Three telling comments about putting things off that the department head said within thirty minutes:

“When our new regional director starts next month, then I’ll start re-organizing my department.”

“When the new online performance review system is up and running, then I’ll be more consistent in giving my direct reports feedback about how they’re doing.”

“When I finish my leadership e-learning program, then I can devote more time to creating a vision for where my department is going.”

Why wait?

Why not do those things NOW???

5 reasons you may be putting things off

“Whenthen-itis,” e.g. putting things off, has many contributing factors.  A few key ones that can trip you up:

1) Fear. 

Doing something new can be scary.  With the job market still uncertain, no one wants to put their career at risk should the outcomes fail or be less than stellar. Yet, taking a risk is instrumental for success and innovation. Sometimes you just have to go for it.

“This the world of white water where we have to change to survive; where we have to develop to thrive; and, paradoxically, where the very act of change increases the risk that we won’t survive.” ~Randall White, Phillip Hodgson and Stuart Crainer. The Future of Leadership: A White Water Revolution

2) Lack of self-confidence. 

Ask yourself if you link taking action to some future event because you feel like you don’t have the ability to pull the action off. The only way to boost your self-efficacy (that inner belief that you can do it) is by having the quiet courage to do it.

3) Disbelief.

Sometimes it is really hard to drink the corporate kool-aid. Yet masquerading your lack of support behind a “when-something-else-happens-I-will-do-it” wall usually catches up with you…in a negative way.  You start to sound (and feel) bitter or get a reputation for hollow talk without action. Neither of these outcomes are good for your career or for you.

4) Procrastination. 

If you’re one of those managers who has the best of intentions coupled with the worst of time management skills, whenthen-itis can become a chronic condition. If you find yourself with the same intentions year after year, work with your boss, a coach, a trusted colleague or someone to assess if your issue is prioritization, delegation and/or time management skills.  Then fix it!

Putting off an easy thing makes it hard.  Putting off a hard thing makes it impossible.  ~George Claude Lorimer

5) Uncertainty. 

Perhaps you use the when/then statements as a trial balloon to test your ideas, hoping that someone will jump on your comment and provide feedback.  If that’s the case, reach out to someone whose opinion you trust and ask for their input. That takes you out of that bad for your reputation category of leader-who-talks-but-doesn’t-come-through.

What other causes of “whenthen-itis” do you have to add to the list?

Image source:  Gratisography