It’s Time to Honour Those Boundaries
Boundaries are important. You know it. I know it. We all know it.
Despite this universal knowledge, few folks are actually effective at drawing – and honouring – boundaries. This seems especially true in the realm of leadership.
Too many of the folks I interact with operate with a misguided notion that they must be available 24/7 to those whom they lead. There’s an unspoken sense that effective leadership means you are ready to answer any question, respond to any dilemma, brainstorm on any problem, whenever you are beckoned.
A text comes in as you’re heading to bed, you text back.
The phone rings while you’re in the middle of a meal, you answer it.
An email message gets delivered as you’re working on a project, your drop everything you’re doing and respond.
Someone knocks on your office door just as you’re shutting down for the day, you let them in.
All of this is done in the name of “availability”. After all, what leader wants to be UNavailable? If you’re truly committed to your leadership, being available is the name of the game, right?
Wrong.
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Step Away from the Busy Trap
“I’m so busy.”
“What a busy week.”
“Wow, you’ve been busy lately!”
These phrases and others like it are ones I hear regularly. Sometimes, I use them myself. Often these are said with admiration. Whether I’m working with my clients, catching up with colleagues, or visiting with friends and family, “being busy” is bandied about as a measure of success.
The thing is, busy-ness isn’t actually reflective of success. In fact, “busy” can be a success-inhibitor. Let me explain.
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This Doesn’t Make Sense!
Sometimes, life just doesn’t make sense. This is true for everyone. Recently, whether I’m working with colleagues, chatting with friends, conversing with my family or just being in the vicinity of a conversation in a restaurant, at some point, some person, somewhere is bound to utter these words.
“It just doesn’t make sense.” Or, the ever-popular, “I don’t get it.”
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The Truth About Leadership and Being in Charge
The buck stops here.
This cliché is often associated with leadership. And there’s truth in it. A team’s success or failure, growth or stagnation, can all be traced back to the role of its leaders. True leaders are those folks who are absolutely willing to be responsible and take ownership of what is transpiring around them.
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