Photo by jose aljovin on Unsplash
“Okay, that’s what we’re going to do then. Thank you everyone for your input. I’ve gotta run to another meeting. Keep me posted on how things go.”
Tony shut down his video call and logged on to his next meeting. He was proud that he and his team had been able to come up with a quick solution to avert the impending crisis. But two weeks later, they were meeting again. They needed to find a solution to the unintended consequence of their quick fix.
Can you relate to this? We live in a fast-paced world where the pressure for quick solutions is intense. At the same time, we often run into unintended consequences that take us by surprise. Three common leadership activities have great potential to falter: delegation, managing conflict, and dealing with crisis situations.
See below for some examples of quick fixes, consequences and potential long-term strategies.
Let’s return to Tony, the leader I introduced earlier. What could he and his team have done in that first meeting when they came up with a quick solution to avert the impending crisis? While each situation has its own unique flavor, there are some mindsets and actions that help minimize unintended negative consequences.
Start from the premise that unintended consequences are likely to happen. You’ve probably heard of Murphy’s Law: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong…and at the worst possible time.” When you’re contemplating what actions to take, make sure to first reflect on what could go wrong and how to deal with it.
Along with taking Murphy’s Law to heart, adopt the mindset that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” I know, I’m overdoing it on the truisms but there’s a reason they are truisms!
One client became committed to minimizing fixes that falter when he realized the effect they were having on his business results. He adopted a practice of stopping to anticipate what could backfire before making a decision to pursue a course of action. This process of slowing down, assessing what could go wrong and thoughtfully deciding the best course of action saved time, money and headaches.
Another action you can take is to use the table above to identify the quick fix, potential consequences and long-term strategy for decisions you need to make. Sometimes you do need to act quickly. If you try your best to incorporate elements of the long-term strategy you may minimize unintended consequences and make progress on what you’re trying to achieve in the long run. Here’s a great article that takes this suggestion even further.
I hope you’re convinced that it’s worth anticipating unintended negative consequences of your actions as a leader. Even so, it’s going to require a conscious commitment to counteract the tendency to apply quick fixes. What will you do to set this commitment in motion?
Please leave your suggestions in the Comments below.
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