by Dr. Richard Blackaby
I am addicted to multitasking. After all, how can you experience leadership success in these complicated times if you are not juggling a dozen different tasks at any given moment? Many organizations have downsized and are attempting to “do more with less.” With so many job-seekers hungrily standing in the wings looking for work, overworked leaders dare not complain about their heavy workload. The consequence is that many leaders today are being buried in good projects so they have no time to effectively accomplish what is crucial.
Compounding this problem is that many leaders are multi-talented. How is this a problem, you ask? It causes difficulty because possessing diverse talents tempts leaders to invest themselves in many different directions. The assumption is: “Because I am good at this” or “because I can . . . I should.” The result is leaders attempting to do many things poorly rather than a few things well.
Leaders are used to being in high demand. Everyone wants to meet with them and to get them involved in their project. Could they just: serve on this committee . . . be the chairman one more year . . . attend this fundraiser . . . look over this manuscript . . . take a quick phone call . . . Before long another day is spent engaged in a wide array of activities while nothing of major consequence has been accomplished.
Here are some suggestions that could help you to achieve greater accomplishments as a leader in the future.
- Keep your focus on Christ and His calling. People are always going to be clamoring for your attention. If the “squeaky wheel gets the grease,” you will find yourself inundated with squeaky wheels! But you were not called to be a leader so you could keep all of your people happy. God called you to your post because there were certain things He intended to accomplish in your organization through you. You must keep you eyes on Him or you will miss your divine calling. I am reminded of Stephen. Even as his enemies were mercilessly hurling lethal stones at him, he kept his eyes on his risen Lord (Acts 7:56). Don’t let your friends, or your enemies cause you to take your eyes off of your Lord and what He called you to do.
- Consider what only you can do. People have a tendency to want the leader to do their work for them. If you, as the leader, will make the decision for your associate, or attend and direct the meeting, or be on the crucial phone call, or find money for his project, then you can carry the weight of the responsibility instead of them. But, as kindhearted and as willing to help others as you may be, you cannot do others’ work, and yours, at the same time. By investing yourself in what someone else should be doing, you are neglecting the work only you can do. The irony is that the same people who clamor for you to help them, rarely help you accomplish your leadership work.Wise leaders will refrain from involving themselves in other peoples’ jobs. They will delegate any of their tasks that can be reassigned. The fact is: if one of your leadership tasks can be delegated to someone else, it should be delegated! Identify those tasks that only you can do; then embrace them with vigor!
- Guard yourself from distractions. Many well-meaning leaders cannot resist seeing who it is that just sent them an e-mail or text. When their cell phone or computer alerts them to an incoming message, they immediately turn their focus from what they were doing to satisfy their curiosity. The problem is that much of a leader’s work requires focused concentration. You cannot do quality work in a distracted way. Nicholas Carr in his book, The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, offers a devastating indictment to those who are letting their brains and mode of thinking be “re-wired” by the Internet. He argues that we no longer can think deeply or read material more than a blog’s length. There is a battle for the mind currently taking place that leaders must win.
- Don’t put off the tough stuff. I can’t tell you how many people have recently told me that they have a book they want to write. They’ll share their idea with me, and generally, these people have some marvelous insights. However, to get a book published, you must first write one! In the long run, a book you write may have far more lasting and widespread effect than certain e-mails you answer or web sites you surf. Yet it takes far more discipline and effort to write a book. So we check one more website instead. If you are going to accomplish significant tasks, you cannot put them off. Only after having weeded your schedule of non-essentials, however, will you have the time, or energy to tackle the big jobs.
- Stop making excuses. I have leaders explain to me all the time why they have not yet accomplished what they need to do. The truth is: great leaders don’t make excuses. They make adjustments. They do whatever is necessary to overcome their obstacles and get the job done. As long as you allow people or circumstances to prevent you from accomplishing your important tasks, they will continue to do so.
Take a moment and make a list of the important accomplishments you have achieved so far this year. How long is the list? If it is paltry, you may well be the victim of a lack of focus. Don’t squander your valuable time investing in the unnecessary. Jettison anything from your commitments and schedule that is preventing you from doing what must be done. Take charge of your schedule and hence your life. There is too much at stake for you not to!