Turn False Starts into Flow, According to an Achiever
Summary: Over 60% of projects fail, and most often begin with false starts. If you’re struggling with getting your groove back after setbacks, there's hope. Here are four insights from an Achiever and former senior program manager.
If “false starts” are your Achilles heel at work, rest assured you’re not alone. According to study in HBR, six in 10 projects fail. That number continues to increase with the complexity of today’s pace of work.
Multiply the growing ways in which projects don’t succeed with the number of projects we have on the go at any one time. Trust me, I know as a former program manager. It is hard to keep all those projects up in the air at the same time. Then there’s cultural challenges and people personalities to consider also.
From the beginning, learn how to prevent and bounce back from false starts. Turn setbacks into the fuel you need to move forward.
What is a False Start?
False starts are an unsuccessful attempt to do something. In sports, a false start results in a penalty or even disqualification.
At work, a false start can be costly - to the organization, the team and to your personal brand as a leader. Here’s some examples of false starts you may experience:
Expending a ton of energy and time into a proposal/beta/pilot that doesn’t get approved
Realizing you and your client are not on the same page
Mobilizing a team for kick-off when a change in strategy deprioritizes efforts
Promoting an ineffective manager that leaves the company
Getting hired for one team to immediately be swapped into another position
Whatever the false start, use these tips below to turn those false starts into positive and forward-moving flow.
1. Expect to Flex
Setbacks create so many disappointments when you have high expectations. You have a plan and that plan changes overnight. Staying locked into an immovable plan doesn’t serve you.
This approach means you will continue to get surprised, continue to recalculate and become frustrated at how things unfold. Where do you need flexibility?
2. Setbacks are feedback
We may not always appreciate it within the moment, however deep learning always includes setbacks. These setbacks help us recalibrate ourselves to what we really want. If we never experienced setbacks, we would swim in an ongoing sea of calm waters and status quo.
When I experienced career burnout and didn't succeed in getting promoted, handling being a new mom with a demanding career, and knowing what to do with performance feedback that was...uh...very different from the kudos I had always received, it was my wake up call, not a setback.
Setbacks are spark moments – sparking you to change, giving you real-time feedback on what's not working. Setbacks aren't the things that take you off your "path."
Setbacks serve as the tipping point to help you see you are on your path.
What the feedback you’re receiving?
3. Projects need good vibes too
You and your team’s energy rises and falls just like your projects. When a project launches, it’s a high for everyone. When a project gets stuck, you all can feel it in the air.
Before you experience a setback, be aware of the energy surrounding you. If the work is hard, forced or causing people to burnout, you can see in the team’s body language. You can tell it in their updates and communications. Take a step back and reassess.
The project that feels good will be able to handle setbacks and easily bounce back without hurting morale. What creates ease?
4. Intend to flow (rather than go)
We’re all human, and building a todo list with the intention to GO will reflect it. You'll be pushing towards the next milestone. You'll drive to the next deadline and so on. It's exhausting and doesn't take into account the human element here of how we want to work and what brings out a team's best.
(Apologies for the OG language here) You need buffer time. Time to simmer. Time to think. Time to take time off (Simon Sinek agrees). You need time to talk. You need time to reflect. You need time for the things you don’t know you need time for.
What you’ll find when you create the space for your projects to succeed is a flow. Flow brings good intentions and celebrations of the small wins when things go just right. What would make it flow?
I get it. It’s tempting to work fast and check the box. Hope this helps so you don’t check this one:
☑️ False Start
