Among the many characteristics that I use to describe myself is that of a “planner.” Regardless of whether I am in a position of leadership, member of a team, or directing my own life journey, I like to create and follow the plan. Perhaps this is due in part to the preliminary research I conduct, or forethought that emerges before embarking on a journey, starting an assignment, or scheduling my day. I set high expectations in my personal, academic, and professional life, and proceed with intuition as to the way things should or ought to be. When things go according to plan, I am happiest. Although I deem it important to keep my standards high and set out to achieve my intent, I have thankfully come to some realizations over the past few years that have changed my perspective on planning: (1) hardly anything ever goes according to plan and (2) even if it did, learning opportunities would be limited, my character would lack depth, and my life would be boring. Allow me to explain.
Early in the fall semester of my sophomore year, I set out to be a team leader for Penn State’s chapter of Students Consulting for Non-Profit Organizations (SCNO). Through this organization, groups of approximately six students are each paired with a local non-profit organization for a yearlong consulting project. Students come from all majors, albeit most are from the business school, which enables diversity in services that can be offered to the clients at each non-profit. Projects can entail anything from website creation, to database management, financial analyses, and marketing plans. The cross-functional nature of these projects coupled with my past experience as a team member during my freshman year, inspired me to apply for a leadership position as a sophomore. After completing the application and undergoing interviews, I was selected for the position and shortly thereafter was paired with my team and client. I was excited by the makeup of my team, ranging from IST to marketing majors, and spanning 3 different classes (freshman, sophomores, and juniors), and was encouraged by their enthusiasm toward the project. We were paired with a friendly, professional, and knowledgeable client whose urgency was exemplified by her arrangement of an on–campus meeting as opposed to my teams’ travel to her site. The collective passion and interest expressed by both the client and team undoubtedly met my expectations. We were off to a great start. Action-items emerged from the first meeting, and everything was going according to plan. I was in the leadership role I had envisioned, and had a great team by my side.
A few days later, everything had changed. The project came to a screeching halt.
The client informed me that she was backing out of the engagement. She no longer wanted to pursue the project with us, with little explanation as to why. The plan had suddenly changed. Well, actually, there was no plan anymore. I was left with five team members, each of whom were new to the SCNO organization, and no project. Why? How could this be? How do I break the news to the team? What do I say? It certainty wasn’t their fault. And what now? Is there some sort of “backup” project? Does the team break apart and join the other SCNO project groups? Do we disband completely? There were so many questions flooding my brain, amidst my confusion and frustration. This is not what I had envisioned. I didn’t sign up for this. Why me? Emotionally distraught, I was conflicted about my involvement in the organization, unsure as to what the future would entail.
Luckily SCNO has an Executive Board that initially pairs the teams with clients, and ultimately oversees each of the projects. Having first communicated the situation to my team, assuring them that this was no ones fault but rather simply a change of mind on the clients part, I proceeded to discuss the situation with the Executive Board. We brainstormed a few possibilities of how to proceed and ultimately arrived at the decision to sustain the project team while seeking out a new client. This time, however, I would be involved in the search for a client to pair with, drawing upon the knowledge I recently obtained of my teams’ skillset, capabilities, and interests (previously, team leaders were simply assigned clients without very much input). Ultimately, a few Executive Board members and I firmed a new project with New Leaf Initiative, owners of an innovative co-working space in downtown State College. The non-profit is far from “traditional,” having gained popularity in the college town for its entrepreneurial underpinnings and collaborative environment that welcomes business professionals, community members, and students alike. In sum, the engagement resulted in a 3-year strategic business plan incorporating marketing, finance, and operational components, all of which reflected the diverse contributions of my team. The client seemed pleased with the deliverables, and although the ultimate journey was far different from the original plan, it was one worth taking.
As I reflect on this experience, I find that my tenacious grasp on the original plan was really the only reason I felt a “door” closing on me. My yearning for fulfillment and fruition of my vision as a leader initially distracted me from another “door” that was actually opening. Unbeknownst to me at the time, a new project (perhaps an even better fit for my team) was emerging. Since this was not part of “the plan” that I was so greatly attached to, I had initially channeled my frustrations and fears toward things that were out of my control, things that could no longer change. Thankfully, I rose to the challenge and stuck with the team, upholding my commitments to the organization and myself. It certainly was not easy to address what felt like a sinking ship in the same water with “smooth sailing” teams, but I confidently believe that I became a stronger, more resilient leader because of it. In the words of Viktor Frankl, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
Perhaps the greatest takeaway that I obtained from this experience is the importance of having an initial plan, but staying flexible along the journey. Twists and turns will shape the road ahead, but we must not let that keep us from setting out in the first place. There will be hills and valleys, traffic and delays. There will be detours, lousy weather, and accidents. Construction might slow us down. Yet in the end, we must have faith that regardless of how we get there, we’ll reach our destination one way or another. Deviations, no matter how unanticipated, are simply learning experiences that equip us with new perspectives, different views out the same window. Perhaps we will prefer the new landscape, perhaps not, but unless we opt to take a different path, we will never find out.
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