One of the most destructive phrases I've heard in a team setting is:
"We just need to get 'X', and then we'll be set"
X can be anything.
It can be a new piece of software, fancy new gear, a team member with a certain skillset you don't have, a business loan, the perfect client, more money, more time, less distractions, better weather, a different political climate.....
anything that is outside of your control, or not guaranteed to happen.
While there are times that a critical component to a project is missing or a real problem in a team that needs to be addressed...
Oftentimes we use the idea that "help is on the way" as an excuse not to improve ourselves, or to think critically how we can accomplish a goal or task with our current resources.
We look at other teams, businesses or organizations, and we see all the resources they might have. We see others with more cash, more clients, more time, fewer problems, stronger team members.....
And we think "The reason they work so well is they have X. So if we had X, we would work well"
The reason this mindset is so destructive is that in a perfect world, you might be right.
If you had a little more cash, you'd have more breathing room to fix your problems. You could afford to hire away your problems and fill missing skills gaps. And maybe there has been a big shift in your industry that is unfairly affecting your business.
But this isn't a perfect world
When you're waiting for the cavalry to arrive, you're objective is just to put your head down, and hold out.
Don't rock the boat.
Don't take responsibility for your success.
Don't spend resources on change. This is how it works.
Keep the status quo.... just a little longer...
And when you're waiting for the backup to arrive and it doesn't, you lose hope. Morale drops. You might as well give up because in your mind:
That was my ONLY chance.
But when you assume no one is coming to bail you out:
You have to believe that you can make it work with what you got. And if you don't have it now, you have to get it really fast.
Can someone learn the skills?
Can we simplify things?
Can we improve how we're doing this?
What actually gets the results?
Ego and pride suddenly disappear when there is no other choice.
Desperation is a powerful force. It can cause a person to do a miraculous feat, or turn on themselves in self-destruction.
Which is why a mindset that the cavalry is not coming, needs to be in place BEFORE you get to that point. To reap the benefits of responsibility, ownership, and the focus that comes from not having any other choice.
WITHOUT the panic, stress, and poor decision making that can befall you once your stress levels have elevated.
Don't misunderstand me:
I am not prescribing that you ignore working on external forces, changing the environment you are in, or in evaluating the direction you are taking your business or team:
Sometimes you need to make those big changes.
But for the day to day decisions, you need to make, if you catch yourself hoping that someone else is going to come in and make your problems go away, more often than not, you will be mistaken.
If you're in a bad situation, every second counts. Every second spent wishing and hoping for something to change, is a second you are taking away from the solution that's in front of you.
The calvary does eventually come.
If this all seems like a big downer, it's not.
Life does throw you a bone sometimes. There are downs, but there are also a lot of ups.
The calvary does eventually come.
But when those waves of good fortune come, you need to be in a position to make the most of it. If your company gets a cash injection, but you're still hemorrhaging money, then that cash won't do you any good. The really good employees that have the skills to help, might not stick around if your team isn't communicating. And "great clients" work with great companies.
So get your company ready now, and stop waiting for someone else to come and fix your problems.
They say that the harder you work, the more luck you have.
A lot of people misinterpret that to mean that if you work hard, you'll have good luck.
But that is not the promise.
The promise is: You'll have MORE luck.
I'm no Simon Sinek, Jocko Willink, or Gary Vaynerchuk, when it comes to building a team. But what I do know is, that focussing on the things you can control makes both a good AND a bad situation BETTER.
And focusing on what you can't, doesn't.
