Most leaders push for urgency. And often, it works.
But here’s the trade-off: Urgency creates movement, not necessarily progress.
What happens over time:
- teams optimise for speed over correctness
- decisions get revisited
- rework increases
- fatigue builds
Why leaders do this:
Urgency feels like control. It signals action.
What actually works:
- create urgency only where reversibility is high
- slow down irreversible decisions
- separate speed from clarity
Not everything needs to move fast. Some things need to move right.
Bottom line:
Chronic urgency is a (poor) substitute for clear thinking.