Urgency or Purpose?

I must admit, I’ve always been a fan of creating a sense of urgency to help propel certain projects forward. Creating a sense of urgency revolves around deadlines, countdowns, some nagging, explaining WHY something is important over and over again, along with some type of reward at the conclusion of the project.

Recently, I read an article by Kimber Lockhart who is the Chief Technology Officer at One Medical Group. In her article, Lockhart challenges her readers to foster a sense of PURPOSE, rather than creating a sense of urgency. (CLICK HERE for entire article) She goes on to explain that creating a sense of purpose gives the team a deep understanding and the reasons behind the effort. It allows members to be immersed in the cause, motivating action in a mission that is seen clearly by all those involved.

The article gave me pause to ponder. Indeed it should be the objective that drives the activity. Creating a sense of urgency can become the goal in itself rather than the true purpose. As leaders we must continue to articulate purpose and vision, hire and retain the right people to get the job done and help everyone understand the impact of their labors.

Creating a sense of PURPOSE…yea…that’s the ticket…

Be good to yourself…