Are you a victim of the “When I Then I” mindset?

When I ____ then I ____ is probably one of the most overused phrases in the language of leaders. 

It might seem harmless on a day to day basis: “When I finish this op, then I’ll go and answer Emma’s question”, but over time it can become a bad habit which keeps you stuck in reactive leadership mode. 

The most common When I Then I trap for veterinary leaders is “When I have more time, then I will ____”. 

“When I have more time, then I’ll do 1 to 1s with the team”. (12 months later, they are still waiting…) 

The “When I then I” mindset causes you to get caught in the busyness loop and battle never ending fires rather than pausing to find out the cause of those fires. Sometimes being so busy, you are unknowingly creating more fires! 

It’s easy to justify not having time when your practice is short staffed, and your consult blocks are bursting at the seams. 

For the most part, your team will be understanding because they will agree that you are a victim of external circumstances, after all “it’s just the way it is, everywhere is busy right now”, and they wouldn’t want you to further compromise your work life balance by adding more to your plate. 

But the best leaders do not lean on busyness as an excuse. 

Time is the one constant, the one equaliser in the world. No one person has any more time than anyone else. You can’t ‘manage’ time either. It cannot be controlled or manipulated in any way. 

So, is it that you don’t have time, or that you haven’t prioritised it yet? 

What would happen if you did? 

Let’s take team 1 to 1s as an example. You’ve been putting them off for ages, at first that was okay and it was accepted by the team, but several months later you start to notice attitudes of individuals shifting, productivity suffering, communication between colleagues becoming more fragile, individuals feeling unseen, undervalued, and ultimately – resentful. 

The decision to take time from elsewhere and prioritise 1 to 1s is a no brainer when you step back and look at the bigger picture, and the benefits: 

• Your relationships with employees are immediately strengthened because you’re providing them with your undivided attention.
• Trust and loyalty are enhanced through consistent meaningful interactions.
• You can uncover and support people’s career goals and increase their sense of job satisfaction.
• You can quickly remove roadblocks to people’s success and increase productivity for the whole team.

 The next time you catch yourself saying, “When I then I…” here’s what you should do instead: Take a step back and flip the script: “BECAUSE I do {the task} then I will have {the benefit}”.

For example, “Because I do 1:1s, then I will have more time”, because you’re taking the guesswork out of leadership, removing roadblocks to people’s productivity, empowering people to achieve their highest potential. You will save a heck of a lot of time and energy in the long run by investing the time upfront.

What’s your “When I then I”? And how can you flip the script to create a new meaning?