3 Ways to Practice Steady-On Leadership
“Steady-on.” That’s what my friend Dave says when you ask, “How ya doin’?” Dave works at farmer-pace. He wouldn’t win any sprints. I’ve done a couple things with Dave, and I can testify that he’s steady. If you’re in a hurry, relax.
Usain Bolt, is the fastest human alive. Eliud Kipchoge is the greatest marathoner in the world. Usain would leave Eliud in the dust, if the race was short. If the race lasted two hours, Usain wouldn’t finish unless he slowed down.
If you want to finish a long race, slow down. Athletes can’t perform at 100% capacity 100% of the time, and you can’t either. For the record, saying you’re giving 110% is hyperbole. In reality, it’s impossible to give 101%.
Dave is steady-on because he goes to work before breakfast. Some days he works till after dinner. We visited once when some cows got out. We helped get them back in as the sun was going down.
Steady-on leadership:
#1. Get real about pace.
Life is hard when you’re tired.
Fatigue lowers performance, even when you give it everything you’ve got. People who over-work get less done than people who understand pace.
Exhausted runners get left in the dust at the end of a race. They’re giving it everything they’ve got, but 100% effort isn’t much after fatigue sets in.
A two-hour task takes three hours when you’re tired.
#2. Schedule priorities.
What’s the most important thing for you today? If you don’t know your priorities, you’re wasting time and squandering talent.
Get to it. Don’t piddle around before doing important work.
#3. Fuel the machine.
Replenish energy before you run out of gas. Eat healthy snacks. Take breaks. Go home before you’re exhausted.
What comes to mind when you think about steady-on leadership?
Successful Time Management isn’t about Getting More Done
For me “steady-on leadership” means your are clear and focused in executing your plan to achieve your goals. It doesn’t mean you operate at a slow pace. It means you know when to speed up and when to slow down. Steady-on leaders live their values and consistently get the job done on time.
I had a conversation with one of my clients about this idea. We discussed annual rhythms. When is does the schedule ease up? When are the predictable crunch times? He said, like you would expect, end of year is a predictable crunch time. Now the question is, what can you do in the summer to get ready for end of year? How do you want to lead If the beginning of the year is less pressure-packed? He said he wanted to focus more on relationships when there was less time pressure.
The 440m race is a good example of your point. Athletes begin with a burst of speed then slow down and prepare for the end. If they don’t prepare for the end properly, they fade.
We should acknowledge that a burst of speed at the end of a race is not as fast as a burst of speed at the beginning, even if it is just as effortful.
Good points Dan.
I had another sports example this weekend. I watched my grandson play a high school hockey game. Each line is on the ice for about 60-to-75 seconds. During the shift there are moments when a player puts out maximum effort (101%). But there are other short period when they are skating at 60 % of their possible speed.
Knowing when to go all out and when to slow down and get in the right position is critical. This concept has application to many business situations.
Thanks for the illustration. Reminds me of “hurry up and wait.”
Been working on this concept since COVID afforded me the opportunity to slow down. It’s much easier to implement when working alone and much harder with multiple outside pressures. You also have to have a clear vision of where you are headed, otherwise you will spend a lot of time going somewhere you don’t want to be. There might also be times where you want to go fast for short periods to see if that is what you want.
The role of leaders in setting pace is essential. You have to model the way, be aware of capacity, communicate honestly about time pressure, and set goals that challenge but don’t overwhelm.
One coaching client told me that we should anticipate times when you’re running at 100% for longer times.
Your suggestion that we should experiment with pace is fascinating and offers opportunities to see how teams perform. It seems important to monitor satisfaction as well as results.
Receiving and being open to good feedback is the key to unlock many things.
The SEAL team saying “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” fits with this I reckon. I remind my team of it all the time (and myself).