In the story about the tortoise and the hare, these two competitors take very different approaches to running their race. The tortoise is slow and methodical, plodding along until he eventually wins. The hare is fast, can run circles around the turtle, and squanders his opportunity for victory by being overconfident and not seeing things through to victory.
In my coaching I often run into clients whose style reminds me of the tortoise and the hare. The tortoise is committed to understanding every detail, every nuance and every contingency before they feel comfortable enough to cross the finish line. Consequently, they run on a course that has no end. The strength of the tortoise style is their dedicated effort. If tortoises would just define a clear finish line for themselves they would become so much better at seeing things through to completion.
The hare approach to doing things is fast acting, extremely fluid and at times haphazard. I love the self-confidence of the “hares” that they will easily cross the finish line. The challenge I see them facing is either becoming distracted by another great opportunity and never completing the original race or moving so quickly that they don’t think things all the way through resulting in a less than optimal final outcome. Hares would benefit greatly by finding a way or a partner that will help them to think things through before taking action.
Tortoises and hares have much to learn from each other’s style. Both styles will cross the finish line. Both styles have pros and cons. Which are you?