How do you make a difference quickly?
"I've got 2-3 sessions to make a difference. What should I do?"
This question came from a sport psych friend of mine, but could just as well come from CEOs, teammates, and captains.
How do you quickly make an impact and demonstrate value in a limited time?
My answer: Spend 50% of the time observing before you do anything.
One of the biggest mistakes I see leaders make is jumping in too quickly. They think that leading means changing things - right away, to demonstrate value. They underrate the importance of letting things unfolding, seeing the pieces clearly, and then identifying the highest leverage things to do to make effective changes quickly.
I wrote a full guide on effective integration here.
When we get too focused on making a difference, we manufacture urgency and mistake quick progress for impactful progress.
Instead, take your time. Figure out what the team actually needs, and then, figure out how you deliver it quickly and powerfully, with full clarity on what will be best.
Once you know where to drill in, making a difference doesn't take long at all.
Today, see if you can identify a high-leverage point of intervention that you haven’t used yet.
Maybe it’s a bit of feedback to a key player, a conversation with another leader, or coaching a coach.
Whatever it is, make sure you have complete clarity on the outcome you want. And then, deliver that high-leverage, high-impact intervention to the best of your ability.