When Leadership is Exhausting
Leadership can be fun again.
The last few months of the year are often focused on holiday celebrations and the important relationships in our lives. It’s supposed to be a joyful, relaxing time…right? Well the truth is the end of the year can be an extremely demanding, even exhausting - even for the best leaders. Competing fiscal and operational goals, performance reviews, succession planning, year-end reporting and let’s not forget about the obligatory visits with the aunt who smells like cheese, the three birthdays mid-December, and drama with the uncle who hates your wife.We’re half joking about the last part but the American Psychological Association reports that 75% of adults (men and women) reported experiencing moderate to high levels of stress in the past month and nearly half reported that their stress has increased in the past year.Almost half of our corporate and private clients have reported similar professional and private realities. It’s tempting to try to keep it all together, but the evidence is clear that the most productive leaders take steps to regain awareness about what's most important, and what's not.Here are five important steps towards making leadership less exhausting (for any time of year):
Compartmentalize
Resist the temptation to overthink this exercise. All you need is a blank sheet of paper, and something to write with.
Categorize each item that’s swirling in your head. Create "buckets".
The larger your scope becomes as a leader the more important it is to step back from the whirlwind of your life to categorize what’s going on in it. You can categorize any way you like; here are some examples:
By Urgency: Categorize by Urgent, Important, Not Important
By Due Date: Due This Week, Due This Month, Due This Quarter, etc.
By Function: Sales, Operations, Marketing, Human Resources, etc.
By Relationship: Family, Supervisor, Direct Reports, Customers, Community, etc.
Release Control
For everyone it will be different, but any leader who tries to do everything will eventually burn out. Overwhelm is the enemy of clarity. No clarity - no progress.
Say “no” to more of the right thing. Say “yes” to more of the right thing.
Let go of perfection.
People can’t help and others can’t grow if you don’t give them the opportunity.
Hold yourself accountable. Start by asking someone to hold you accountable to what’s really needed to help you release control of those things that can quite simply be managed by someone else.
Step Back From the Whirlwind
The earth will not stop if you take time to breathe and step back.
People who perish in violent storms are most often killed by the things that they never expected, couldn’t anticipate and couldn’t see. If you’re stuck in a whirlwind, you will remain overwhelmed and blind to potential roadblocks, but also to potential opportunities.
Clutter – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual – is an enemy to progress, joy, peace and satisfaction. Organize what's most important, summarizing in 3-5 topics. Set aside everything else. Do this in each area of your life, or just pick one or two. List out your most important action items to help you get closer to the 3-5 big topics. As you accomplish things, repeat.
Tell Someone the Truth
One of the great myths about leadership is that perfection is required. The truth is that millions of leaders have imperfect lives. Some reports say that more than 70% of leaders have Imposter Syndrome– the sense that "someone is going to find out that I have no idea what I’m doing". Leaders who make progress eventually recognize that they have to acknowledge that deep-seated sense of failure. But facing it is not always enough. Sharing what you're struggling with, with someone you trust, someone that is themselves in a healthy place, and/or someone that can offer meaningful, reliable perspective, is an exercise in wisdom that even the most junior leader can do.
At T.A.P. Executive Coaching we work with our clients on a forward-thinking, progress-oriented approach to bringing light to the things that are impeding professional and personal satisfaction.The truth is leading others first starts with leading ourselves. Leadership can be fun again.When leadership becomes exhausting, you have more options that you realize. Find out what they are - call us today: (678) 626-7028.
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