It’s already the end of January, and if you’re like many people, you’ve been striving to hit and maintain a better stride. Achieving professionals are always trying to go up a notch, and January is the month when it’s most noticeable.
To keep your momentum going, scope out the year and see what you can do to gradually keep your momentum going each month. The key is “gradual”, so think marathon, not sprint.
Most deadlines aren’t just one giant event happening on a given day. Rather, there are myriad small deadlines that lead up to that big event.
Managing multiple deadlines is challenging, and I’ve found that one system doesn’t fit every person. You need to proactively find a system that works best for you and implement it consistently.
2019 is officially over and it’s time to move into the new year. Whether you make personal resolutions or set professional goals, this is the time of the year where we tend to initiate a fresh start in our lives.
People sometimes characterize a year as a “good” one or a “bad” one. Those sweeping generalizations are not especially helpful.
We’re almost at the end of 2019 and holiday madness has reappeared. You know what I’m talking about: year-end deadlines, more holiday parties than your feet can handle, and general over-commitment.
The result? More stress, more tension, and more anxiety which creeps into the very fabric of our organizations.
Have you ever worked with someone who has a constant sense of urgency? Everything is a rush and you frantically try to keep up.
Over time this can become exhausting! Not only are you perpetually in the fast lane, you also need to be telepathic to figure out the real priorities.
You can be thorough, methodical, systematic – whichever word you choose – but if you overdo it, it may hurt you. Of course, you need to be disciplined to obtain the necessary information to make a decision, but often the incremental time analyzing isn’t going to give you that much more information.
+ Through over-analysis, you may miss the point, as aptly described by the cliché of not seeing the forest through the trees.
Summer has officially arrived, and many people are revving up for some well-deserved time off. There shouldn’t be a need to say this, but my hope for you is that you take advantage and enjoy the season.
If you wake up 10 weeks from now and wonder what happened to summer, it will be too late. So, for all of you dedicated leaders, here are a few thoughts.
Attention is possibly our most important currency today. You need to pay attention to both the big and little things. Even if you are not detail oriented, when you pay attention to details it can make a difference between an average job and an outstanding one. The expression, “it’s all in the details” takes on fresh meaning in these situations. Consider these examples:
The executive who isn’t clear in his instructions but expects his assistant to know precisely what he has in mind. The assistant books his travel and then he reprimands her because it wasn’t the exact schedule that he wanted (which he, of course, never mentioned).
There is nothing better than planting yourself in the sand with the sun beaming down and waves crashing against your feet. Until of course, your email dings, your phone buzzes, and your head is filled with worries about how work is going in your absence.
As Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, this topic is top of mind. Many leaders are reluctant to take off a few days or even a week for vacation because they fear what might happen in their absence. Here are some tips for effective coverage so that you can enjoy your time away.
“I’ll just do it myself.”
This is a common refrain among managers, whether directly stated or inferred. It’s more common with newer managers and micromanagers for essentially the same reason: by the time I explain exactly what I need, I could have done it myself.
The new manager is fearful that the project won’t be done correctly, while the micromanager thinks that no one can do it as well as she can.
Regardless of the reason, the outcome is the same. When you do it yourself instead of delegating to a team member, over the long term it will backfire on you.