This past week I shared a significant chunk of learning content to a school’s leadership team that is on the cusp of diving into the ’24-’25 school year.
It was extremely well received, feedback was outstanding, and kudos to their engagement and level of presence!
But…can you imagine?
It was their first foray into the year’s school calendar – a literal transition point as they shift from their summer mindset and heart-set.
Kids will be roaming the halls in just a few days. The demands of staff, students, and parents are just around the corner. To-do lists and priorities are pounding on the door.
I guarantee you – every note they took and every insight they treasured from our time together – no matter how valuable – was immediately and unapologetically placed on the proverbial shelf.
No worries. We all get it. Learning opportunities like this, though valuable and necessary, impact our flow.
And when the tide is pushing hard, we absolutely must get back to the mission at hand and manage the floodgates well.
The question for us as developing leaders is: How well do we manage our shelf?
Thursday and Friday of that same week I got to drink from the firehose at GLS2024 (The Global Leadership Summit).
Great speakers. Pages of notes. Fantastic insights. Books I can’t wait to read. An incredibly powerful resource overall.
And it will all go on the shelf for a time, because I’ve got two sermons to finalize, two Convene meetings to facilitate in the coming week, a guest speaker coming in later today…
Priorities.
Even though we may LOVE our work (which I do), “duty” calls, and that means I, like you, have to put a lot of things on the shelf.
For now.
Putting things on the shelf is not the problem. Leaving them on the shelf is the problem.
How well do you manage your shelf?
A client of mine stayed at his seat long after the others had left. I was tidying up the room and packing my things while he mulled over his notes and wrote in the margins.
I had to ask what that was all about.
He said, “When I walk out these doors, everything else in the world is going to hit me again. I know this about me, and I have learned that it is important for me to take a few minutes in the moment to process my notes before I leave the room. Managing them well on the front end helps me to access them more readily on the back end – when I need them.”
This leader – of multiple businesses and a development program of his own – understood how intentional we must be in managing our shelf.
How about you? Do you have a trusted process that helps you incorporate new learning into your life and leadership?
Here are two action items for you to consider as an intentionally developing purpose-driven leader:
1. Don’t neglect the act of consistently “stocking” your shelf
2. Develop a trusted process for managing your shelf that intentionally incorporates new learning into your leadership MO
About the Author
Ken Stewart, CEO Advisory Board Chair
Ken Stewart is the principal and founder of The H3 Leader, an Executive Coach, Convene Chair for two Christian Executive Leader Peer2Peer Advisory Teams, and the Central IL Area Chair for the entire downstate region of IL. His breadth of experience spans the business, leadership, training, project management, and pastoral worlds and includes: 19 years of engagement across a variety of disciplines in the corporate environment; over a decade of supervisory and managerial experience; seven years as a corporate trainer; 8+ years in business ownership; 14+ years in pastoral ministry in both large and small churches; and 9+ years in the executive coaching realm.
His strength is in helping others—leading them through problem resolution and tension management; seeking efficient and effective solutions to challenges; offering opportunities for others to develop and master their professional contributions; and working with senior leadership to help them consistently meet or exceed the ever-changing needs of the communities they serve.
Born and raised in Central IL, he lives outside Peoria with his bride Beth (33+ years), dog “Pepé”, and cats “Ollie” & “Rusty”. Their daughter Anna recently graduated from his alma mater (Illinois State University) and is living in the Bloomington area.