Be Quick, but Don’t Hurry.

Have you ever felt the need to move immediately, only to be stymied by bureaucracy or the slow response of your team?

That frustration is real. Sometimes the situation genuinely requires urgency, and waiting carries consequences. But when progress is too slow, the temptation is to push harder, bypass the process, or simply take over. The challenge is learning how to create movement without allowing justified urgency to become destructive impatience.

I have always had a relatively high motor and a dominant behavioral style. My natural tendency is to move quickly. I have often lived by the philosophy that I would rather beg forgiveness than ask permission.

I still believe a bias toward action is a desirable leadership trait. Organizations rarely improve because everyone waited patiently for somebody else to make the first move. But throughout my career, my sense of urgency has also contributed to problems that might have been avoided with a little more patience.

Early in my tenure with one company, I attempted to reconfigure its compensation plan. I had been there for only about a month.

From my perspective, the existing plan had problems and needed to change. I believed my recommendation was directionally correct, and I was eager to put it into action.

Leadership saw the situation differently.

I was told that I had not been there long enough to understand why things worked the way they did. I had not yet earned the right to make the changes I was recommending. Perhaps most importantly, I had not involved the people who possessed the experience and knowledge that could have made the plan better.

That was difficult feedback, but it was also fair.

I had seen a problem and raced toward a solution. What I had not done was take sufficient time to understand the history, learn from the people closest to the issue, or build the credibility required to lead such a significant change.

The direction may have been right, but the approach was wrong.

My desire to move quickly had caused me to overlook something fundamental: a good idea is not enough. Sustainable change also requires understanding, involvement, trust, and acceptance.

I needed to slow down—not to abandon the initiative, but to give it a better chance of succeeding.

When I stepped back, involved the right people, listened to their concerns, and incorporated their knowledge into the proposal, we developed a stronger plan. More importantly, the people responsible for implementing it had a voice in creating it.

The initiative finally gained traction and acceptance.

The destination had not changed, but patience gave us a much better path for reaching it.

Throughout my career, there have been similar episodes in which my desire to move quickly overrode a more considered approach. I occasionally moved before I had gathered enough information, involved the right people, or considered the unintended consequences.

My impatience did not always accelerate progress. Sometimes it created resistance, rework, and problems that could have been avoided.

History offers a powerful parallel. When President John F. Kennedy approved the Bay of Pigs invasion shortly after entering office in 1961, critical assumptions were not sufficiently challenged and important concerns were not fully considered. The operation ended in failure.

Kennedy learned from that experience. During the Cuban Missile Crisis the following year, he created a more deliberate decision-making process, listened to competing viewpoints, and resisted pressure for immediate military action.

Patience did not make him passive or indecisive. It helped him avoid a potentially catastrophic decision.

Many leaders are so eager to make things happen that they outrun their headlights. We see a problem, envision a solution, and accelerate toward it—only to encounter obstacles that greater investigation, involvement, and consideration might have revealed.

Patience is not simply waiting longer. It is using the time to understand the situation, challenge our assumptions, listen to knowledgeable people, and build the support necessary to move forward successfully.

Nor does patience require surrendering our bias toward action. It requires us to prepare the road before pressing the accelerator.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Where could you benefit from more investigation and consideration before making your
next decision?

Whose experience and knowledge should be included before you move forward?

CHALLENGE

The next time you feel compelled to act immediately, pause long enough to determine
whether you are moving with purpose—or merely hurrying.
Be quick. But don’t hurry.