What are the best strategies for adjusting your action plan when faced with unexpected obstacles?

The best-laid plans will often be met with headwinds and unexpected change. Here are six strategies that can help you navigate the next steps: 1) Stay calm. Remain positive. Your team will follow your lead. 2) Assess the situation from multiple angles. 3) Bring others with you… let these situations serve as a development opportunity for your team. 5) Prioritize solutions based on feasibility and impact. Follow the 80% rule versus chasing perfection. 6) Share your plan with stakeholders to ensure alignment. 7) Implement the best solution and monitor the results, sharing updates frequently. Remember, change is the only constant - unexpected obstacles are going to happen, and your ability to be adaptable will help set you and your teams apart.

Agility is a critical pillar for any sound strategy. Increasingly, the ability to pivot, is important to the success of any plan. Obstacles are to be embraced rather than avoided. You need to understand the bottleneck, assess impact on current plan and explore possible new business or operational opportunities it might herald. Only propose mitigations and alternative plan of action, based on detailed evaluation.

One needs to calibrate with changing situations and stay focused on desired results! Getting rattled with unforeseen circumstances which may prove an obstacle, it’s wiser to to be agile enough

Be confident! Really confident!! Don't panic and even if you are unsure, don't overshare your concerns. When the unexpected happens, people turn to those who appear to have experience of such incidents or who seem to know what to do. Be that person. Even if you are not necessarily as experienced or familiar as those around you might believe; you will need to work hard so that you can live up to the expectations created. And you will succeed. Or if not at least you will have learnt and been an inspiration. Then you will have the experience and confidence for the next challenge. And the next!

Some options can be - 1. Explore alternatives to achieve the goal 2. Revise the goal keeping in mind the changing environment 3. Stay calm and see what's doable and do your best 4. Look at the controllable and focus on fixing them.

Most leaders fix performance goals once a year and don't look at them until the next performance review. Here's what I did with my team: 1/ review performance goals every 3 months 2/ link 1:1 conversations to performance goals 3/ invite your team to rethink their goals and manage expectations (change is a constant - there are things in our control and things that aren't)

To review your goals, personally I recommend that you set aside dedicated time regularly, assess progress, identify challenges, and adjust objectives if needed. Use a structured approach, such as SMART criteria (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound), to ensure clarity and effectiveness in your goal evaluation.

Be willing to modify existing goals and plans . Leaders should understand that flexibility is often necessary to navigate unexpected challenges.

In addition to reviewing goals, consider implementing a "Goals Relevance Matrix" to categorize goals based on their immediate relevance and long-term importance. This matrix can help prioritize which goals require immediate attention due to the obstacle and which can be deferred without compromising the organization's overall vision. It provides a structured approach to adjusting goals in alignment with the current challenge.

A la hora de revisar tus Objetivos y Metas, es muy importante asegurarse que estén alineados a los Objetivos de la Organización. Es importante que los empleados comprendan, cómo pueden contribuir al logro de los resultados finales. Los objetivos y metas que no impulsen al menos un objetivo de la organización, son estériles y no se debieran establecer y mucho menos darle alguna importancia relevante

Be willing to courageously stop / close out goals that are no longer serving the outcomes they were intended to achieve. There is absolutely time for adjustments, but there are also moments when the context or environment has changed so much that it is more effective to “call it and start over”. This is it the solution every time, but don’t be afraid to have the hard conversations when needed.

Flexibility is key to overcoming unexpected obstacles. Stay agile, reassess priorities, and pivot your action plan as needed. In my experience, I always follow these three steps: 1)Examine the big picture (Is it urgent? Does it impact the main goal?) 2)Assess the situation based on the answer to (1) 3) Develop a strategy and communicate with the team.

Implement a "Continuous Improvement Framework" that encourages ongoing evaluation and refinement of strategies. Establish regular feedback loops to assess the effectiveness of implemented tactics and make iterative adjustments based on real-time insights. This continuous improvement mindset ensures that strategies remain dynamic and responsive to changing circumstances. Encourage a "Risk Mitigation Task Force" to identify potential risks associated with adjusted strategies and develop proactive mitigation plans. By addressing risks head-on, organizations can minimize the impact of unforeseen challenges and create a more resilient strategy.

Sometimes we fail thinking about the only way to achieve a things is ours and this isn’t always true. This is the opportunity to adjust our mindset and the way we are doing things, if you can have the advice of someone who has been doing something good for you in the past, is the time to be open to new perspectives.

Reassess Goals and Priorities Determine if your original goals are still achievable or if they need modification. Prioritize tasks based on their urgency and importance in the new context.

Communication is a key throughout the project life cycle. When there are challenging situations or blockers, its important to be transparent and communicate the situation to relevant stakeholders and your team. We should not just describe situation in assertive way but also lay down high level solution approach that can give confidence to your team and the stakeholders. It helps boosting trust in the team and builds the culture of accountability.

When faced with unexpected obstacles, it is important to understand and acknolwedge that everything will not work as we want to. 1. Understand the impact of the issue. 2. Pause and reflect 3. Revisit the goal. Check if a revision is needed. 4. Break the obstacle into smaller blocks and try to solve them. 5. BeFlexible and Adaptable - Allow modifications to your strategy/Plan in response to unforeseen challenges. 6. Communicate Transparently. 7. Collaborate and Seek input. As a procative measure do the Tim Ferris - Fear Setting Exercise.

It is through effective communication with your team that you are able to influence them to willingly walk with you towards achieving set goals and adjust when need be. Lack of communication often attracts resistance.

Communication is very important tool to move fast and swiftly. Its a navigator that helps in clearing the air and ensures that you are moving ahead towards the goal. Whenever you are working along a team it is important to clarify tasks and communicate to help each other work efficiently. It is better to communicate and have transparency so that there is no ambiguity. Communication also makes team member responsible and helps in foster collaboration and achieve goals faster.

If I had the opportunity to apply some way of communicating something about obstacles and failures it can be great use Radical Candor like communication strategy. This is being the most clear and honest about the current situation in an empathetic way that allows me understand the possible worries from my team and give them the security that everything is going to be okay if we work together in a positive and honest way. It’s not a good idea to hide failures.

By engaging in a thoughtful and comprehensive learning process, you not only improve your own skills and decision-making but contribute to a culture of continuous improvement within your team or organization. Learning from challenges positions you to face future obstacles with increased resilience and effectiveness.

For this is very important don’t be afraid to make mistakes and be open to imperfection of things. There’s a lot of learning about experiences and be open to receive feedback can make this learning process happen.

Even the best risk analysis can't anticipate all unexpected obstacles but learning from the unexpected can be a critical tool in future project planning. It's true, hindsight is 20/20! Reviewing and documenting what is learned from overcoming obstacles makes the team more agile and dynamic moving forward.

Don't forget that in many area we are dealing with human and also ourselves as human being that need some appreciation. This ability is the biggest differentiation factor that gives you energy and hunger for more achievements in the future.

By celebrating your achievements, you not only boost your own morale and confidence but also inspire others to strive for success. Recognizing and rewarding hard work fosters a positive work environment, encourages teamwork, and sets the stage for continued success in future endeavors.