Milestone Pauses
By Jeanine Izzo
There’s always more to do. When we reach one milestone, the inclination is to plow right through to the next. If it’s individual, there is a tendency to minimize accomplishments. If it’s team-based, there is always pressure to get on with the next feature, phase or project.
When an overarching goal can take six months, a year, or more to realize, motivation can get zapped by a constant high pressure, low praise, environment. Are you and your team growing cranky and exhausted? Is there more conflict and less efficiency? Do you want/need to be further than you are? Are you under pressure to deliver faster?
Pause.
Instead of plowing ahead and automatically doing more of the same…
Pause.
Pauses are some of the most impactful behaviors.
- They allow us to absorb and emphasize what preceded them.
- They allow us to acknowledge and celebrate how far we have come.
- They provide space to tell yourself and others what was done well.
- Pausing, even slightly, can signal to others that you are paying attention…that you see them, that you care about them…or at least that you recognize they are an important part to getting work done. This promotes good will.
- Pausing can also help you deliberately think about how to get to the next milestone (big or small) with less strain.
Whether developing corporate teams or helping my individual clients progress…pausing to acknowledge, validate and learn from previous actions has proven to be one of the best techniques to deepen motivation and generate enhanced results.
Forward Moving Tips:
- Connect with the advantages of pauses.
- Schedule interim milestone celebrations and lessons learned into the plan. Literally, put them in your calendar as a reminder so that when you are in the middle of the craze you do not forget the power of the pause.
- Pay attention to the positive post-pause flow.
Many times the solutions to the challenges in front of us are not as difficult to resolve as we might think. In order to combat the tunnel vision that is created by high pressure, high speed situations…training yourself to utilize the powerful pause can help you take advantage of the broader perspective.
For assistance with moving forward with more focus, confidence and success along your journey, Contact Viage Partners today.
© Viage Partners 2016. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Viage Partners with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Viage Partners 