UL PtW Urging Action

Paving the Way

Urging Action

"Take Action! An inch of movement will bring you closer to your goals than a mile of intention"


- Dr. Steve Maraboli -

Urging action is the ultimate “proof of the pudding”, where the leader assimilates all the thinking, listening, understanding, assessing, etc. and translate it into specific, consciously determined actions. Having confidence in the preparation will lead to taking action resolutely and effectively. 


There are a few features to effectively urge action: 

  • Recognize and respond quickly to opportunities, with a sense of urgency. This means knowing when it makes good sense to act on an opportunity and, where pertinent, to do so without delay. 
  • Convey a sense of urgency appropriate to the situation and in alignment with the objectives. 
  • Maintain forward momentum, avoiding the need to seek unnecessary permission or approval. 
  • Work rapidly towards targets with a realistic sense of the time commitment involved. 


  • Create clarity
  • Create a collective sense of urgency with the team
  • Insist on on-time delivery
  • Stick to time
  • Set deadlines for all tasks
  • Urge the team to keep moving forward
  • Create a safe environment
  • Enable the team to work at an optimum pace
  • Visualize progress
  • Celebrate success


HOW TO DEVELOP IT

Here are the actions to develop this capability: 


  • Be sure that every team member has a crystal-clear picture about the goals and deliverables and their role, accountability and responsibility to deliver them. Check their understanding and commitment before moving to action. Urging action without this clarity is doomed to fall flat. 
  • Create a collective sense of urgency with the team. Share all necessary background information with the team for them to feel the same sense of urgency as you feel. 
  • Insist on on-time delivery of outputs and make timelines one of the key measurables for success. 
  • Stick to time on small things, e.g. meetings, and you will establish the principle for the larger tasks. 
  • Set deadlines for all tasks and deliver on time. Ask other people to do the same. Be aware to only set deadlines if you fully understand the task. 
  • Urge the team to keep moving forward, avoiding the need to stop and seek unnecessary approval. 
  • Create a safe environment for the team to share issues and challenges preventing them to deliver on time. The sooner you know, the better you can take correcting measures or redirect the action. 
  • Enable the team to work at an optimum pace, in alignment with the projected timeline. Be mindful that delivering the wrong output on time does not move things forward. 
  • Visualize progress and make it visible to everyone. 
  • Celebrate the success of your actions with everyone involved.  


As with many leadership capabilities, it is important to find the right balance, in this case in pushing forward and understanding delayed delivery. Using the metaphor of a road with roadblocks might help here. When the road is clear, you drive maximum speed to keep moving on. When approaching a roadblock, you take enough time to analyze the roadblock, move around or through it diligently and when passed the roadblock, you start pushing towards maximum speed again. So, when your team comes across a challenge to move forward, take the time to analyze and take appropriate action. You need to slow down here to speed up later. Driving through a roadblock with maximum speed creates a big mess and will not get you to your destination.   

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