Task overdrive among leaders is all too common. Our leadership survey* last week showed 35% of respondents spend the majority of their time on day to day tasks. 32% said they’d trade off a working relationship to “get the job done." A leader who is too much of a doer marginalizes themselves, their colleagues, and their people. Too much emphasis on tasks means you pay too high a price -- in stress, health, and fulfillment -- for whatever you achieve, and you inflict similar costs on others. Life as a leader gets better when you avoid making tasks more important than why, and with whom, you’re doing what you do.
Self-coaching Questions
- How is my focus on immediate tasks getting in the way of my own effectiveness, and that of my colleagues, and/or team?
- What relationships need my attention and care, such that they can sustain us both over time?
- What can I commit to changing in the months ahead, and what do I need to help myself be accountable to this commitment?
David Peck
Executive Coach and President
Leadership Unleashed
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Note: Over 100 of these tips appear in my book: Beyond Effective: Practices in Self-aware Leadership. Click on the image of the book for more information.
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* THANK YOU to the 103 managers and leaders who completed the "Manager or Leader?" quiz so far. I'll be covering additional findings in the months ahead. Meanwhile, if you haven't taken it, you are welcome to do so by visiting http://tinyurl.com/m2cljg (if the link to the quiz doesn't work for you, please go to leadershipunleashed.com, click the link to "I am an executive / leader," then click "leadership quiz" on the left hand navigation.) Also, your feedback, questions, suggestions are welcome.
