3 Signs You're Headed for Disaster: A Forecast for Leaders
My opportunity to talk to leaders often comes on the wrong side of disaster. Given the choice for cleanup following a disaster or preventing it in the first place, I’ll take the latter every time. For those of you, like me, who are fans of learning from your mistakes, there is plenty of room for an education along the way.
When you find yourself in the convergence of these signs, you are well on your way to a meltdown or, at least, constant thoughts of giving up altogether or that you would like to be doing something else… anything else.
1) You Say “Yes” to Everything
It feels great to say “Yes” doesn’t it? There’s an instant dose of some endorphin or other that courses through your veins that makes you feel pretty good about yourself. That is, until you actually have to deliver on that “yes.” All of us can keep up for awhile but there comes a time when you find you’re working on everyone else’s priorities and there is no time left for your own initiatives.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said, “The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.”
One way to introduce “no” into your vocabulary is to have a pretty good “yes” that belongs to you. What is your burning “yes” that must be accomplished? When you are laser focused on your main priority, it’s easier to resist everyone else’s requests with a clear conscience or at least postpone them until it actually fits into your schedule.
2) Your Schedule is Out of Control
There are only so many hours in a week and the best way to see how your week is shaping up is to look at your calendar - but only if you’re using it. Do you find yourself constantly busy and running but there are only a few appointments actually scheduled on your calendar? You need to schedule EVERYTHING. By doing so, you gain two advantages:
You have a realistic tool to manage new requests coming in. Many times, when you offer an opening in your schedule to someone and it doesn’t meet their needs, their emergency will often solve itself without your help.
You can schedule your main priorities first. That should include not only your work priorities but personal and family priorities, as well.
Actually calendaring items instead of keeping a to-do list is a much more effective way to handle your workflow. It certainly allows you to be more realistic with that stack of post-it notes. An alternative for these less pressing items is to schedule time on your calendar to attack your to-do list.
3) You Have Multiple Number One Priorities
Often, we take pride in telling others we’re spinning a lot of plates. If it’s true, your ability to lead is greatly diminished because you can’t lead anyone while you’re standing in one place spinning plates. Also, while you’re constantly on the lookout for a falling plate you are unaware of what’s going on around you. A leader keeps an eye out for problems and clears a path for those they lead. That’s difficult when your focus is misdirected.
Everything cannot be a number one priority. Take a hard look at what you’re working on and force yourself to put your tasks in order. Give away the tasks that others can do and keep only the ones that only you can do. Some of your former number one priorities will go away altogether. In the end, you’ll find that the remaining ones are more manageable. Now, schedule those remaining tasks on your calendar.
Avoid a leadership disaster by watching out for these three signs. To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, you may be able to get away with some of these some of the time but you can’t get away with all of these all of the time.