In the new Netflix documentary, Albert Brooks: Defending My Life, Brooks jokes about his agent, who once shook his head, noting how he always seemed to take the hard road. Albert immediately checked him and fired back, “You think I see two roads! I don’t. I only see one!”
I had to laugh when I saw the clip. I’ve also often seen one steep, difficult path, only to look back and wonder, Why did I take the hard road?!
Here’s the surprise people don’t mention: Hard is better is a myth. Racing toward the finish line doesn’t make the project better, more sophisticated, or add to your professional stature. Sometimes, it just makes it hard and even reckless. But there’s an alternative, and that is to temper your approach with people skills.
Let’s meet someone who took a step back before the hard road took a permanent toll on her and her staff.
Autodesk was confident Dara Treseder had the right elements for success. Her resume was filled with gems like being the Global Head of Marketing, Communications, and Membership at Peloton and stints at Apple, Goldman Sachs, and GE Ventures.
As they hoped, Treseder hit the ground running with a “first hundred days” plan in her back pocket. But then she did the unthinkable: She hit pause to take stock. She remembered, “It was like a blitz. We got a lot done. But then I paused, because… it’s like a marathon. You’ve got to take your recovery days.”
However, recovery time didn’t mean being passive. It was time well spent with listening sessions dedicated to taking the pulse of the staff and understanding how they were managing change. Taking stock required listening to everyone’s feedback, even uncomfortable comments from staff slow to buy into the new normal. Dara recommends the same live-and-learn approach to other leaders: “Make sure that you’re pausing to see if the organization is absorbing and also to course correct because you’re not going to do everything right.”
In the November series, Flip Your Failures with Soft Skills, we’re putting the soft skill How tactics you use every day to work to transform the ouch moments of 2023. Here’s the tangle with 100-day sprints: They can seem exciting and empowering because you produce a lot in a short amount of time. However, productivity isn’t meant to be a white-knuckle rollercoaster ride.
The old way of bossing up was to give in to over-indexing and constant all-nighters. But in my career as a dealmaker, I’ve seen the aftermath of tunnel vision and discrete snap decisions. The multi-year contract with haphazard choices can seem like a quick win but be a failure overall. Alternately, sustainable, long game results come to life by applying clear thinking and collaboration.
So, if you’re ready to flip the bit on chasing transformation and set yourself up for The Next Big Thing, end the year by taking the counter-intuitive action to hit pause and regroup. Be astute and insightful—both in-demand people skills— and make clever pivots and meaningful course corrections (no matter how minor they seem). Here’s your bright line guidance: If you find yourself giving some commitments the side eye or the heave-ho, you’re doing it right.
Now, let’s take what you’ve learned from constant change and transform it with a simple phrase and soft skills How tactics, like being compassionate and finding creative options. For instance:
“This year, I’ve been running so fast that everything seems like an emergency. In the future, I will:
* Block time to take stock;
* Reassess whether investments are working; and
* Ace the essentials and add in fun.”
There are more roads than the hard road. Chasing transformation can bring a harsh tax —even for the most polished, well-intentioned professional. So, get out of the grind by swapping 100-day sprints for the right priorities and plans. Counterbalance getting things done with practical wisdom and rewarding relationships that feed your spirit and fill your soul.