2040's Ideas and Innovations Newsletter, Issue 53: Are You Holding Everyone Back?

Process, Planning and Response

Some people are quick processors, others way slower. Some people are decisive, others less so. Some people thrive on structure, others won’t be boxed in. And some people are planners, others can’t be bothered. We all know the types: Planners get to the airport hours before the flight; their nemeses are always running to the gate.

What happens when key members of a team don’t process quickly enough, are indecisive, resist structure and don’t want to plan ahead? The individual versus the demands of the group is not a psycho-social theory. We see it all the time in organizations when progress is held hostage by a few individuals who aren’t showing up for the team. Or worse than that, an entire organization is disrupted when it is unprepared for unexpected changes in market conditions, customers … or say a global pandemic.

According to management developer Robert Tanner, “Today’s environment changes often and quickly. Despite the disruptive and unrelenting pace of change, planning is an imp…