Remember the “I” in Leadership
Category: Influence Savvy
Managing today means making the time to lead and knowing when, not just how, to share your ideas with your team. This ability to “self manage” or “self lead” is critical.
Self-management enables leaders to focus on those actions that are most important for the business.
Self-management is the ability to set the right priorities for tasks, to focus on the issue at hand, to run on all cylinders and to muster the self-motivation to do it. It means WE take the reins. Many times, the difference between successful people and those less so is that the more successful ones have used their time more wisely. The return on investment of time is much greater. We all have only 24 hours each day, and a plethora of distractions, requests and projects continually competing for attention. The ability to work on the right tasks at the right time requires thoughtful self-management. We must take a proactive approach to selecting how we use our time.
Managing Yourself
Sometimes, being proactive about the use of your time means a deferral, rather than an immediate response. “Not now” doesn’t mean “never.” Too many workers mistake the need to respond immediately with the need to respond. When working on a mission critical project, allowing yourself to be interrupted by a newly delivered e-mail message or a coworker’s unexpected visit detracts from your priority. With each potential distraction, today’s leaders will be well served to ask themselves, “Is this the best use of my time right now?” That e-mail and your coworker can probably wait.
Multitasking myth. To effectively self-manage, leaders must also understand that multitasking is a myth. While some people believe they can successfully multitask, the reality is that they can’t. We have the capacity to focus on only one item, just as we can only be in one place at one time. Although it is possible to move back and forth from one task to another, to think that you can work on two things at the same time will only detract your full attention from one of those tasks. Without full attention, your ability to deliver an excellent result becomes limited. When we know that the absolute best use of our time is concentrating on the task-at-hand, the temptation to think about other things can be reduced. That’s where self-management becomes a real asset to the leader.
“Making time” not “finding time.” If you hope to find time in this whirlwind society, you won’t. Instead, embrace the concept of making time for those important actions that will help you stay ahead in your organization. If you hope to find time to write a handwritten thank-you note to a deserving employee, chances are it won’t get done. But, if you make the time to write the note, you will proactively put it on your schedule and increase the likelihood of completing it.
Self-care. With all the potential stress that awaits leaders, the ability to handle various physical and intellectual demands depends on how well they take care of themselves. Eating right, getting enough sleep, exercising regularly and striving for work–life balance are all elemental to the self-care that will empower leaders to succeed. Being able to think clearly is a direct result of physical well being, after all.
Today’s leaders are not just managing others — they’re leading themselves. They have a vision for themselves, and not just for their businesses or for the people they lead.
They have goals and action plans. They set weekly priorities that work toward their overall life plans. They choose how to spend their time, and don’t allow time to manage them. And they take care of their bodies and minds so that they can nurture others. In this hustle-bustle world, the key to survival is making time to survive. If we don’t, we’ll get lost in the mix.
