy, my focus is mainly on #3 - the "what to do" and "how to do it". But how do we achieve #'s 1, 2, and 4 in a constructive way that people will take to heart - a way every employee regardless of functional role will understand and act upon? What are your thoughts?
30 Mar 2009
Reader Comments (2)
Pete, through my long experience with fear, I find it to be a destructive master. It certainly motivates but it is a fuel that destroys the engine even as it propels the vehicle down the road. Responsibility will work, but not as compellingly as the burning heart. The burning heart to me is the love of the client/collaborator, the problem space and the challenge associated with it, and the burning desire to be involved in the meaning one finds in the area. Finding meaning is the ultimate compelling force and creates an urgency beyond all others, in my experience. One of the key benefits of the burning heart is that the joy one finds in it irresistibly pushes one to express ones thoughts and feelings. Those expressions are genuine and often so compelling that they change the minds and hearts of others. This results in union (teams) and the shared priorities that teams are built on (as you point out). There are many inherent conflicts which occur in trying to pursue goals which are intrinsically meaningful to a person in the context of the need/requirement for success. The trouble is that there is very little joy associated with many definitions of success.
Urgency is simply a function of time associated with the performance of any task.
That said, I agree most urgency is driven by individual fear (of losing, of getting fired, of missing out, etc.)
However, many individuals 'act with urgency' simply out of habit and, in these cases, the habit of urgency causes anxiety rather than being caused by anxiety [Anyone who has spent time in the Northeast or gone through the line at Chipotle knows what I am talking about.]
Still others act with constant urgency because it creates the illusion of meaning (validation) in otherwise meaningless tasks. Aside: I once spent a summer working at Ben and Jerry's ice cream and was responsible for making 'waffle-cones' - a truly mind numbing activity. I turned this into a daily contest and am pretty sure I still hold the world record for waffle cones produced in an hour (you'll have to email me for the number!)
To me, the most unfortunate aspect of urgency is that it represents a constant barrier to self actualization (or happiness or peace or whatever...)
Think about it... if I do not control my time/pace/reality... how can I ever be fulfilled. Or worse...even if I attain that state, I am continuously dragged back to 'reality.'