The Toughest Thing for Leaders to do? Stick to the Essentials!

There is just no getting around it, Leaders are busy people! You are prone to action and activity which is great. The big question, however, is are you really getting done what is ESSENTIAL to get done versus what is just on your To-Do list? Accordingly, leadership expert John Maxwell often warns us to not confuse ACTIVITY with ACCOMPLISHMENT. This always gets me thinking out loud about how do we really focus on what is important and strategic versus what is really just peripheral.

Productivity expert Michael Hyatt explains this trap of “business” is an easy one for leaders to fall in to. Being busy becomes a corporate “merit badge” where we think we are proving our worth by coming in early, staying late, working weekends, postponing vacations, etc. We are checking a lot of things off our To-Do list but are those things the most ESSENTIAL in accomplishing what we REALLY need to in order to grow our business, improve as a professional, build healthy relationships, etc.?

Melissa Balmain from Success Magazine shares great insight from Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. According to McKeown, there are some key steps in helping us focus on what is really ESSENTIAL.

• First, take a PERSONAL RETREAT DAY once a quarter. Make sure to get some place out of the office or home where you will not be tempted to be distracted by technology. This may involve (gasp!) getting outside in nature. I bet there is some kind of state or national park near you to do this!

• Second, now that you are uncomfortably outside (!!), pick your TOP PRIORITY for the quarter. A great question to identity that is “What would I do if I could do anything?”  Then ask and identify to yourself what is getting in the way of that? What social or work pressures are getting in the way of what is truly ESSENTIAL?

• Next, once you are picked your QUARTERLY PRIORITY, plan a ROUTINE around accomplishing that. The trick is to then MAINTAIN that focus by asking yourself weekly questions such as, “Is this the RIGHT ROUTINE?” or “What do I need to ADJUST?”

• Finally, each day ask yourself two more questions. 1) What is the MOST IMPORTANT thing I can do today to move my FOCUS or ESSENTIAL forward? and at the end of the day ask 2) How did I spend my TIME today? or Were the CHOICES I made today helpful in moving me forward?

McKeown shares one more incredibly profound insight. Each of us has an ESSENTIAL MISSION in life and we are given just enough time to fulfill it but we have to STAY FOCUSED!

"Each of us has an ESSENTIAL MISSION in life and we are given just enough time to fulfill it!" - George McKeown

As always if I can help you and the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I would invite you to email me or to visit my website below and see if any of the training or coaching experiences I offer can provide an impact! Also, as a bonus, if you go to my Out Loud Strategies website (www.outloudinc.com) and enter your contact information, I will send you a FREE guide to establishing a mentoring initiative program in your organization! Such an initiative would be critical in order to add value to your organization!

Yours in Leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Principal Consultant – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

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