I have spoken with a lot of leaders and business owners over the last few weeks` and it has been great to meet with new people and find out more about them and their plans.
It is interesting how many people from start-ups to established businesses are telling me how busy they are. That is brilliant news to hear. It’s interesting learning about the energy leaders are putting in. It’s also eye opening, seeing how peoples` passions materialise as they express what they are being pulled away from.
What I have heard from some people is that it is “terribly busy” and “I don’t know where the hours in the day go.” This often has me asking,
What is filling the hours?
There are lots of answers to this question and before I share, please reflect on this question.
· What have you been “busy” with this month?
In a lot of cases the stuff that is keeping people busy, could have been handed off to other people. Talented people in organisations, who are looking for a stretch project, could be working on a problem statement for the business. Some marketing could be given to somebody who has a creative interest in this field. What often happens, is that the leader, believes everything rests with them. There is something I admire in that approach but keeping busy with “doing things” could mean leaders are missing out on more important areas that impact their people and customers:
· Ability to step back and think ahead.
· The opportunity to self-reflect on how we are leading.
· Talent development. Leaving a real risk of people joining a competitor.
· Self-care. Putting our own oxygen mask on before helping others.
· Reflect and learn about our great decisions and mistakes.
The internal drivers for keeping ourselves busy will be endless. This can be from our worry about what people may think, to feeling unwarranted guilt because we feel that we are putting a burden on people or even fear of “missing out.”
What we need to think about is:
· Why are we a leader?
· How much more time can be dedicated to our “why”?
The answer to these questions, may give us reason to reflect and make a change.