Aren’t You Ready Enough Already?

I’ve watched firsthand while some otherwise highly engaged board members skid to an abrupt stop when asked to introduce a potential donor to the organization. The “one more thing” avalanche begins:

• We need an elevator pitch

• Our one-pager is unusable.

The same happens in team meetings.

• There’s just a little more research to ensure our program is really ready to launch.     

• We need one more meeting before we make that call to a challenging partner

There is always, it seems, just “one more thing” that must happen before we can move ahead.

And, you may have even done this yourself (gasp!).

As I sit through these moments with others, it is obvious that “One more thing” = “not now.” “Not now = resistance.”

I see that the elevator pitch, deck, research, and planning meeting are a waste of time and that the delay is an excuse for not doing the unpleasant thing that you really should do.

I also see that the request is sincere. The people in question believe they need more time or information.

Decades of research on procrastination and decision-making point to the same conclusion: the request for more information is rarely about the information. It's about postponing the risk of acting.

• It might be analysis paralysis (the state where the fear of making a wrong move generates a loop of evaluation and hesitation that produces no decision at all).  

• It might just be good old garden variety perfectionism (the belief that anything short of flawless is unacceptable)

• It might be fear of the unknown, whether that’s asking for money (yikes!) or having an uncomfortable conversation.

By asking for more time or information, though, we appear to have high standards – not abject fear at the prospect of acting.

In many situations, that makes it harder to recognize or address.

First, let’s look at some of the symptoms that are more often a cover up than a real issue (some of which I used in my examples above!):

The Avoidance Loop.  The “one more thing” request (a pitch, a report, a testimonial – fill in the blank) before we can move. When the request is fulfilled … surprise … you get another. You’re in the loop, but not the good way.  

Deadline Creep. Rather than push through a log jam, we push a start date further downstream. We swear the new date is firm until it’s approaching and that log jam still awaits.

Research Obsession. So many sources, so little time … unless you ask for more. In theory, the research makes you feel better about your initial hypothesis.  More often, it feeds an avoidance loop.

Over-polishing. Picking new words that are synonyms for the word we replaced, changing the margins, adding a snappy picture … doesn’t change anything. It just forestalls the moment of truth (submitting the proposal, op-ed, or blog).

Input Dependency. Bringing in more voices to find clarity usually just confuses the issue further. It looks collaborative, but asking for opinions to avoid deciding is a real morale killer.

What If’s. We plan for black swans rather than make a move and waste time on contingency plans for edge cases.  

Discerning

 

Of course, not everything is ready to go out the door. A good leader needs to distinguish between something that genuinely isn't ready and something that is being held back by fear-based resistance. The questions below can help — some are about the other person's readiness, and some are about your own role in removing the obstacle.

• Have you provided ample resources? Will providing more time make a meaningful difference?        

• Has someone named a barrier that you could help overcome? You can act on a concrete obstacle but not a nagging fear of unreadiness.        

• Does the person or team have a history of acting once their request is fulfilled? If the answer is no, the request itself may not be the real issue.       

• Have you been given a chance to react? If not, that's often a sign to move or a signal that your job is simply to remove the obstacle with a quick review, a call, or an email.        

• Does the scale of program or proposal warrant extra care? Higher stakes legitimately justify more preparation. That $5,000 grant, maybe not.     

• Could you answer most questions you might get? You don't need to answer all of them, but a working command of the material is a reasonable bar to strive for.  

• Would moving forward damage any relationships significantly? If the answer is yes and the risk is significant, that's worth a pause and more preparation.

A Question Is a Gift

 

These symptoms are grounded in a common cause. Underneath the research rabbit holes, the deadline shuffling, and the endless polishing is anxiety: someone is going to ask you something you can't answer. That fear keeps most people stuck.

Here's what I've learned about that dreaded question.

The question is a gift – not evidence of an error or lack of preparation.

The question is evidence of engagement. Someone cares enough to want to know more, to invest a moment of their attention in what you've shared.

I realized that the question is exactly what I was hoping for, and I needed to carry that message to board and staff:

For board members, a question from someone they've introduced to the organization is a door they can open. They created curiosity that organizational leadership can satisfy.

For staff, a question means the work did its job. Now you have real feedback to make it better.

So how can you lead through all of this?

Building a Culture of Ready Enough

 

Culture is set by the leader. I know that’s Culture 101 but it’s always worth reminding yourself. Here are ways you can build an environment where ready enough is the standard:

With staff:

 

• Start by naming the behavior explicitly and modeling the opposite in how you work. This is your “the perfect is the enemy of the good” moment.        

• Acknowledge if you also struggle with the issue and invite feedback when someone sees it happening. It raises awareness for everyone and underscores that you want to change yourself as part of the culture.        

• Plan your reaction to avoidance behaviors. Be ready with, “I’d like to review this now.  I know it isn’t finished, and I don’t expect that” or “it is important this moves forward. How can I support you in making that happen?”        

• Create debrief sessions to assess where you were “ready enough” and where you needed more preparation. Work with the team to create questions you can ask in the future to prevent actual gaps. This is a practice that builds the safety we all want in our workplaces.

With board members:

• Restate the goal. A board member is not making an ask or closing the deal. They are making an introduction. State that as the goal.  Wherever the relationship goes, the team can handle it.        

• Make the handoff explicit. The board member's job ends when they have invited curiosity about the work. The executive director and development team take it from there. When people understand the relay, the baton feels much lighter.

• Help board members find their own language. If each board member can say, “Here’s why I got involved, here’s why I think it’s important, and I'd love for you to meet our executive director,” they are “ready enough.” Giving board members a script indicates that they need to memorize it (which is never going to happen).

Some Closing Thoughts

 

Consider naming “ready enough” as an explicit value with staff and board. Without stampeding over real concerns, invite your leadership team and encourage your board president to say “ready enough” when they sense delays coming from you, each other, or their teams.

Build a culture where every question is considered a gift by naming the question you're dreading. Ask board members and team members what questions they feel unprepared to answer when they ask for more time or information. You can help them answer the question, prepare a response when there isn’t an answer, or help them understand how rarely that question even gets asked. 

Risks are manageable, except the risk of waiting too long to make a move. Waiting slams more doors than it opens and kills more great programs or proposals than it brings to life.

It’s just not worth it.

If this resonates, I'd love to hear how it shows up in your work. What does "one more thing" look like in your organization — and what has helped you or your team move through it? You can email me at gary@garybagley.com or DM me on LinkedIn.