As leaders, we're often told to push forward, to persevere, to keep our eyes on the prize.
But what if I told you that sometimes, the fastest way forward is actually… backward?
C.S. Lewis put it brilliantly when he said:
“We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.”
Now, I’ll be the first to admit: I have a high tolerance for change, an appetite for risk, and a willingness to move quickly. These are often great qualities in a leader. But they come with a catch – I can be painfully slow to pull the plug on something that isn’t working. I get trapped by sunk costs, thinking, “We’ve already invested so much, we can’t turn back now!”
(Full transparency: I also don’t love admitting that I was wrong)
Sound familiar? I thought it might.
Imagine you’re on a road trip. You take a wrong turn, and your GPS pipes up, “If you stay on this path, it’ll take 3 hours longer to reach your destination. But if you turn around now and get back on the right path, you’ll only add 10 minutes to your trip.”
You’d be crazy to keep going for those extra 3 hours, right? You would make that U-turn in a heartbeat.
But in life and in business, we are often far more reluctant to make the U-turn. We make decisions based on where we already are, making it incredibly difficult to go backwards. We think, “Well, we’ve already come this far…”
Here’s the truth, though:
Sometimes going forward isn’t actually faster.
Sometimes, it’s not even progress at all.
The key is knowing when to reverse course. Great leaders have the courage to admit when something isn’t working, the wisdom to recognize when a change of direction is needed, and the willingness to act on that knowledge.
I’m not talking about giving up at the first sign of trouble. I’m advocating that we must acknowledge and admit when staying the course will cost more in the long run than changing direction now.
Remember, the goal isn’t to reach your destination at any cost. The goal is to reach your destination in the most effective way possible.
Sometimes, that means backtracking to find a better path forward. True progress isn’t always linear. Sometimes it involves loops, detours, and yes, even U-turns.
So the next time you find yourself wondering if you should keep pushing forward or make a change, remember C.S. Lewis’s words. The most progressive leader might just be the one brave enough to turn back and find the right road.
