Timing is everything.
Good leaders not only need to make good decisions, they need to make these decisions at an appropriate time.
John Maxwell
In his chapter on the Law of Timing, Maxwell writes, “Reading a situation and knowing what to do are not enough to make you succeed in leadership. If you want your organization, department, or team to move forward, you must pay attention to timing.”
Doing the right thing at the right time will give the best results. However, how do you know when the timing is right? This is not always easy to figure out the right timing. Many times, as leaders we may want to just react, when we should take time to analyze and think through the actions.
My personality is one of problem solving, when I see something wrong, I want to jump in and just fix it. However, many times it has to be at the right time. Just doing actions at the wrong time does not always give the best results. You have to hold off on the impulse to jump and take a minute to look at when would be best.
I was working with a group where it would be great to capitalize on the recent college football games. However, considering what would have to be done to prepare and produce materials, we would be too late to be very successful with the initiative. It was a great idea, just not good timing.
I know there have been times when no action was the best action at the time. Then later, doing an action was best.
Timing is often the difference between success and failure in an endeavor. Every time a leader makes a move, John Maxwell writes, there are really only four outcomes:
1. The Wrong Action at the Wrong Time Leads to Disaster – If you take the wrong action at the wrong time, your team or organization will suffers and so will your leadership.
2. The Right Action at the Wrong Time Brings Resistance – Having a vision for the right direction and knowing how to get there is not enough. If a leader takes the right action but do it at the wrong time, they may still be unsuccessful because the team they lead can become resistant.
3. The Wrong Action at the Right Time is a Mistake – the greatest mistake made by entrepreneurs is knowing when to cut their losses or when to increase their investment to maximize gains. Their mistakes come from taking the wrong action at the right time.
4. The Right Action at the Right Time Results in Success – When the right leader and the right timing come together a team or an organization achieves its goals and is successful.
Being a great leader requires wisdom, and having the right timing is part of that wisdom.
Prime Leadership & Development 