Five useful questions
They might be difficult to answer, but your project will benefit:
What’s the hard part? Which part of your work, if it suddenly got much better, would have the biggest impact on the outcome you seek?
How are you spending your time? If we took at look at your calendar, how much time is spent reacting or responding to incoming, how much is under your control, and how much is focused on the hard part?
What do you need to know? What are the skills that you don’t have that would make your work more effective?
What is the scary part? Which outcomes or interactions are you trying to avoid thinking about or interacting with? Why?
Is it worth it? After looking at your four answers to these questions, you might have a better idea of what it will take for your project to reach its potential. Does the outcome of the project–for those you serve and for you–justify what it will take to get it there?