“When you get up every morning, there are people lined up around the block who want to tell what you to do.” These words of wisdom come from my dear friend and mentor, Art Haimerl.
He regularly reminded us in his teaching that we had to know what we believed in and where we wanted to go because others would be happy to tell us if we weren't sure.
As a leader, confidence that you are doing the right things serves you well when others come with different perspectives and priorities. Intentional and strategic leadership, along with being focused on your vision, goals, and objectives will help you stay on the course to the results you have defined for success.
Others may want to redefine your vision and the means of attaining it. People inside or outside your team may believe a different vision or agenda should become your priority.
When this happens, it's critical to know your vision and your goals. The crucial question to ask is, “Is this the hill to die on?”
When you know the organization's vision and goals along with the values that support them, you can confidently maintain your focus. Your response to attempts to redefine your priorities can be, “We're not able to take that on right now.”
This may require finesse and potentially bringing in experts in public relations or even legal help. However, staying true to your vision and goals will help you measure which hill your organization needs to be willing to die on.
As a leader, it is mission critical to stay the course, to know where you're going, and your plan to get there. There are times when a detour or new route is needed to attain your vision. The source to make that decision needs to reside in the leaders of the organization, however, not those outside.
Is addressing this challenge to your focus mission-critical or is this someone else’s priority? That always answers the question for you, is this a hill you're willing to die on?
