Shortcut or Detour

Today I had to drive to Denton, Texas to help my daughter take care of some business. The drive to her college campus usually takes about an hour and a half from where I live. I haven't visited often enough to have the route memorized (because she comes home fairly often), so I usually use Google Maps to guide the way.

While I was driving, the GPS said "I've found a faster route that can save you 7 minutes. Would you like to accept?" Naturally, I tapped "accept". I mean, who doesn't want to save time, right?

Five minutes later, I found myself sitting in stand-still traffic staring at a sea of brake lights in front of me. In that moment I couldn't help but wonder how a 7-minute shortcut turned into a 30-minute mistake. Then I thought about it. The system could detect what should have been a faster route but it didn't or couldn't account for the unforeseen obstacles like construction, road closures, and detours.

Somewhere in the midst of my frustration (and regret) I had an epiphany: Just because something looks faster doesn't mean it's better.

An easy trap for leaders to fall into is chasing efficiency before understanding infrastructure. After hearing about a new process, a trending shortcut, or what another organization is doing, leaders can make the mistake of rerouting teams, changing workflows, and abandoning proven systems, all in the name of speed, innovation, or modernization.

Don't get me wrong. Leadership requires adaptability. But adaptability without evaluation is just reaction, not leadership.

What looks like a shortcut from a distance might hide obstacles you can't see yet. And by the time you discover those obstacles, your team is stuck. Just like I was in that traffic.

As I sat there I started wondering why I ever changed direction in the first place. That's exactly what happens when leaders find themselves and their teams at an impasse because of a shortcut they directed.

So I challenge you to do this the next time you are tempted to implement some new efficiency initiative. Ask better questions to identify obstacles before they become roadblocks.

• What problem are we actually solving?

• What could this disrupt?

• Who needs to be involved before we move forward?

• Are we improving the process, or just becoming impatient with it?

Sometimes innovation is exactly what your organization needs. And sometimes the route you're already on, even though it's slower or less exciting, is the one that has already accounted for the terrain.

Sometimes the long road was wisdom all along.