RYse Journal
THINK - LISTEN - ENGAGE - REFLECT - LEAD
Learn to Say No
At times, a dysfunctional relationship with work can build up under the belief that a leader must always be busy. When hard at work, we struggle to make a sustainable change when it comes to our work commitments, priorities and diaries. Noble aims often result in little change. This isn't because of a lack of intent or will to change, but because we ignore the powerful inclinations not to change that exist in all of us.
There's another underlying issue - we often have to change ourselves in order to implement changes in how we work successfully.
Exercise 5:
Use your time effectively, not just efficiently. Review the tasks that take up the majority of your time in a typical week and put them into the respective quadrants of the Urgent / Important Matrix.
Record your thoughts in the downloaded table:
Exercise 6:
Create a stop-doing list. What tasks will you either stop doing, or delegate and empower others to do?
Record your thoughts in the downloaded table:
Immunity to Change:
You can find an introduction to the powerful Immunity to Change framework here
Further resources:
The classic HBR article “ Who’s Got the Monkey?” describes the affliction of the boss doing their team’s work for them and at the cost of their work.
It happens, most often, in meetings when you say to a subordinate:
-
“…let me think about it, and I’ll get back to you.”
-
“…send me an email for my review.”
-
“…I will call them to see if I can speed it up for you.”
In each case the boss is trying to be helpful, but ultimately, they are taking on the work that others more junior to them should be doing. If this sounds familiar, check out the article:
The Importance of Time:
If you find yourself needing a reminder of the importance of your time, then this video is a must-watch for you. Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, two of the legends of our time, share their wisdom. Jump to 15 minutes and 40 seconds for their insights on this topic:
-
"I cannot buy time, therefore I had better be careful with it."
-
"Sitting and thinking may be a much higher priority than a normal CEO thinks."
-
"Not a proxy for your seriousness that you fill every minute in your schedule."
