There will never be a limit to what is asked of you as a leader. Your employees will want more time. Your leadership team will want more input. Your board will want more progress. Your customers and stakeholders will want more innovations. There will be urgent crises to respond to, labor shortages to navigate, new products to roll out and so much more. There will never be enough time for you to do and be everything that everyone wants you to do and be.
So what’s the alternative?
You must learn to ruthlessly prioritize and relentlessly focus, knowing you can never recapture the time that passes. Reframe your mindset as the leader of your organization to give these two endeavors all your time and energy:
Set expectations and model the example of the culture you want to see in your workplace.
Be the strategic visionary who crafts the bright future of your company and inspires your team to move forward.
Here’s how one respondent of the 2021 Fortune/Deloitte CEO Survey replied when asked to describe the role of CEO in short statements: “Chief clarity officer. Owner of the people agenda. Visionary and strategist.” Save for extraordinary circumstances, everything else can be delegated.
What will this require of you? A determination to say ‘no’ to the many requests that cross your desk, knowing you best serve your business when your energy is funneled into creating a healthy culture and strategically leading your company forward. As Zig Ziglar astutely stated, “I don’t care how much power, brilliance or energy you have, if you don’t harness it and focus it on a specific target, and hold it there you’re never going to accomplish as much as your ability warrants.”
A commitment to saying ‘no’ will challenge you. A desire to lend help through personal involvement is noble and ingrained in many of us. Get started with these three tips:
Look for a mentor who will coach you on reestablishing your priorities, assessing your meeting schedule, and pursuing delegation amongst your trusted team members. Watch how Lynn Townsend at JPG Resources worked with her Convene coach to become more selective in the opportunities she said ‘yes’ to.
Begin intentionally expanding the leadership and capacity of 2-3 trusted members of your executive team, so you can confidently delegate critical initiatives to them without needing to remain involved.
Commit to work-blocking your time to ensure culture building and strategy don’t get relegated to the brief windows between your meetings.
If you want to take your company to the next level and are looking for support, accountability and coaching in your leadership journey, consider joining a Convene Team where you’ll meet with other faith-focused executives in your region as you’re led by a highly successful business coach. The shared learning coupled with individual coaching sessions have proven invaluable for thousands of business leaders around the country.