Find Space to Lead

Hi Reader

There’s a point in many of my coaching conversations when a client says something along the lines of:

“I just have too much to do.”

• Their diary is full.
• Their to-do list keeps growing.
• They’re constantly moving from one thing to the next

And, however much they get done, there’s always something else waiting.

So, understandably, they think they have a time-management or capability problem, which can grow into feelings of overwhelm and stress and often result in being less rather than more productive.

But often, when we look more closely, time isn’t really the problem.

It’s what they’re carrying.

As we become more experienced and senior, we don’t necessarily become better at putting things down.

In fact, sometimes we do the opposite.

• We say yes because we don’t want to let someone down.
• We step in because we know we can sort something quickly.
• We hold onto work because delegating it feels harder than doing it ourselves.
• We take responsibility for problems because we’re used to being the person people turn to.

And sometimes we keep doing the work we’re good at because it feels good to be good at something.

There’s reassurance in knowing you can solve the problem, deliver the task or help someone out. Particularly when other parts of leadership feel uncertain.

The problem is that, over time, all those individual decisions accumulate.

You’re not just carrying your role anymore, you’re carrying parts of other people’s roles. Problems that could have been solved elsewhere. Tasks your team could be developing through. Commitments you agreed to months ago that no longer make sense.

And that has a cost.

Not simply because you’re busy, but because your time and energy are being consumed by work that leaves less capacity for the things only you can do.

• The strategic thinking.
• The decisions.
• The leadership.
• The conversations that need your attention.

Eventually, everything can start to feel equally urgent and important. You become more reactive, your thinking becomes narrower and you can find yourself working harder while feeling as though you’re achieving less.

This is why, in Optimise Your Energy, part of the NooWay®, we don’t just look at how someone manages their time.

We look at where their energy is going and why.

Because managing your workload isn’t simply about becoming more productive. Sometimes it’s about becoming much more deliberate about what you choose to do and don't do.

When you start to do that, something changes.

• There is more space to think before reacting.
• More capacity for the work that genuinely needs your experience and judgement.
• Your team has more opportunity to take ownership.

And saying no, delegating or challenging a request starts to feel less like letting someone down and more like doing your role properly.

So, before you start another week, take a look at your to-do list.

What are you doing because it genuinely helps you achieve your goals?

What are you doing that is someone else's responsibility, or helping them get their priorities completed?

What are you doing because you’ve become accustomed to doing it or should delegate?

And how different would your week look if you put some of it down?

Good luck and let me know if you get stuck thinking this through, I'm always here to help.

Niki