Tempering Expectations

As a Chicago Bears fan, I can grudgingly acknowledge that from a pure football standpoint, Aaron Rodgers was way better than anything the Bears have had at quarterback in my lifetime. In 2014, the Packers were off to an unexpectedly slow start. Having lost two of their first three games, including a bad 19-7 defeat to the Lions, the media and fans were in a panic, and he famously said, "R-E-L-A-X." Green Bay went on to win their next four (including a 38-17 blowout of my beloved Bears) and 11 of their last 13 (including a second worse blowout of Da Bears). They eventually lost overtime to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game that season.

Rodgers was confident in himself, his team, and their plan. He knew they were far from firing on all cylinders but had it in them to turn things around. The fans and pundits, as they do, were overreacting that the sky had fallen and this supposedly great team was doomed to failure. In this case, it turns out that Rodgers was right to stay the course, have some patience, and let the improvement process happen. There is nothing else on which Rodgers and I agree, but this story is illustrative of a struggle I have in leadership.

Rather than being a pundit or fan, I am the person unhappy with the pace of success. I have looked at data, observed classes, talked with teachers and students, found an improvement area, and built a plan for how to improve. There is an obvious solution, and everyone should be able to see it. Enacting the plan with quick, positive outcomes should be easy. Those results will build momentum, and off we go, soaring to glory.

Reality rapidly shows that lasting progress is much slower than my vision, raising my frustration just as quickly. How is it not apparent to everyone else that if they just fall in line and do the plan I carefully crafted for them, the problem will be solved? For a thousand different reasons, I came to realize. Many times, the reasons are my shortcomings; sometimes, it is how people interpret the message, and other times, people do not have the capacity or capability to do what I am asking.

My leadership shortcomings are many:

1. identifying the right problem but the wrong obstacle. 
2. identifying the right problem but the wrong people to solve it.
3. identifying the wrong problem and creating a solution that wastes time and resources.
4. identifying a problem too late.
5. identifying a problem too soon so others do not see how it impacts them.
6. ineffective communication
1. too late
2. too soon
3. too long
4. too vague
5. wrong audience
6. wrong format
7. not listening
8. pushing too hard
9. not pushing hard enough
10. pushing the wrong people

The easy thing to do is get mad that progress is not being made, lash out, and push harder. But there is nothing more asinine than trying hard without a clear direction of how to move. I had to learn on the job to temper my expectations of how fast change happens. Even without my shortcomings impacting progress, everyone else working has similar issues. 

Beyond those issues are psychological elements of trust, buy-in, support, hubris, and willpower. There are skill and energy barriers, as well as initiative burnout. Whiplash from too many new plans at once creates confusion or disengagement. With all things considered, it is impressive progress is ever made! So when plans are not being followed through and growth is not happening, I have to remind myself to R-E-L-A-X. Stopping to think through the obstacles, removing my ego to admit faults, and collaborating with others are all better approaches than despair, frustration, or anger. A tongue-lashing or firing of personnel may light a quick fire through fear, but that flame is extinguished just as quickly. By pausing in place or even stepping backward, sustained growth often accelerates.