A seasoned literacy coach made a great comment as we talked about staying the course through program implementation – she said something like this: “As we have implemented our program, the exit signs have been tempting, but we have to resist them and stay on the road.”
Wow! That is so true and so well put!
What did she mean? She meant that there are programs, consultants, trainings and other distractors that can sound like a good idea, feel like a good and smell like a good idea but might NOT be a good idea because they can distract us from the task at hand. Staying the course means squeezing the life out of the implementation you are going for – even when other good ideas pop up. I often say to clients, “More doesn’t equal better” – at least not all of the time.
So, as you are traveling down the road of program implementation, as you are tempted or enticed to pull off the road for a quick peek or a longer rest, ask yourself: Is this pit stop in line with our objectives? Are we honoring the path we have chosen to take by veering for a moment? Will this exit only take us a moment or will it take us much longer, possibly enabling us to lose our way back?