The Urgency Addiction
Charles Hummel, in his essay The Tyranny of the Urgent, states that the “winds of people’s demands have driven them (us) onto a reef of frustration.” I have often wondered HOW and WHY this occurs.
The answer lies in the constant tension that we face between what is important and what is urgent. According to Stephen Covey, “knowing and doing what is important rather than simply responding to what’s urgent is foundational to putting first things first.” Living a life that is simply reactionary to circumstances, if not addressed, makes us a slave to the “tyranny of the urgent.” After all, many times “busyness” creates a perception of importance. But when urgency is the dominant force behind our activities, importance very often is not. When the urgent edges out the important, we begin to lose focus on the big picture.
Excellent TRIBES understand the importance of working together. As President Lyndon Johnson stated, “There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve by ourselves.” Working in harmony requires members of the TRIBE to forsake individual agendas and instead focus on executing agreed upon initiatives. And there are many differences between the two. Things like ego, insecurity, naiveté, and temperament can all be roadblocks in a unified response to the inevitable challenges that lie ahead for your organization.
Einstein once remarked, “Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both alive and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.” True leaders understand their responsibility in going first to create the kind of environment where members of their TRIBES are willing to focus on WE more than ME!
Mia Hamm, one of the members of the Olympic gold medal U.S. Women’s Soccer Team stated in her book Go for the Goal:
“Soccer is not an individual sport. I don’t score all the goals, and the ones I do score are usually the product of a team effort. I don’t keep the ball out of the back of the net on the other end of the field. I don’t plan our game tactics. I don’t wash our training gear, and I don’t make our airline reservations. I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team. I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.”
What an important perspective to have as a leader! While success as a TRIBE will be built on individual execution and performance, it is the disciplined choice of keeping the important things first in our minds and hearts that will help us achieve our big picture goals, not the urgency of singular moments or situations.
As John Maxwell says, “When you see the big picture correctly, you serve the team more quickly.” That, my friends, is what is most important! Never allow the personal urgency of the moment overshadow the importance of your TRIBE!