Leadership Lesson: Postpone vs. Cancel
In a cancel culture where change is happening rapidly and new information arrives daily, leaders have a tremendous opportunity to approach tough decisions with intentionality. Jason Barger provides observations about leaders and organizations who succeed in the face of uncertainty while others fumble with their stakeholders.
SHOW NOTES
1:14 – Jason introduces the podcast. Welcome back to the podcast and thank you for listening. We wish to create content that engages your mind and heart and allows you to step back and think and add some positivity to your life.
2:45 – The term cancel has been all too familiar in 2020 for all of us. From sports, summer camps, schools and new formats, and corporate events have all experienced cancellations. Jason talks about cancellations and the term “cancel culture”.
6:45 – Jason talks about the leadership decisions that are being made now as people are looking to you. The power of postponement vs cancellation is discussed by Jason.
Every single day we are getting new data, the world is changing, new things are coming to light.
10:22 – Leaders have to make quick and fast decisions but in this new world, that may not be the best for them. Jason talks about how to buy time instead of just a quick knee-jerk reaction. In most situations, a cancellation was not required right away. Instead, many of the effective leaders were able to step back and buy themselves time and postpone instead. This allows you to keep your options open. As new information comes in and to create space to think about the data and what is going on. It is really important to understand the situation and get input from all around you and to play the long-game.
14:20 – Jason talks about the Big10 decision to cancel football and what that meant to the community, the fans, and their leadership.
Buying ourselves time and to gather more data, allows us to make a decision that is more effective down the road.
15:31 – Poor communication, the lack of transparency on the decision of the Big10 really was a lack of leadership for them and is analyzed in the podcast. They didn’t step back, to buy themselves time, to make sure they seeked positive solutions, analyze the data, and communicate to stakeholders. The result was a PR nightmare and a lack of leadership.
18:00 – Leaders keep the vision of why we’re doing what we’re doing, first. They communicate with transparency and proactively. They seek solutions and keep their options open, which is essential especially now. Why not take the time now to make those decisions.
Questions to Ponder:
- What on your team or in your business, your family, your organization needs more time?
- What creative solutions or possibilities have not been considered yet?
- What is the message you need to communicate to your stakeholders about the process that you are in?
- What is the next action that will stimulate progress and move everything forward?
Remember, sometimes it’s necessary to cancel but more times than not creative possibilities exist and your people, your team, your followers, need you to buy time and exhaust your efforts looking for creative possibilities. Then it is time to act, be transparent, and stay focused on the mission.
If you like the podcast, have a question, or just want to share your thoughts for about daring to begin please leave a comment below or please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.
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ABOUT THE THERMOSTAT
Conversations and micro-thoughts to engage your mind and heart.
A thermostat is proactive. It sets the temperature in a room. Controls the temperature. Regulates the temperature. But in today’s distracted, fast-paced and digital world, it’s easy for individuals and organizations to act more like thermometers, slipping into reactionary thinking, becoming scattered and inconsistent. The most compelling leaders, teams, organizations, families or collection of humans of any kind operate in thermostat mode. They calibrate their mind and heart to set the temperature for the vision and culture they want to create. Jason Barger, globally celebrated author, keynote speaker, and founder of Step Back Leadership Consulting, is the host of The Thermostat, a podcast journey to discover authentic leadership, create compelling cultures and find clarity of mission, vision, and values.
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