Missing the “B”

I was at the end of a long day on a recent trip and did what is customary for me. I checked into my hotel room, turned on my iPad and its separate keypad, and started answering emails. That’s when I discovered the issue: one of the keys wasn’t working. Every time that I typed the second letter, the one after “a,” nothing happened. In that moment, I had several choices – give up and quit, complain to anyone who would listen, call the manufacturer’s customer service line. While all those options were tempting, none would allow me to finish the work that I needed to do. As leaders, we’re always operating with at least one “key” that isn’t working (and usually several). Whether that’s an unfilled staff position or a funding shortfall or an outdated facility, some things aren’t operating at their peak. My experience reminded me of four things that we need to keep in mind in these situations:

• Get creative. As I responded to emails that night, it turned into a game to see how I could communicate without using the missing letter. Facing challenges should prompt us to get creative, not to quit. For example, can you use a volunteer or a strategic partner to replace the staff person that quit suddenly? And unlike my solo effort, you should tap into the creativity of others.
• Work harder. There were times when I couldn’t reword around the missing letter. When that happened, I switched to the on-screen keys for the iPad and typed for a second. That took at least three times as long, yet it was necessary. Sometimes shortage or interruption simply means that the leader will have to work harder for a season.
• Announce less. There was no need to tell my email recipients that I was working around a missing letter. Why would they care? A few emails may have had awkward wording, yet I suspect that this went unnoticed. In the same way, you don’t need to tell everyone the issues. Just focus on the solution so that they never even know.
• Check more. I tried to avoid words with the missing letter, but I had to proofread my emails carefully. Sometimes leaving out a letter results in worse than a spelling error. If I tell a potential client, “There’s no point in _eating a dead horse,” that might end the conversation. If your creative solution involves people who are new to the role (whether staff or volunteer), you will need to spend more time giving instruction and reviewing their work.

The old saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention,” is true. It’s not easy, yet it can energize you and your team to work through these gaps. I even wrote this entire entry (after the title) without using that letter. (Don’t ask what I would have done if I had to work around “t.”) Where do you need to come up with a more creative solution? It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>