Why Leaders Feel Overwhelmed by Their Workload
Today leaders find themselves multitasking, scrolling quickly through news feeds, and listening with distracted minds. The list of things that need to be accomplished continues to grow and most leaders feel stretched, overwhelmed, and discouraged that they will ever get on top of their to do list.
Working Smarter, Not Harder: Rethinking Productivity
We live in an age where trying to be super-efficient and squeeze every last ounce of productivity out of each moment is applauded. Productivity quotas grow every year with no additional help in sight. The advice of “working smarter, not harder” is often shared, but is not accompanied by any input on how to do so. The net result is that leaders continue to work longer days and hope something will change.
Prioritize Leadership Tasks That Drive Results
There are a few ways leaders can actually work smarter and make a difference for themselves and their teams. One way is to focus on choosing the priorities you will focus on within your role. There are some priorities that only you can do and those should become part of the core activities you complete. Beyond that there are the important activities that will create momentum and growth. Prioritizing these in your schedule is imperative for both short- and long-term success.
Delegate Tasks to Develop Your Team
Another way in which leaders can work smarter is to identify things you can delegate and who on the team would learn new skills from tackling those tasks. Many leaders hesitate to delegate for fear of overloading team members. While it is important to consider their workload, there may be tasks they are doing that could be moved to others who could in turn grow from those responsibilities.
Improve Focus Through Mindful Leadership
Finally, learning to be present and focused is another imperative. Practice focusing on one thing at a time to allow for deeper and more complex thinking. Listen to understand others perspective, spend time planning and prioritizing, and ensure that meetings you attend align with your priorities. It may feel like your pace is slower, however, when making complex decisions errors can be costly. Being focused allows for deeper insight, stronger relationship building, and greatest outcomes.
Focus on Effectiveness, Not Just Efficiency
Being efficient is a good goal but will never outweigh the need to be effective. Take time weekly to assess whether you are just busy, or effective. Effective leaders are attuned to the highest priorities in their role and guard those above all the day-to-day urgent tasks. Get focused on the right things and watch your impact rise!
