Leadership Quicksand

Have you ever felt like you were drowning in quicksand? Your company is struggling and the harder you work the more you struggle. Its like quicksand. We have all been in over our head and it's not fun. Honestly, it's downright scary. So the question is what do you do when you are drowning in quicksand.

The answer is as simple as one acronym...ACT! Assess the situation, Consider the appropriate responses and Take the appropriate action. Many times people do before they think and in doing they create larger challenges for the team.
ACT forces leaders to first assess the situation, gather the required information and options available before they do anything else. This effectively slows the clock down and forces teams to think before they take action. The next step drives leaders to consider all of the options and potential challenges or successes created by each option. In reality, it forces critical thinking and teams can then understand the secondary and tertiary impacts of a single action. Once the team has determined the appropriate path, take action. Execute on the decision while continually assessing the impact.

Drowning in quicksand is never fun. It scares most people and their first reaction drives them to swim as hard as they can. As we all know this only makes the situation worse. Next time you are drowning in quicksand ACT don't panic. Like one friend once told me when faced with an impossible task, "How do you eat an elephant...one bite at a time."

Be Bold,

Dave