Want to Be an Effective Leader? Focus on THIS

Leaders have a lot to do. Leaders hold positions of responsibility. In many cases, being in leadership requires you to deliver results, which means that the buck stops with you.

In light of all of this, it can be really easy – and perhaps understandable – for leaders to focus on the inevitable “to-do” list. What are the tasks that need to be done?

Some leaders tend to these tasks themselves. Others have mastered the art of delegation. Many are skilled at both.

Given the number of tasks and responsibilities that fall on a leader’s plate, it can be easy to think that leadership is solely about getting things done. Moreover, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that leadership is about HOW you get things done.

It’s not.

The one key nugget that I work to instill in those with whom I work is this: leadership is not about what you do or how you do it; leadership, is about how you BE.

Yes, you have things to do. The fact that you’re doing them isn’t what matters, though. It’s about how you be while you’re doing them.

Great leaders leave a legacy, not solely by getting things done. Instead, they leave a meaningful legacy by combining the need to get things done, with the very real understanding that how they show up – how they be – while they’re doing those things is what inspires, or influences those around them. And it’s the inspiring and influencing that leaves an impact that equates to leadership.

Bottom-line: yes, you’ve got a to-do list a mile long and you want to honour your commitment and responsibility to get that list done. As you do so, however, it behooves you to pay attention to how you show up. Because as leader, finishing the to-do list isn’t what matters; building meaningful relationships is what matters. And that is always a function of how you show up.