Procrastination and JDI!

In a management role procrastination can seriously hold back progress and demotivate individuals and teams who, full of innovation and drive to move forward, get frustrated and confused when action is held up.

There are a number of steps that will help the procrastinating manager.

  • Firstly, recognise it is a good and reasonable defence mechanism, which relates to the things which might have occurred in the past. A hurried decision which might have had an unsatisfactory and upsetting result.

    It is part of your character and maybe just a little too strong a behaviour for those who are around you. It can often be a great asset if you are surrounded by 'gung-ho' types who just go for things - there is value in caution and it is all relative!

  • Secondly. Get Real! Many of the 'Fear' writings, such as 'Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway' by Susan Jeffers and 'How to Stop Worrying and Start Living' by Dale Carnegie, extol the virtues of realistically assessing the potential downsides. Often, asking yourself 'What is the worst that could possibly happen here?', gets you able to see how unlikely your decision is to be life-threatening. So have a think and be realistic - then do it!

  • Third and finally, consider the effects of putting off decisions. How much harm does it do to the organisation, your nearby people and above all you, as decisions lie there at the back of your mind, unmade? The result is most often not the negative outcome that your worst fears suggest, but the subliminal worry that NOT having made the decision, i.e. it is still to be worried over, is often much, much worse when added up than the decision itself!

    So, in most cases, a good chunk of information, weigh up the potential downsides and then, JDI. Just Do It - works a treat!

    As a final example, I once, in my early management days, worked with a middle manager who became a real challenge, with his behaviour and attitudes - even I was intimidated by him! It took me 18 months of fear of confrontation and worry to tackle him about it - the evidence was never really that strong - I told myself...

    The interview took an hour, during which time he completely apologised for his behaviour.

    He had not realised that the way he was experienced by others was so damaging. Once pointed out, he accessed feedback regularly on those days when he was 'off on one', and he encouraged his supporters to bring him down to earth quickly. I took 18 months worrying about that conversation.

    Looking back, I learnt that it is far better to get these things aired early on, for everyone. And never once has this backfired on me since.

    Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com (Note to editors. This article may be edited for use in your publication or newsletter as long as a live link to the website is included)

    ...helping you, to help your people, to help your business grow...

    In The News:

    • pen paper and inkwell


    cat break through


    Managers? Biggest Blunders

    Nobody's perfect, including the boss. Managers, we polled recently, acknowledged... Read More

    Focus on Outcomes to Keep Your Business On-Course

    Did you know that an airplane in flight is off... Read More

    On The Job Training is Something You Canā??t Afford to Skip

    Trained employees are more productive employees; thereā??s no doubt about... Read More

    Five Essential Hiring Practices

    Recruiting and hiring are often done in haste, leaving the... Read More

    Quick Tip - Effective Meetings Have a Complete Agenda

    Most agendas for a meeting look like this.* Budget* Payroll*... Read More

    Integrity... Should It Matter?

    In our fast paced work culture, manned by technology savvy... Read More

    What Makes a Good Appraisal Interview?

    WHAT MAKES A GOOD APPRAISAL INTERVIEW?Here is a tip for... Read More

    Creating Advisory Boards

    There is no substitute for soliciting the opinions of the... Read More

    Smart Staffing: Replacing a Key Manager

    Have you been in this situation? One of your top... Read More

    Why Good Enough... Isnt

    About a year ago, I had an opportunity to have... Read More

    Is Busyness Affecting Your Business?

    I'm too busy; I'd love to but I'm very busy;... Read More

    Beyond Management Coaching: When Things Are Getting Out of Control

    Leaders and Managers often ask us, 'What do you do... Read More

    Contract Management Software: the Solution to the Problem of Coordination

    Charles Petrie, from Stanford, released a short article entitled "The... Read More

    He Hate Me: Turning Their Bad Attitude Into Your Great Results

    "He Hate Me" was the nickname of Rod Smart, a... Read More

    Human Resource Communication Pays Off

    Human Resource Communications and Corporate Communications ? are they one... Read More

    Top Ten Tips for Outstanding Customer Service

    Remember the 80:20 rule? You may not get everything perfectly... Read More

    Saying One Thing, Doing Another...

    This week I was asked to speak at an internal... Read More

    Be a Leader - The Importance of Going Home Early!

    How you run your business is, of course your business.... Read More

    Managing Workplace Conflicts

    Kinds of Workplace ConflictsLet's start by identifying where conflicts happen.... Read More

    Success at Work : People Skills : Dealing with New Ideas

    Re-organizing, re-engineering, re-training, down-sizing, outsourcing, changing-changing-changing. Organizations today think they... Read More

    The Dog That Didnt Bark

    A few weeks ago, after consultations with others in an... Read More

    Compensation and Six Sigma Black Belts

    One of the more ambiguous elements of a Six Sigma... Read More

    Downsizing in Organisations - The Real Truth

    I've met and worked with many people in all sectors... Read More

    CEO: The Key To Fix ingThe Marketing/Sales Collaboration Problem

    We all know that achieving better alignment, synergy and cooperation... Read More

    Resistance - How to Handle It

    Do you ever meet with resistance from other people -... Read More

    Minimising Conflict With Effective Communication

    Did you know there are 5 types of... Read More

    Are You Ready to Sell Your Business

    Make Sure You Understand Your Motivation for SellingAre you thinking... Read More

    Performance Expectations - 5 Tips and 5 Questions

    People want to understand their role - they want to... Read More

    The Truth?

    The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never... Read More

    The Devil We Know

    "I'm in an abusive relationship," sighed Andrew. "My bookkeeper annoys... Read More

    Cold Water Comments - What They Are and How to Manage Them!

    Cold Water Comments - What They Are and How to... Read More

    A Comprehensive Sarbanes Oxley Act Summary

    Individual and corporate security stand in the center of the... Read More

    Questions To Ask Employees You Want To Retain

    Times of cost cutting and downsizing has dramatically impacted the... Read More