The competition does not wait, and there will always be someone out there trying to outwork you. Education leaders understand that in many situations, the hardest worker gets the spoils, which is why they value of both perseverance and urgency. Those that operate with a sense of urgency tend to be effective leaders and those that do not tend to be mediocre ones.

The power of urgency

Education leaders don’t put off tomorrow what can be done today. They stay ahead of the curve and put in the work that it takes to be successful. They are also proactive, working hard to anticipate threats as well as opportunities. In doing so, they stop problems from materializing and recognize opportunities to innovate before others.

This sense of urgency trickles down to the rest of their leadership team, the teaching ranks, and students, with everyone adopting a mantra of carpe diem (seize the day). With everyone working hard and mobilized for action, you can focus their energies on areas that have the most urgent needs.

Why spend 7 weeks completing a project, when we can do it in 3?

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating that you work yourself to death or that you put quantity and quickness before quality. I am saying that often, we waste valuable time by taking things too slowly. For instance, your school district’s curriculum coordinator comes to you and says that the curriculum alignment project will take 7 weeks to complete. How do you respond? For me, I wouldn’t attempt to discredit their suggested timeline, but I would go through the process with them step by step, to see if we are maximizing our resources and time.

In many cases like this, the other person is amazed when I help them find a way to complete a project in 3 weeks when they believed that it would take 7. The trick is to work hard during the planning stages to find a more efficient way to complete each step or part of the project or product. This is what ends up saving you a lot of time.

Concluding thoughts

In the end, your sense of urgency and proactiveness will reign supreme and make you a leader revered for their ability to motivate others and get results. Then you can enjoy the spoils of victory and search for your next challenge.