Managing Urgency: Prioritizing When Everything Feels Important

In today’s fast-paced world, we seldom ask ourselves this million-dollar question: What can we do when everything feels urgent and important?  Not having the answer to this very basic question can cost us and our organizations millions of dollars – and it probably is. Why, because in an information-burdened world we all live in, we are constantly dealing with things as they come in instead of developing, implementing, and monitoring a thoughtful plan. It is likely that we are always in a reactive mode and proactivity remains an opportunity. Maybe we have high staff turnover, limited financial resources and nothing is going our way. 

As a leader and/or decision-maker, it can be overwhelming when there are many urgent and important issues facing your community, nation, or organization. Here is what you can do to overcome the overwhelming part: 

Inventory 

Create a running list of all issues that you, your reports and people you report to face. This will help you and your team to get a clear picture of what needs to be addressed and the scale of the challenges you are facing. 

Prioritize 

Identify the most urgent issues and prioritize them based on their socio-economic or environmental impact. This will help you to allocate resources more effectively and address the most pressing issues first. 

Communicate 

Keep your community members informed about the issues and seek their guidance for roadblocks. This will help to build trust and support for your efforts. 

Engage, engage and engage 

Engage as extensively as possible, including internally and externally. By working together, you can leverage resources and expertise to address the challenges more effectively and efficiently. 

Build partnerships 

Building partnerships with other groups in your region is also important. This can help to pool resources, share knowledge and skills, and create a more coordinated approach to tackling urgent and important issues.  

Plan for the long-term 

Address urgent issues today but also plan for the long-term to build capacity and resilience. 

Take care of yourself 

As a leader, it can be easy to become consumed by the challenges you are facing. However, taking time for self-care and seeking support from others around you will help you to stay focused, motivated, and effective in your role. 

By following these steps, you can manage urgent and important issues more effectively and achieve sustainable grassroots solutions for your people.