An expression used by a client recently when acknowledging that an important job wasn’t getting done.

It’s a great way to explain what happens when we recognise the need to take action and, for whatever reason, we show a reluctance to crack on and complete the task.

In this case the urgency was around filling a vacancy created by a staff member who had left the company. I was curious about the holdup given that most managers I come across think they are over-worked and under-resourced.

Having invested a lot of time and energy into sourcing and training up the first employee and thinking they’d recruited well; the slowness to act was born out of a concern that their replacement wouldn’t work out either and they’d be back to square one.

The learning for this client was that whilst they were procrastinating the job wasn’t going away; in fact, it was moving along the spectrum from important to urgent; and we can all relate to the anxiety that causes.

Once those concerns were aired, the client could reflect on aspects of the recruitment process they could improve, in order to minimise the likelihood of a repeat performance. With those considerations in place there was no longer any reason to stall.

Part of the beauty of coaching is having someone to focus your attention on what you are (or aren’t) doing that is getting in the way of your goal achievement. It maybe something that is easily changed; and yet you’ll never know if you don’t take the time to think about it.