How can you create a sense of urgency without sacrificing quality?

Let one feel oneness within the organization, i.e. empowering Secondly, deadlines are the key to quick success, for that to happen, let's setup small goals as such goals will lead to long-term goals of hitting the deadline. Celebration with some attractive returns can also boost the quality while being within the deadlines...

Once we have an urgency, the best way to start with, is thoroughly assessing the risk & benefits associated with the timelines for the business, customer and other stakeholders. Next step is breaking down the project in smaller activity components and measurable milestones for every component. Identify right skill sets and resources who can potentially help on the project (existing any new). Now onboard all the team members with unified & purpose driven agenda, making them understand about associated potential risk, benefits & what's in for them. Should have contingency measures in place, as plan B.

Defining a project's purpose demands alignment with core values for meaningful success. First, identify the project's overarching goal, ensuring it resonates with organizational values. Next, break down objectives into specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) criteria. Communicate the purpose transparently to stakeholders, fostering a shared understanding. Conduct a values assessment to confirm alignment and make necessary adjustments. Regularly revisit the purpose, adapting it to evolving circumstances. Finally, integrate purpose into project management processes, creating a guiding force that aligns every action with the project's fundamental values.

I think Purpose/ why for any vision may create a sense of urgency. How to achieve the vision and a well articulated strategy shall take care of quality. Agaun Communication is the key 🔑 to get any thing achieved with speed and quality

Getting "buy in" from everyone involved is a huge step in the process. People need to understand why they are doing what they are doing. When we understand the "why", we begin to personally own it. When we own it, it's no longer just another item on the to do list.

Establish intermediate milestones and performance reviews to adapt and optimize strategies as needed. This proactive approach enhances agility and empowers you to course-correct effectively.

Most non-profits use SMART goals in their proposals and grants. This is fine for long-term objectives and project goals. For creating a sense of urgency, the 'time-bound' aspect of SMART is even more crucial. When you know you have limited time, it's easier to set achievable and relevant goals in that time frame. This further ensures goals are specific, and for evaluation, are measurable. For example, when we launched a voter mobilization drive during last year's elections in Nepal, we only had a month to execute (time-bound). This narrowed our focus on youth voters (relevant) in the areas near us (achievable). To do this, we focused on ballet registration training for first-time voters (specific) and used pre-post surveys (measurable).

SMART goals are a good starting point, but this isn't the way to present to the team responsible. Bring them in, help them understand the necessary outcomes, and set up milestones to track progress.

The starting point of your strategy is your “Winning Aspiration”. Embedded in your vision as a True North. Long term goals are a culmination of intermediate term goals broken down into short team goals. Eg: Moving ranks from No 15 to No 10 in 5 years. I need to set goals in each of the preceding years and build my planning around these goals. It’s here that Business and functional goals must be synchronous with Corporate goals. Creating a strategy focused Organisation through Balance Score Card, incorporating lead and lag metrics, provides clarity on these goals. Eg: An increase of x% in topline will need y% increase in customers. Quality of training systems geared towards enhanced skills becomes a key lead indicator for set goal.

SMART goals were used at my previous employer and worked really well. I’m hoping to bring that to my new position. I think the most important question is “are the goals realistic and attainable.” If they’re not realistic you’re setting your team up for failure.

What we underestimate is the fact of trust. If there is no trust in the team, delegating will not bring success. Not delegating is also a huge point why it’s most of the time frustrating for the team member. Delegating is not just handover tasks - it’s communication, knowing each other and correctly assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the other person. Another fact is - when leading people give all tasks to team members. This can create a feeling of being overwhelmed. It also gives the impression that the person in charge only wants to hand over tasks. You see, it’s a full soft skillset necessary to be good at delegating. It can be easy, when you know who you work with 💪🏼

En mi experiencia ha sido bastante útil desarrollar un sistema de "mentoría cruzada" dentro del equipo, donde los miembros desde sus diferentes habilidades y experiencias puedan enseñarse mutuamente. Esto empodera al equipo, fomenta la autonomía y mejora la capacidad para afrontar situaciones urgentes de manera efectiva.

I believe delegating and empowering suits this scenario. When you identify your key team members for the project, delegate differentiated responsibilities which can either produce concurrent or sequential deliveries. When multiple individuals with differentiated responsibilities are empowered there wouldn’t be power struggle but a high chances of increased collaboration giving you the desires result. By instilling the sense of urgency you can achieve your project goals with no compromise made on quality.

Look for people strengths and talents when you delegate and/or assign tasks. Involve the people in project set-up and gain their perspectives and enthusiasm.

Delegating and empowering your team is pivotal in fostering a dynamic work environment. Role switching can play a vital role in unveiling hidden capabilities within the team. By encouraging individuals to take on diverse roles, you allow them to explore and tap into their latent skills, often unknown to themselves. It also offers a fresh perspective in task delegation. Sometimes, individuals may not realize their innate talents until given the chance to step into a different role. This approach not only nurtures individual growth but also strengthens the team's collective capabilities, ultimately contributing to a more agile and proficient workforce.

Celebrating successes is really important and should be designed into every project from the start (and rigorously stuck to). An Action Learning approach is helpful and we need to also consider that many 'mistakes' are simply the outcome of complex systems working in ways that are unpredictable and uncontrollable. That's not a problem when we have a flexible, regenerative mindset, but becomes paralysing or damaging when leaders and teams are operating under the machine-mindset belief that there are predictable goals and outcomes.

Celebrate the little wins! Did the team hit a deadline? Send out a congrats email. Did someone stand out in their efforts to achieve that deadline? Make sure to recognize that person, either publicly or privately (depending on the person). See how people react to the positivity and continue to empower other people to go the extra mile.

Celebrating your wins is so important to keep your and your team's mindset and motivation going strong during the entire project. Your team's good energy will reflect in the outcome of any project. There are no small wins! A few ideas on how to celebrate your team's wins and encourage them to do the same are: 1. Start your meeting with a win. 2. End your meetings on a high note. 3. When things get hard, use this mantra, "It is hard but we can do it, we can do hard things".

A los seres humanos nos gusta aprender. Una excelente forma para celebrar es impulsar el aprendizaje continuo. Para ello, organiza breves sesiones de retroalimentación después de cada proyecto urgente, enfocándote en los logros y áreas de mejora. Cada miembro del equipo puede compartir brevemente insights clave y estrategias exitosas, creando un recurso vivo de conocimientos y experiencias compartidas para situaciones futuras.

Close the project by a lessons learned session and celebrate the success of the team. This creates a good basis for a next successful project. There is definitely a next one to come.

Creating a sense of urgency without compromising quality involves meticulous planning and effective communication. It begins by setting clear and achievable goals, breaking them into actionable steps, and assigning responsibilities with realistic timelines. Streamlining processes and leveraging technology can expedite workflows. Ultimately, instilling a sense of purpose and emphasizing the collective responsibility for delivering high-quality results within specified timeframes through transparent communication can drive urgency while maintaining commitment to excellence.

One thing I have found helpful is to pick the right horse for the course in order to deliver with urgency and without compromising on quality. Also, giving one's team the physiological safety to say "no" is also critical to ensure that the quality doesn't drop.

Have a risk assessment at every stage of the process, mitigate and reduce impact. We do at some point have to learn when to take a step backward to move better forward.

Foster a culture where innovation thrives. Encourage team members to propose and experiment with new ideas, processes, and technologies while ensuring that innovation doesn't compromise the quality standards set for the organization.

In my experience, it's also important to build and maintain strong, collaborative and positive relationships with colleagues who will then be naturally more willing to work on and prioritize your tasks. Take the time to really get to know other team members that you're working with, and understand their perspectives and current workloads. Help them understand how their work will contribute to the bigger picture while getting to know them to build a strong foundation for a collaborative and productive working relationship.