LionHeart Consulting

How To Get Started When You Don't Know How
March 2008

Remembering What Matters
Volume 4, Issue 3

How to Get Started When You Don't Know How  

Sherry was sitting at her desk quietly freaking out. "I'm in deep trouble", she told herself. "I never should have said yes to this." Two months ago the owner called her in to declare he was "totally confident" in her ability to lead the development of a new market for their products. The fierce competition in the current customer base was eroding their market share.

She was flattered, excited, and apprehensive all at the same time. She'd never led a project this important before, but didn't think she could say no. Now, she had thirty days to present a detailed plan to the senior team and was totally stuck. In fact, she hadn't even started; she didn't know where to begin. Arggh!!

Have you ever been stuck like this? Most people have, maybe with less at stake than Sherry, but stuck nonetheless. Why do people procrastinate? 

Three main reasons:
1. You don't know how to take the first step.
2. The whole project seems too big and you feel overwhelmed, so you focus on easier problems to resolve.
3. You shouldn't be working on this anyway because it isn't really the best use of your time and expertise, yet you've accepted it and feel obligated to complete it.

Let's look at #3 first. When you are a helpful person and/or someone who gets things done, others recognize this trait and naturally gravitate to you when they need something accomplished. It might be important to them, but is it something you can personally give your best effort to? Does your heart say "no" even though your ego or sense of duty wants to say "yes?"  If you can't come to a genuine yes, politely decline the request and share your perspective on the rationale for focusing on other important work.  By telling the truth and declining, you've saved the organization from sending out the second team on an assignment someone else is more energized or better suited for.  You are not the best person for everything!

Now let's look at the other two scenarios for procrastination when you are indeed the right person. When you accept a big project, like Sherry, there is often a feeling of recognition and excitement about working on something new and impactful. This may be followed quickly with a feeling of dread that you've bitten off more than you can chew and are too embarrassed to admit it. Remember that you wouldn't have been asked to manage the project if someone didn't believe you had the skills to accomplish it. The dread or panic you feel is just cutting you off from remembering your own competence.

Here is a process for moving through the discomfort and getting started when you are stuck.

1. Accept the situation and the feelings you have.  Own up to your dread, panic, anger, or resignation. It won't help to spend time wishing you were somewhere else or blaming yourself or someone else for the tight spot you're in. It's okay to feel crummy for a moment. You won't be spending the rest of your life here. But be here for now, because that's exactly where you are. Just accepting you have a problem usually brings a beginning sense of relief.
2. Start with the end in mind.  Any road will get you there if you don't know where you're going. When this project is successfully completed what will the result be? What will the organization be like? Write down the desired result in SMART terms - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based. Exactly what is the result you want in measurable terms completed by what date?
3. Plan backwards from the desired result. It often seems too big and overwhelming when you look at the whole thing all at once. An old saying goes, "Don't try to eat an elephant in one bite". You need to step back and break it down into logical pieces. If the final desired result is XYZ a year from now, what needs to be in place in 9 months, 6 months, 3 months, next month? These interim goals are your milestones to help you digest the elephant effectively.
4. If you don't know how to accomplish something, ask for help. By planning backwards from the end, you've narrowed down what needs attention right now.  So looking at the first milestone 30 days from now, what do you need to do first? Now identify where your first stuck point is. If you don't know how or where to get what you need to begin, ask, "Who might know?"  Be creative and bold in asking as many people for help as you need to.  If you ask the same person twenty questions you may be accused of being annoying, but if you ask twenty people three or four questions, you'll be complimented for doing your homework and you'll learn a ton.  You have a great network of expertise available.  Remember, leaders don't have all of the answers.  They have lots of great people to call upon for assistance.
5. Renegotiate expectations. If it will be near impossible to meet the original commitment you made, it's best to admit it as soon as you realize it so there is time to do a course correction. You initiate the conversation. Be honest without blaming or making excuses. Be sure to present a realistic recovery plan and make a new commitment.  You also may need to reprioritize your other work with people so you can focus on your biggest project.  You are not a prisoner to what has already been promised.  When life changes and priorities need to shift, you have a responsibility to inform people of what's possible, not suck it up and suffer through overwhelm. 

Do you want to produce a quality output or struggle and get a lot of mediocre work done?  One of the most important skills a leader can develop is the ability to tell the truth about what's possible to ensure excellent quality prevails. Following this process will help take the struggle out of what you've been procrastinating about and get your momentum started. You'll feel competent and energized again and your organization will get the best results from the best you.

It's easy to think about getting started when you're stuck. It's not as easy to do it. If you want some help on moving forward through what you're facing, here are a few ways LionHeart can help:

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