Managers in Transition: 9 Strategies for Conquering the Procrastination Beast
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Consider the case of two leaders in career transitions: James, a former CIO in a trade association, and Susan, a human resource director in a professional services firm.

James made the decision to resign from his role as a result of a substantial leadership change in his association. However, he did a substantial amount of preparation for his transition starting five months before walking out the door. First, he assessed upcoming changes in leadership in his organization to determine the extent to which he would be supported or included in the transition James then reflected on his career and identified lessons learned from past projects, updated his resume to reflect recent achievements and scheduled weekly lunches with individuals in his professional network to critique his resume. He interviewed for a number of new roles, starting first with positions that were not the best match in order to build his skills at interviewing – something he had not attempted in nearly 10 years. James networked generously, passing along leads and information to others and eventually landed a new role that was an even better fit than his last job.

On the other hand, Susan found herself being asked to leave her organization abruptly as a result of a corporate merger. Though she was able to find the strength to cope with the change, she was still caught off-guard and had to scramble to manage her finances to stay afloat. She was unemployed for a number of months before accepting a contract human resources position that was less than ideal. For months prior to her departure, her firm had clearly communicated its intention to merge or be acquired by another organization. Susan ignored this information, focusing on the myriad tasks she needed to perform in her human resources role.

What is the essence of how these two individuals and their situations differ?

While both were aware of the potential for significant changes in their organization, James acted upon this information whereas Susan ignored it and procrastinated in taking necessary actions.

What Is Procrastination and Why Should We Care?

Researchers define procrastination as “delaying beginning or completing an intended course of action” as well as the “irrational delay of behavior.” Its part of the “fight or flight” response to a stressful situation: Procrastination embodies “flight” from the source of our stress. It's "irrational" because we are avoiding action despite knowing that taking action is in our best interest.

Procrastination is a reality for many people, particularly career changers who are faced with marketing themselves. The price we pay for procrastinating individually and collectively can be costly – not just in terms of our professional lives. Consider how many people procrastinate saving for retirement, addressing important health issues or ignoring symptoms of discontent in family relationships. An increasing number of researchers have examined the issue in the past 15 years. Let us examine what researchers have identified to be the causes of procrastination, along with some practical ways to manage it.

Nature or Nurture?

One study, conducted in 2003, suggests that procrastination is, to some extent, based on our biological wiring. The study examined fraternal twins and used a psychological assessment known as the “Adult Inventory of Procrastination.” This study, as well as others, suggests that procrastination is in part a personal trait. However, this is only part of the reason why we irrationally put off taking action. Other reasons are based on the task itself as well as individual differences.

Researchers have identified four primary reasons for procrastination, of which three are particularly critical: (1) task characteristics, (2) individual differences, and (3) outcomes. Task characteristics represent the most significant reason why people avoid taking action. Specifically, the timing of an activity for not taking action is a major contributor to individuals procrastinating. The further away an event is, the more apt we are to procrastinate. Susan was able to justify her procrastination to explore career options because her company’s merger wasn’t expected for several months. Another task characteristic is how aversive the task is. Dreading a task when it seems as though there is plenty of time to do it makes procrastination even more likely. Most managers in transition I have worked with are particularly averse to revising their resumes that showcase their accomplishments, reaching out to others for networking, and preparing to negotiate their salary. For example, one particular client I worked with grew up in a cultural context in which women did not ask for what they wanted and therefore she often resisted taking the necessary steps to prepare for salary negotiations with potential employers.

Individual differences also play a significant role in our tendency to procrastinate. Individuals who are prone to worrying or interpreting events as overwhelming are more likely to get trapped in a self-fulfilling prophecy of expecting the worst, getting frozen in taking action to address the issue triggering procrastination. This then creates more worry – and the cycle continues. Contributing to this pattern are a number of factors:

  • Perfectionism (“If I can’t do it perfectly, I won’t even try.”)
  • Fear of failure (“What if I try and it bombs?”)
  • Lack of belief in your own ability (“If I get a tough question in an interview, I won’t know how to handle it”)
  • Depression or low energy
  • Self-handicapping (“Why bother, following up with that lead won’t change anything anyway”)
  • Distractibility (“I have 10 things to do and don’t know where to begin”)
  • Lack of organization (“My desk is a mess, I didn’t update my calendar, and I have no time to think about what’s next”)
  • Self-regulatory failure (“I would love to change jobs, but I have a big project due next week and just don’t have time to update my resume”)
People procrastinate for a couple other reasons, too. First, one's mood or emotional state can have a tremendous impact on the ability to take action and move forward or to procrastinate. Just as with depression and low energy, mentioned above, a foul mood is a common reason for putting things off. Second, many leaders cite put things off based on their belief that they do better in a crisis mode. Yet the cumulative effect of this is often negative, as we become deeply entrenched in patterns of justifying our tendency to put things off – not to mention the impact of last-minute crisis on the people who work with and for us. Fear and anxiety are generally not conducive to being creative. Therefore, when we procrastinate in order to create the thrill of the last-minute rush, we most likely won’t easily access our most creative ideas. In addition, rushing makes us more careless: One simple misspelling on a resume as a result of rushing last minute to submit it before a deadline can mean the end of a golden job opportunity.

How Do I Change?

As organization development expert Richard Beckhard suggests with his change formula, overcoming resistance to change is based on three key ingredients: dissatisfaction with the current state, a vision of what could be, and support to move toward the desired state. Based on my experience working with managers in transition, the following strategies have proven useful for conquering the procrastination beast.

1. Assess the cost of the status quo

Pain can be our friend when it comes to triggering the need for change. How much is it costing you to procrastinate with a career transition? What is the impact on your health, finances, and relationships? What are the opportunity costs of putting things off? I had one client who, despite his misery in his job, stayed in it years longer than he should have. He nearly lost his relationship with his life partner as a result of the negativity and pessimism he brought home from the job. By assessing the cost of a toxic job, this client could have triggered an important shift that might have led to taking action to improve his circumstance.

I used that strategy for four months when I carried around the invoice for my graduate school tuition as a means for motivating myself to work on a paper for my doctoral degree. Another example: For many clients who are in jobs they hate, I ask them to write – but not send – a resignation letter filled with colorful language about why they need to resign. Doing this raises their awareness of the cost of the status quo and often prompts them to take action.

2. Reaffirm your vision

Reigniting the vision of what you are trying to achieve can be a very powerful way to break through forces holding you back. What is the ultimate outcome you are trying to achieve? What will it feel like to experience life on the day you land the perfect job? When coaching executives in transition, I find that having them experience the thrill of achieving their ultimate goal provides an important push toward breaking through the procrastination beast. For example, with many clients I have them write job description for the perfect job that includes their perfect day. In this essay, I ask them to explain how they are spending their time, who they are with, the tasks they are performing, the design of the office, and the colors on the wall.

3. Outsource it

As research suggests, we often procrastinate things we don’t feel very competent in attempting or activities that are unpleasant. Is there someone you can pay to take on the tasks you loathe or have little skill at achieving? One client of mine hired a professional organizer to work with her as she attempted to de-clutter her spare bedroom. The positive impact of working through this formidable task had a huge impact on her sense of belief in herself and helped her take on challenging tasks in other domains of her life and work. Perhaps a resume writer might help you move past your block of marketing yourself or a career coach might act as the cattle prod to keep you moving forward.

4. Chunk it

Our efforts to break through a major procrastination block can be aided by breaking down a big task into little pieces. Career transitions, particularly when individuals are trying to find work that is a good fit for their skills and values, don’t happen overnight. I often challenge people to take two actions a day to move toward their dream of finding work they love.

5. Get more sleep

Given how a lousy mood and low energy can be the source of procrastination – or, in clinical terms, “self-regulatory failure” – the restorative power of a good night's sleep can have a substantial impact on our ability to take on tasks we have avoided., the majority of leaders I coach (as well as a lot of Americans in general) are not getting enough sleep. Finding a role in an organization that meshes with your values and priorities can be exhausting. Without adequate sleep, you may be more likely to avoid taking the very actions that would move you forward. Further, I have found that when people in career transition lack adequate sleep, they miss the subtleties in their interactions with others, such as in interviews. The more attuned you are to the non-verbal behavior of an interviewer, the more readily you can adapt your approach.

6. Focus temporarily on a task you can achieve

Sometimes it is very helpful to temporarily let go of a task we have been putting off and focus our energies on something we can control and complete fairly quickly. This has the impact of restoring our sense of self-efficacy – our belief in our own ability. Thus, taking two hours to reorganize your closet this afternoon might be exactly what you need to do before calling those job leads. Seeing visible results might in fact help you reclaim your ability to act with power.

7. Envision the worst and prepare

Many individuals in career transition get trapped in their own fear of the worst possible outcome associated with a task they are procrastinating. This has the effect of blocking any progress on completing the task. In my coaching practice, I often challenge clients to tell me their worst fears when considering a task they are reluctant to complete – such as an interview or salary negotiation. Once they voice it, it generally ceases to control them. They are then in a better position to take actions in advance to mitigate the possibility of failure.

8. Adjust your standards

I’ve become very aware how many leaders in transition, particularly in workaholic Washington, DC, are so driven by perfection that doing anything less than 100% is unconceivable. As a result many individuals resist starting tasks they may be less skilled at, like revising their resumes or interviewing for jobs. The volume of writing required for my doctoral program over the past four years has driven this point home for me. To counteract my own tendency toward perfectionism, I use the approach of “crappy first drafts,” in which I write a stream of consciousness for my first attempt at a scholarly paper or article. In subsequent drafts, I tap my analytical brain to improve the quality of the paper through editing. Further, I often turn off the spell checker in my word processing software to avoid getting hung up with grammatical and spelling errors while writing my crappy first draft.

9. Let yourself be human

Finally, most leaders in transition I work with are highly effective people who push themselves relentlessly to achieve, advance and grow. Give yourself permission to be human. Giving yourself a couple hours on the couch in your underwear with the remote control in one hand and a bag of chips in the other might be just what you need after a day of rejection letters or career transition frustrations.

Better yet: make it a bag of low-fat potato chips.