Never the twain shall meet... well that's what we're taught to think. Slow and steady makes slow and steady progress while those who travel full tilt are prone to accidents and mistakes.
But what if the two were actually possible, what if we could work quickly and yet produce quality work?
It's an old idea, but recently it found a champion. The Harvard Business Review resolved to find an answer and set its considerable muscle to the task.
In typical HBR fashion, their study would involve analysing huge reams of data from the fastest movers and the slowest and steadiest in town. In all the study looked at 75,000 leaders and applied a thorough 360 assessment to each and every one.
The study used 13 different raters who identified 49 separate behavioural characteristics from the thousands of hours of data they had to dredge through, but the findings were striking.
It is not only possible to be quick and good, they had found the key traits required to excel at both. This is what they discovered.
- The quick and the good all had a clearly defined direction and purpose. To work at top speed there's no time to be vague. The leaders able to produce quality work at speed were crystal clear in their motives, methods and mission statement.
- The quick and the good are natural motivators. Doubt is infectious, but so then is inspiration. Leaders who were best able to produce solid work were also able to empower their teams and drive them onwards towards a common goal.
- The quick and the good do not fear change... they embrace it. To keep moving forward, we must be able to shift and bend when the need arises. The survey discovered that the fastest and more productive leaders were quick to adapt and that their opposites, the slower and more steady leaders actively appeared to shun change.
- The quick and the good looked outwards. When we have all the time in the world it can feel natural to focus on the task at hand. Making sure we have our eyes fixed firmly on the process can blind us to outside forces. Quick thinking and high performing leaders know that rules and goalposts can change and always keep one eye on the horizon just in case they can catch the glimpse of a storm cloud.
- The quick and the good have lofty ambitions. Setting stretch targets is a common trait among the fastest achievers. Without an additional target just over the hill, we often aim too low to exceed the original goal. Smart leaders know the key to getting things done well and in advance is to make everything seem achievable and every target reasonable.
- The quick and the good communicate with absolute clarity. As with direction, there is no space or time for grey areas or even fine lines. Everything must be delivered in a considered, constant and concise fashion and there is zero room for error. When your team has a rapport they are far less likely to stray from the course and if the worse does happen and someone deviates from the path, a team with clear communication will be able to spot and correct it without much fuss.
- The quick and the good innovate. You don't learn to succeed at speed by following the herd. Strong leaders are not afraid to try new things. They also won't spend much time on dead-ends, but in the same breath a quick leader is not afraid to try or to fail.