Dream Leader: Dream Big

SO many apologies for my absence. Life. So let’s continue our discussion and series on being a Dream Leader. I encourage you to return to the first 3 blogs in this series where we discuss the importance of being a ∫. We’ve also pointed out the impact to you personally and professionally when you practice being a Dream Leader, determining what is your purpose, what brings you joy, and the valuable action of writing your dream into a plan. This part 4 of our 9 part series is about stepping back and evaluating your plan.

How many of you have been in a planning meeting where placed before your team is a goal you need to accomplish? In some experiences in my professional life, some of these meetings have been a lot of fun. The team is looking at a new process or program, or we are going to overhaul a program and improve what we provide to our patients. There is much energy and exuberance as we all see what we want to accomplish. And at that point, the meeting takes off!

Just like that, off we go. The team discusses the challenges, we look at what we have available to work the problem, and plans are made to move us forward. And with not much else, no critical review or an outside look at our plan, we commit resources to solve our problem or fix an issue. Isn’t that what leaders are supposed to do, to act right away?

In times like this and on teams I have worked with, one of the things we usually fall victim to as leaders is ensuring we have victory in our plan. The unwritten rule around most organizations is there is no glory in failure, that anything less than a total victory is failure, and in the culture of most organizations, there is a strong competition between leaders on which and who’s programs are far exciting their peers. We constantly are devastating our colleagues in one moment and then the next we are trying convince them we are all working on ONE team. Balderdash! But more on that in another blog.

So at this point, whether anyone recognizes it or not, we go for easy, quick wins. Meaning, we look for items or milestones we can accomplish and articulate to others what we’ve accomplished towards the goal. Because remember, leaders act right away, isn’t that how we are valued? And at this point we pick easy and accomplishable goals. The outcome of meeting these goals may be a good thing. But more times than not, they do very little in helping us accomplish or making a real difference in what we originally were setting out to initiate or improve.

The same could easily happen when you created your Dream Plan. To many, this seems like a great morale booster. Get a win under your belt to motivate you forward. Though I am a proponent of this, if all your goals are set this high, then my friend, you are not dreaming big enough.

If you can accomplish your Dream Plans easily, then your Dream Plans were not big enough!

Anything worth your attention, anything you desire to improve your personal and professional, and anything you want to change to make a difference is going to take effort, focus, and your time to accomplish. You have got to realize by now there is no easy road to things worth working towards. The same is true for your Dream Plan. You need to take now a critical step back and evaluate if your plan is going to get you to are wanting to go, ALL the way to where you want to go and not just the first stop.

So how do you ensure your Dream Plan is big enough?

1. Time Out: You have completed your Dream Plan. Take a short break. Walk away from your plan and your thinking about it for a short. Let yourself stop reviewing it and let it marinate by itself. Timing is different for everyone, but generally 3-5 days is good for most.
2. Critical Eye: Since you took your break, now look at your Dream Plan with fresh eyes and ask yourself (1) does this plan actually support my purpose and help me with a mission I have in my personal and/or professional life. And (2) is the plan too easy to accomplish. Once you have your answers, move on. 
   1. Support Purpose: You needed another look to ensure your plan supports your purpose. It is very easy to go off course when making the plan. You can easily get distracted and start putting items in your plan that have nothing to do with your purpose or goals. If you find them, remove them.
   1. A real task: So are the goals of your plan going to require you some effort, energy, focus, and time to accomplish then you have set forth a great plan. If they are not, then go back to your plan and work it till it does. This is not supposed to be an easy accomplishment. It is meant to help you reach your goals and these goal should be worth your effort.
3. Accountability: Don’t forget your accountability colleague. They should be integral to this plan and walk these steps with you as well. They will actually provide valuable input to ensure you don’t go off course or make the goals too easy to accomplish.
4. Time Table: With all goals, set forth deadlines for updates or accomplishment. If you reach the time designated and have not accomplished the goal, the dig into why. Readjust your plan and keep moving.

In this process of practicing your Dream Leadership, you need to ensure the effort and focus you are going to put on your goals are worth your time and effort. Taking an easy road may get you a quick win, but rarely are those wins sustainable or satisfying. If your Dream Plan is going to help you, it’s got to be worthy of you as a leader, your time, and your investment in the plan.

Leading with you!

Dean

Take every chance to grow. It is what leaders do.Find us at RN2Leader.com and “Like”us on Facebook at RN2Leader!

Take every chance to grow. It is what leaders do.Find us at RN2Leader.com and “Like”us on Facebook at RN2Leader!