As I drove along the hundreds kilometers stretch of the Great Ocean Road, one of my favorite song by Queen was playing on my car audio. I thought that this song really rings true to anything that we want to do seriously or anything that really matters. Especially this line “… inside my heart is breaking … but my smile still stays on…”

In any field of work that we are in, there will be times when we must push on. In the IT industry, there will be times when a leader and his/her team will need to push themselves harder to put a product over the line. I think when this happens we have to keep ourselves motivated and to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Too many people give up too soon. There are so many professionals out there who would leave the project or the company at the early signs that things are going to get harder. I would have been lying if I said that it never crossed my mind to just throw in the towel when the going gets tough. However, I found that whenever I stick around and persevere, there is always a lot of learnings and good outcomes.

I am not advocating working overtime all the time or burning crazy hours all the time, this will drain everyone’s mental energy and caused hard-to-recover burnouts. No, I’m talking about pushing over the limit for what really matters. Make sure that we only persevere on the important things.

Why Persevere?

• Because some things are worth the extra efforts. It may be that the outcome of the work pushes your business forward. It could be that the extra effort that you did save your company from failure. There are many possible positive outcomes.
• Working together to get a product over the line can actually build teamwork.
• It can be good for your career. Most of the time, people who care about the business will get the most out of the experience.

How to Keep the Show (Team) Going?

As leaders, one of the most important things to know is how to keep the team going when faced with a challenging situation. These are some of the tips that may help you out:

• Protect your team! Always keep the stakeholders informed and make sure that all questions regarding progress are directed at the leaders (meaning you + leadership team). The team is working hard enough, they don’t need more unnecessary pressure.
• Make sure that you and your team can see the end of the tunnel. Knowing where the end always helps to keep everyone motived. Just like this quote from the song …“I guess I’m learning, I must be warmer now. I’ll soon be turning, round the corner now…“
• Provide food, drinks, transport for anyone who works late or on the weekend.
• Get everyone compensated fairly.
• Make sure everyone gets a break time after the product is out. Avoid another deadline for some time.
• Celebrate. Whatever happens in the end, celebrate the effort that the team has put in.

If you choose what really matters properly then pushing hard to get it done will be worth it. We just have to make sure that we don’t do overtime for the sake of doing so. Also, this is not an excuse for bad planning and discovery as well.

Keep up the spirit during any challenging times. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. On with the show and find the will to carry on!