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‘I like to deal with things in the order in which they are going to kill me.' (Rita Cooper) In response to Rita’s satirical note (above), we could imagine prioritising in simple form by posing a question such as: ‘Is it going to kill me? a. Yes. b. No. c. Maybe.’ Sorted. :) A different question, orientated around vision and values, could be, ‘In 5 years' time, what will make me feel proud of the decision I take now?’ It brings existential-spiritual ethics and wisdom sharply into view. A recurring theme in leadership, coaching and organisation development (OD) is how to prioritise, especially when faced with an array of options and each with its own implications. The challenge is compounded if a context keeps shifting, or if different stakeholders value and demand different things. It can feel like being caught in a bewildering, exhausting, push-pull, tug of war. Common prioritisation tools include a map of urgency against importance; or value against cost (or risk); or probability (or difficulty, or effort) against impact. The Pareto Principle suggests that 80% of the most significant outcomes arise from 20% of actions or resource investments. A critical path analysis can help to determine what should take precedence at different phases of a timeline. Useful as they are, a limitation of these methods is that they are, essentially, tactical management techniques that aim to enable us to navigate from point A to point B. A transformational approach calls us to reflect broadly and deeply. A question of what B may represent and how I may choose to get there from point A draws vision, values, identity, meaning and purpose into the frame. What criteria do you use when choosing priorities? How do you decide who or what takes first place?
12 Comments
Jeff Cockrell
20/1/2022 06:22:03 pm
Nick - humorous because it's accurate. I think most people tend to do this.
Nick Wright
20/1/2022 06:24:15 pm
Hi Jeff. Yes - she made me smile. :) It reminded me of another senior leader I know well, whose simple mantra to herself at work is: 'Don't die!' It helps put everything else in perspective.
Jeff Cockrell
20/1/2022 06:34:34 pm
So true.
Nick Wright
20/1/2022 06:35:35 pm
Indeed. :)
Richard Simpson
21/1/2022 06:18:14 pm
I like the opening quote. Part of its genius is to recognise that prioritising is a fool's game. As soon as we are conscious we are prioritising, we have ceded control to something outside ourselves - the distant voice of a perhaps now-dead parent; the school teacher; our boss; the norms and values of our culture, job, institution, etc. Prioritising sounds super-rational but priorities often disintegrate at the first contact with reality. And when we find we have not honoured our priorities (if they truly exist), that we have landed in a reasonably pleasant place despite it all, is it such a big deal? Life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived. Does prioritising merely give us the illlusion of control?
Nick Wright
22/1/2022 06:14:41 pm
Hi Richard. Thank you for posing such mind-bending reflections - as always. :) You have given me a lot to reflect on too. The first thought that came to me is that we are always prioritising: whether consciously, subconsciously or instinctively. For instance, in writing these notes now, I'm choosing to prioritise this over, say, going for a walk.
Richard Simpson
23/1/2022 10:53:19 am
Bless you, Nick. You completely understood where I was coming from. I do like to challenge conventions and norms from time to time (in fact I prioritise it!) in order to dig underneath the surface of what (in NLP terms) are called nominalizations: motherhood-and-apple-pie words we think have shared meaning but in fact probably hide or distort more than they reveal. I am thinking of George W Bush's hypnotic over-use of the word 'freedom' for example. I agree that, as humans, we are probably unconsciously prioritising all the time, just as we are calculating cost-benefits all the time. There's also something (I'm still unable to articulate it fully) that interests me about our unconscious and conscious selves. Rationalists would argue that making the unconscious conscious is a good thing. The unexamined life not being worth living, and all that. (I sometimes think Socrates should have stuck to football). We can then work on it. Set SMART goals. Measure our progress. Et cetera. Nurses become technically more skilled, but the vital quality of empathy becomes diminished because you can measure their skills but not their empathy. Head teachers become managers, forgetful that education is meant to light fires and open doors. You can balance the books but you can't measure how inspired and curious your students are. Not everything lends itself to the tyranny of the spreadsheet but I think in the West our obsession with goals, achievement, success, and so on only compensates for the insecurities, anxieties, alienation and disempowerment we experience in our everyday lives. Discuss! Lol.
Nick Wright
24/1/2022 10:48:38 am
Thank you, Richard. It sounds like you are highlighting the risks of prioritising solely that which can be measured. I agree. It can be and feel highly reductionist and lead to all kinds of perverse incentives and intended consequences.
Elise Van Vessem
22/1/2022 05:51:04 pm
Outside of paying day-to-day bills of course, my new mindset is that if the 'thing' doesn't support the life I want to lead, or the goals that I want to achieve, then I say no to it. In the past, I have allowed matters that have had nothing to do with me, to take priority - i.e. getting distracted and involved with other people's problems/demands/expectations.
Nick Wright
22/1/2022 06:17:38 pm
Hi Elise. It sounds like you have experienced-created a shift in the criteria you use to make decisions on priorities in your life?
Richard Simpson
24/1/2022 03:27:53 pm
Socrates did indeed play football, but not for Greece.
Nick Wright
24/1/2022 03:54:51 pm
Wow - so the saying is true: we really do live and learn! :) Leave a Reply. |
Nick WrightI'm a psychological coach, trainer and OD consultant. Curious to discover how can I help you? Get in touch! 
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