Is faster better?

Performance today is not about working faster; it's about working better, but what does better mean?

I remember being a young manager who believed that the faster I could respond, the quicker I could fix problems, and the more important I was. However, that also meant I had to rely on experience, which I only had little of then. Thankfully, a mentor told me that doing things faster wasn't the goal; doing it better and getting it right the first time is what I should focus on.

The first time he asked me to revisit my solution and consider my suggestions more deeply, I felt like I had failed. But I made the decision to pause and take a step back to explore other possibilities. I could have spent time building a stronger argument for my case, trying to prove my suggestion. Instead, I pushed the thoughts of "not good enough" aside, which enabled me to stay open-minded and curious, listening inside for other thoughts and ideas to form and explore different options.

More exploratory questions of what-ifs emerged from pausing to reflect more deeply, allowing other potential options to appear. The process of asking additional questions to explore the cause and effect allowed me to see the connection between phrases like:

"What if... then what is possible?"

"How about...?"

"Then what could happen?"

"How could we make that work...?"

I realized that while my manager had expectations of me and what I needed to achieve, I was responsible for achieving the results. 

By giving myself the space and grace to pause and think, I was able to access my creative problem-solving capacities, and I have never looked back.

Giving myself the space and grace to pause and think, I realized my creative problem-solving capacities, and I have never looked back since.

Instead of thinking that being a fast first responder was my superpower, I now think of my superpower as my ability to listen, reflect, and ask more questions. This makes me a better thinker who discerns how values and actions align. I now consider problem-solving an exciting possibility for creating inclusive and innovative solutions.

WE MUST PAUSE AND CHOOSE

I'm telling you this story because we are experiencing a paradigm shift and have a choice to make.

- Will we keep the old ideas of peak performance, defined as the ability to do more and work faster, as the key to success?

- Or will we recognize that we will never keep up with the speed of technology, constant change, and never-ending challenges?

To master our constantly changing reality, we need new skills to unlock the same human advantage that has helped us evolve for centuries.

However, we tend to dismiss it because we have bought into the idea that work is about survival of the fittest. Our human advantage is our ability to think, engage, and act with discernment and care.

The years of accepting that work hurts are over. We must cultivate work cultures that build people up instead of breaking them down. The question is not if; it's how.

Our ability to be curious, creative, and constructive thinkers is more vital than ever. The speed of technology and the emergence of AI in our daily lives increase the speed of change and fundamentally change how we work.

We can use it to our advantage or let it stress us out even more. Combining our human advantage with that of technology is how we can reclaim agency in our lives and work.

CHANGE HAPPENS

Change happens regardless of our readiness and willingness. There's a saying that what we resist persists. If we are not adaptable, we will struggle more. This also holds true for how we tackle work problems.

The first steps towards change include being willing to stay present through the discomfort we feel when we face the unknown of challenges and possible solutions.

Pausing is not our normal behavior; it has to be practiced repeatedly and become part of who we are.

However, pausing allows us to choose how we respond and act instead of the immediate gratification of a snap reaction. We need to trust that we matter, and our ability to think and engage with care instead of speed fosters impact and builds growth. 

To think better, we must stop ruminating thoughts from taking over our growth mindset and instead learn to pause to cut through the overwhelm. And while I know it's not easy because we have grown accustomed to believing that thinking faster is better, we need to acknowledge that it is not. Thinking better is better.

Can we agree that feeling accomplished does not simply boil down to ticking a box after completing a task but to feel that we do work that matters and positively impact other people's lives?

All jobs, from team to top, matter. None of us works in a vacuum; we are all in this together, in service of each other. Working towards a better future means learning to pause and choose to care.