What are the drivers to pace? In a world that seems to be moving faster and faster, it’s a critical question worth wrestling with. The answers determine our capacity for progress and at times sanity!
Drivers of Pace
Last week, we held our Leadership Team retreat. It was an opportunity to slow pace down, focus, and grow as a group. We spent two full days together attempting to answer this very question, “What are the drivers of pace?” As a leader, I hear directly about pace, but I also see and feel the impact of it on our team.
The discussion was isolated to our professional worlds. We could have very easily spent several more days talking about the compounding challenge of pace in our personal worlds. Aging parents, personal illness, academic struggles of children, getting multiple kids to extracurriculars, personal finances coming up short, marital struggles, volunteer responsibilities, and everything else that comes with being a responsible adult.
In looking back at my notes, we identified nearly thirty different contributors to pace in the workplace. There were two that emerged for me. Here are my thoughts on them:
Chaos
We can all agree that chaos drives pace. For the most part, chaos shows up at our doorstep unexpectedly. Sure, there are things we can do to minimize or contain the chaos, but our best laid plans don’t usually forecast it.
On a personal level, over the last two weeks, our HVAC unit went out, the dishwasher finally died after several near-death experiences, the Keurig broke, and one of the vehicles needed substantial repair work. I saw none of it coming and neither did the household budget!
The chaos required my immediate attention, which meant that everything else got put on hold…the normal stuff. That catchup pace was lurking though. When the chaos cleared, everything else I was responsible for sped up like a runaway train. One that was hard to catch up to.
Every leader has a little more chaos in our worlds than we used to. It’s the stark reality of leadership. External pressures, unforeseen emergencies, rapidly approaching deadlines, rising expectations, labor shortages, cost increases, supply chain issues…you name the particular driver of pace. All combined can create an unsustainable pace.
I read an article in Admired Leadership a few weeks ago entitled, Why Some People Are Clutch. I immediately associated that word with our team and our culture. Even when chaos ensues, I have no doubt that our team is clutch. Regardless of the required pace, they will deliver.
Chaos is an uncontrollable part of pace. Great leaders run into it, not from it. The sooner we attack it, the sooner the pace subsides.
Care
Honestly, the team struggled with the question. I did too. We revisited the question at several points during our time together and failed to come up with concrete examples of what we could do to reduce the pace. I even asked if there was one thing we could stop doing right now that would positively impact pace. Nothing.
It wasn’t until our final moments together where we made progress on the question. I asked the team to share with the group, their biggest takeaway from our time together. There were a lot of good moments. People shared that they had greater understanding of what their teammates do and that they too struggle in similar areas in leadership.
Then there was THE response. One of our team members shared a unique perspective on the pace discussion, “We care too much.” At first glance, this can seem like an odd response. But, when I really processed it, it made total sense.
We have an incredible team and they care. They care about the teams they lead and the city we serve. Care drives a fast pace that is always working towards a purpose. For our team, it’s a strong sense of purpose to serve others. An extremely purposeful pace in which I am proud to serve with them on.
Conclusion
There was a commercial I once saw that really Stuck with me. It was of a father arriving home from work. As he approached the front door, he was clearly worn down by the pace of the professional portion of his day. Before opening the door, he pauses and collects himself.
As he opens the door, you can hear the unmistakable pitter patter of his daughter’s feet racing towards the door way. She yells “Daddy” and leaps into his arms. The next scene is him playing dolls with her.
See, the chaotic pace of his day was no match for his purposeful personal pace. The care he possessed for his daughter was his driver of pace.
It’s a great lesson for all of us. Throughout our discussion as a team, I constantly thought about antique balance scale. One that has two sides to place things on and it constantly teeters back and forth without finding the perfect resting point.
Pace is a constant tension to manage. It’s our objective not to let one side of the scale hit the ground. Even after all of our time together, there was no perfection solution that balances that scale out. But, care is a pretty good driver of pace. It’s a worthy and noble pursuit of pace both in life and leadership.
