Do you sometimes realize there is a distinct difference between what you know to do and what you do? Maybe you have attended a ground-breaking seminar, read a great book, listened to an insightful sermon or podcast, obtained a degree or taken a course that should be helpful, or made a potentially life-changing discovery in prayer or reflection. But, if you are like me, you have times you are not implementing that great learning, acting on your insights, or using the skills you have developed. We know it probably would help, but we continue doing the same things the same way and getting the same results. Our efforts at learning and growth seem to go nowhere. I have been there, and my goal is not to make you feel bad about failing to implement new knowledge, skills, tactics, and strategies. I want to give you some ideas I believe can help you narrow, if not close, the implementation gap.
Where does the implementation gap show up for you? Is it at work, in family or friend relationships, in personal development and well-being, spiritual growth, or some other area? The implementation gap exists at two levels – the systemic level and the personal level. In this piece, let’s look at the personal level, which is our individual failure to implement what we need to or want to implement. Let’s start by getting an idea of what leads to the gap. We might not know how to implement the new learning, or we don’t think we can. We sometimes try to implement the new learning all-at-once and get discouraged. Implementation may just be hard in terms of time and effort. We may realize change to the new way of doing things will force us to admit we have not done things the best way before now. Maybe, the expectations of others as to what we will do and how we do it hinder implementation. Or, we may have a lack of self-discipline, have inadequate support from others, or face some other challenge. This is not an exhaustive list of factors, but it might help you figure out what leads to your difficulty.
We could look at each of these, but, for now, I want to focus on the combination of busyness and routine. We all feel it and have it. We have so much to do that we get on autopilot and feel we cannot add anything to our plate. Or we get into our routines, lose track of passing time, and forget about the new idea, knowledge, skill, or strategy in the actual flow of events, interactions, and decisions where those ideas could be implemented. One type of routine is our list of tasks, approach to schedule, and pattern of doing life and work. Routine can make things easier, because it lets us put effort into actual tasks rather than figuring out what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. The other type of routine is our mental routine – the mental model of what, how, when, and why that we often access and run subconsciously. It is our thinking, and we often do not take time and expend effort to think about our thinking.
When our implementation gap stems from busyness and routine, we need to realize new knowledge won’t change anything until we implement it, and we will not implement it without pushing back from business-as-usual in ways that help us intentionally implement the new knowledge, insights, decisions, and strategies. Here are some ways to do that.
Schedule regular time for reflection, evaluation, and planning. There may be some things you have to stop doing or delegate to others to do this, but it is vital.
Envision what implementing the new knowledge would look like. For instance, I might take a specific leadership principle or strategy and think through exactly what that would look like in my own organization and how I might put it into practice.
Think through obstacles to implementation, resources for implementation, and the pace of implementation in your situation.
Set goals for implementation.
Evaluate to determine the extent to which you have or have not implemented the new knowledge in specific situations and what you might do better when that situation arises in the future.
Build some sort of pause into your decision and reaction processes, so that, in the moment, you can act according to your new knowledge instead of old patterns.
Find someone to help you with the process of reflection, evaluation, and planning – a trusted confidant, friend, or coach, for instance. This person needs to be able to challenge you and ask hard questions to help you get clarity and make progress.
Implementation gaps show up all the time, don’t they? Leaders learn, in theory, how to be more effective but resort to ineffective practices. Spouses or parents learn, in theory, how to relate better, but in the heat of the moment, they do not live out those better ways. We read the Bible or hear solid teaching on what Christian life ought to be, but we find ourselves falling short of practicing our faith well. We set health goals, but we slip too easily into familiar, unhealthy patterns. Disciplined planning, evaluation, and reflection can go a long way to helping us close the gaps.