Ready
Sometimes, the activity that will allow you to practice a skill or build a competency isn’t one that can be anticipated or manufactured. In this case, we can borrow an idea from Dungeons & Dragons to support development; I recommend you ready an action.
Sometimes you want to get the jump on a foe or wait for a particular circumstance before you act. To do so, you can take the Ready action on your turn, which lets you act using your reaction before the start of your next turn.
First, you decide what perceivable circumstance will trigger your reaction. Then, you choose the action you will take in response to that trigger, or you choose to move up to your speed in response to it. Examples include "If the cultist steps on the trapdoor, I'll pull the lever that opens it," and "If the goblin steps next to me, I move away." (Crawford et al., 2014)
Much like in life, when playing Dungeons & Dragons, you may know what you want to do, but the circumstances aren’t quite right yet. By readying an action, you can prepare for the action that you will take when the right circumstance presents itself. It can work the same way in life, and in many cases already does.
When the timer goes off, I will remove the cookies from the oven.
When the gas tank indicator light turns on, I will fill my tank.
When it’s a week before my niece’s birthday, I will order the gift I thought of, six months too early.
We do it all the time, and we don’t even think about it. Home automation is bringing this to our lives in a new way, too.
Turn on the lights an hour before sunset.
When the temperature in the bedroom drops below 60°, turn on the heater.
When everyone leaves the house, stop playing music.
To leverage the readied action in development, think first about the actions that need to be taken. What do you need to practice? What have you never done, or what do you want to do better?
Complete a demo for a customer
Use diffusing statements to calm a frustrated customer
Solve a complex problem independently
Give a presentation in front of a large group
Lead a group through a crisis
Each of these are important both to business success and while they can be rehearsed, role played, or otherwise practiced, doing them when it comes time is a very different experience. In order to seize these opportunities to learn, you must be as ready for them as an adventurer is ready for when the goblin steps next to them.
The next step is to identify a trigger. What are you looking for in order to know it’s time to take the action?
When a customer requests a demo…
When a customer is frustrated…
When a problem arises…
· When the next all-hands meeting is scheduled…
· When a crisis arises…
Then, include the trigger in the goal, along with the other specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound explanations of what you’ll do.
The next time an all-hands meeting is scheduled, I will ask to prepare and present a portion of the content, in order to develop Assertiveness.
What’s important is that just because a goal is ‘readied’ doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be well-formed in other ways. Regardless of what goal-setting structure you prefer, know what you’re going to do, why you’re going to do it, and how you’ll know when it’s done.
By thinking about goals as readied actions, you can ensure you seize opportunities to practice your skills, even if you can’t anticipate precisely when those opportunities will arise.
Want to go deeper?
Crawford, J., Thompson, R., Lee, P., Wyatt, J., Schwalb, R. J., Cordell, B. R., & Bilsland, G. (2014). Players Handbook