Timing is often the difference between success and failure in an endeavor. Every time a leader makes a move, 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 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 you take the right action but do it at the wrong time, you may still be unsuccessful because the team you lead can become resistant. Good leadership timing requires many things:
a) Understanding-leaders must have a firm grasp on the situation.
b) Maturity - if the leader's motives aren't right, their timing will be off.
c) Confidence - people follow leaders who know what must be done.
d) Decisiveness - wishy-washy leaders create wishy-washy followers.
e) Experience - if leaders don't possess experience, then they need to gain wisdom from others who do possess it.
f) Intuition - timing often depends on intangibles, such as momentum and morale.
g) Preparation - if the conditions aren't right, leaders must create those conditions.
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 an organization achieves its goals and reaps incredible rewards.
Reading the right situation and knowing what to-do are not enough to make you succeed in leadership. If you want your company to move forward, you must pay attention to timing. Only the right action at the right time will bring success. No leader can escape the Law of Timing.
Please respond to the following questions:
1. Reflect on an action movie you have seen. Recall and take note on how the Law of Timing played a role in the success or failure of the key character. Explain the scene.
2. What would have happened if the character had timed things differently?