Seems like we’ve gotten things a bit out of whack here lately. So much is happening so fast that we have a tendency to fire before we aim! I obviously don’t mean really shoot anything, but we pull the trigger on an activity or a plan before we really give it much thought.
I heard an analogy recently about an archer who was firing arrows at targets. The archer was doing great and just needed to hit the target, not a bullseye just the target anywhere at all! He focused hard. Pulled back the string. Bullseye!
One would think that was a great thing right? Well the only problem is, he hit the bullseye on the wrong target!
How often do we do things like that in our lives as leaders? Are you really good at hitting the target just not so great at seeing which target is yours?
All too often we see something that someone else is doing and think we need to do the same thing. We implement it like it was our job. We plan to the last detail but the results aren’t what we were hoping they’d be. What went wrong?
It wasn’t our target to hit! Just because it worked for someone doesn’t mean it’s right for you.
This week as we consider how to move forward out of pandemic mode and find some form of cadence, it’s important to make sure we take time for some self-reflection and honest evaluation.
- Where am I?
- From where did I just come?
- Where do I need to go?
- What’s the best way to get there?
- Who are the people I serve?
- What needs do the people around me have?
We have to make sure that the target we’re trying to hit is our target! So we have to slow down a hot second and make sure have our bearings a bit. But we have to shoot. We have to pull the trigger.
That’s the other problem I’m seeing a lot of these days. There is a ton of prep work and planning and thinking and praying and evaluating but very little action. We need to move forward and do the thing we’ve given so much thought to. Planning for something and acting on that plan are two totally different things.
So take time to plan. Consider where you’ve been and what you need to do next. Then move! Go for it. As long as your target is in focus you need to start moving forward. A bullseye might not happen and that’s perfectly fine.
Take time to aim then just fire. Learn from your shot and then make adjustments and go at it again.
Ready. Aim. Fire.
I think our targets could have changed since Covid and therefore, the planning is a little bit more intense than we thought it would have to be. Like, in the church, how many people are not coming to new situations like the service because of their inability to feel like they fit in while socially distancing. How can we change that in this environment? Or, how about parishioners that are kind of stuck at home because their older parents have just had health issues? In this environment, how do we meet their needs and the older parent’s needs. All of the issues we see are much more than what any of us have planned for or even considered a remote possibility. There are multiple seemingly small needs (not small, really) sitting out there that are very different this year. Planning is everything. The firing will be easy if the plan is sufficient to meet needs and fit in with the present mandates, fear, health needs, political influences while also trying to listen to the Holy Spirit with our outreach.
I totally agree with this whole statement. It’s so hard to know where to go and what to do while trying to consider everyone and every moving part simultaneously. Pausing to get your bearings is vital to be certain and that was the thrust of the post. The two situations I’m seeing most are lack of planning and just action or the exact opposite and that’s tons of planning and no action. We have to meet in the middle somewhere. Good thoughts!