Why ‘Important’ Isn’t Enough: Leanne Bridges on Driving Action on Key Initiatives

In a recent LinkedIn post, Leanne Bridges explores a common workplace challenge: how initiatives deemed “important” often fail to gain traction, despite repeated acknowledgment. Bridges highlights the critical distinction between something being important and it being treated as urgent, a gap that can lead to stalled progress on crucial business objectives.

Bridges opens by painting a familiar picture for many professionals:

“You’ve called the same thing a priority for 6 months. It still hasn’t happened.”

The post details how projects, even those agreed upon as significant and placed on a list, can languish indefinitely. Each month, they resurface, with promises to address them, only to be sidelined by more immediate, “urgent” matters. Bridges emphasizes that this inaction is not typically due to a lack of care or effort from the team.

The Crucial Difference Between Important and Urgent

A core argument presented by Bridges is that teams often hear that a task is “important,” but not that it is “urgent.” This subtle, yet significant, difference in framing has profound implications for prioritization. As Leanne Bridges notes, “And on its own, ‘important’ tends to lose to whatever’s on fire that day.” This dynamic means that work intended to drive the business forward is perpetually delayed because it never achieves the critical status of immediate necessity.

Bridges explains that the team isn’t necessarily ignoring the initiative or the person raising it. They have heard the message, but the signal received is one of general significance rather than a command for immediate action. This perception allows other, more pressing issues to consistently take precedence.

“Because nothing’s told them this is the one that can’t wait.”

Shifting from Acknowledgment to Action

The post suggests that for truly impactful work to be done, the perception of urgency must be actively created. Simply labeling something as “important” is insufficient to overcome the daily onslaught of immediate demands. Bridges argues that without a clear signal that a particular task or project is time-sensitive and non-negotiable, it will continue to be deferred.

The core issue, according to Bridges, is the lack of a catalyst for immediate action. The initiative remains on the list, and its status is unlikely to change unless the approach to its prioritization fundamentally shifts.

“It’s still sitting there. And it’ll still be there next month, unless something changes so they treat it as urgent.”

Leanne Bridges’s insights underscore the need for leaders and teams to move beyond simply identifying important tasks. The challenge lies in effectively communicating the urgency and criticality required to ensure these vital initiatives are not just acknowledged, but acted upon, driving tangible business progress.