Education leaders understand that timing is everything. Knowing how to make the right decision is one thing, but knowing how to make the right decision at the perfect time is even more critical. For instance, when does an educator need an inspirational pep talk, and when do they need a challenge to step up? When is the best time of the year to purchase a new education app? When should we implement our new bullying awareness campaign? When should we build a middle school? These questions might seem trivial, but they are not. Making the right decision can help your school to be extremely successful, and getting it wrong can complicate your already full leadership plate.

Timing in action

Understanding timing is all about seizing opportunities at the right time and helping your school or district to move forward. Leaders who understand the importance of timing in decision making end up having long careers in education. Everything they touch turns to gold, and their organizations seem to outperform all others in their industry. Those that never learn leadership timing end up being forced out of the field.

The enemy of timing is impatience, as it makes us experience an unrealistic sense of urgency that disrupts the natural flow of things. For many, impatience is a compulsion that they must fight hard to resist. Even though you know that it is best to be patient and wait to act or decide, there is a biological urge to go against your better judgment to move now. In times like these, remind yourself that if you give in to this urge, there is a high probability that you may undermine all of your hard work and make a mess of things.

As an alternative, until you become better at leadership timing, ask your leadership team for advice. They will be able to help you sift through the pros and cons of acting now and waiting a while.

Concluding thoughts

Do yourself a favor and start to consciously work on anticipating the right time to make a decision. It may take some time and experience to get good at it, but when you do, you will realize that it was worth the wait. It will allow you to stay one step ahead of everyone else, and write your own ticket. Yes, timing is everything.