Timeout for Leadership-your one-minute leadership idea

Tip Sheet #26

The art of finishing

 After watching the NCAA basketball tournament, I constantly heard about players “finishing” a play.  Extending this a bit, the announcers also spoke of teams knowing how to finish a game. Yes, finishing things for me equates to a winning performance.  When I was coaching I consistently talked to my offensive linemen about finishing blocks which for me meant the opposing player was laying on his back with my player on top of him.  I know I finish my dinner every night and my waistline can swear to it.

If we are so good about talking about finishing, why does it seem so difficult to finish a project at work? Why is it so difficult to follow through on those initiatives that one time seemed so important to you?  As I reflect on my career, I know that finishing something was very hard for me.  I had a hard time seeing a project through from start to finish.  Something always seemed to get in the way of finishing that special project.  Why was finishing so hard for me?  Some reasons are listed below:

• Inability to effectively delegate.
• Inability to effectively communicate the importance of the project.
• Possessing an incomplete knowledge of the needs /requirements of the project.
• Not possessing the needed skill set to finish the job.
• Underestimating the time needed to finish the job.
• Underestimating the financial resources needed to complete the job.
• Inability to juggle the multiple priorities of being a principal.
• Over time, personal energy and enthusiasm waned for the project.
• A new interest comes along and a determination is made to head in that direction instead of the path that you are on.
• A fear that if and when the project is finished or fully implemented, what comes next?
• Impatience with the details of the project or impatience with the people working on the project.

Wow, I never thought of these things before in this manner and I could probably list more and more reasons.  If I had a chance to do things over again, I might start with this list and go forward making sure that these items are thought about, discussed, and secured before the project begins.

I would also, “slow my roll”.  I would always tend to bite off way more than I could chew then force it upon my people.  I never worked hard enough on getting the right buy-in from staff before the project commenced.  This was a critical if not fatal mistake.

Finishing requires knowledge, patience and masterful communication skills.  It is important not to overwhelm people.  It is also important to do one thing well and then move on.

I only wish I had the self-awareness and patience that I have now when I was busy trying to get my school and district pointed in the right direction years ago.  For those still in the game it is not too late.  Slow down and know thyself!