Less is more, when it comes to offering your two cents as a leader. True, but hard.
Today, as I tried to keep my mouth shut and my ears wide open at a practice being led by one of my clients, I tried to live out this truth in silence. I took a bunch of notes and resisted the urge to jump into the fray with my commentary at least a dozen times. Damn, it’s really hard to keep my mouth shut.
My two cents to this team was really simple, really easy to understand, and really hard, it seems, all at the same time.
FINISH.
That’s it. Choose one productive action that moves you and your team forward. Make it small. Make it tangible. Make it count. AND, make sure that you FINISH. This team starts a ton of PA and rarely finishes. This is something that I see just about everywhere. Great intentions, less than great results. The root reasons are aplenty. A big one, however, is the inability to finish. When we don’t develop the habit of finishing we develop another habit without even knowing and recognizing the fact. We are building a habit of quitting.
When we establish goals whether they’re around revenue targets, weight loss, writing a book, or riding up a mountain, NEVER stop until you reach your objective.
FINISH.
Nobody wants to hear your excuses or your rationalizations. Everybody, however, wants to be around individuals, teams, and leaders who live with intention, who embrace the climb with passion, and who dig deep when normal people stop working, and who FINISH what they started.
What PA do you want to FINISH?
Are you developing a bad habit of starting a bunch of productive action and quitting before you’ve reached the top?
Are you developing a team that FINISHES?
BUILT TO LEAD 
I know you’ve been a lot of places, Toto — but didn’t know you’ve been to Harvard.
Apparently so because their Harvard Business Review just published recent research that agrees with you. The biggest reason team members hold back when they see either a systemic issue or an opportunity for improvement in the bowels of the organization is NOT fear of retribution or reprisals (although that IS the 2nd biggest reason).
The BIGGEST reason is fear of FUTILITY. That it just won’t make any difference. Because leadership won’t ACT.
So team members conclude “why even bother.”
The melody line is the same. Want to make a BIG change in your culture? Start FINISHING the little things. Word spreads quickly.