You’re in the office, with a large to do list and a queue lining up beside your desk. Sound familiar?
You want to have more time, but first you have to learn HOW to make more time, and you don’t have time for that. And so the cycle goes on, constantly chasing your tail.
Here’s why ringfencing that time for you should be your top priority
A senior leader, let’s call him Bob, was snowed under at work. His team could see he was stressed and hesitated to approach him with questions and ideas. This then held back their work as they didn’t get answers or help as quickly as they needed, and they also picked up on the negative energy emitting from Bob. In turn, Bob became more frustrated as his team wasn’t delivering to the high standards he needed.
Bob had an hour’s coaching session booked in. During the whole hour, Bob’s coach asked him only 4 or 5 questions. The rest of the time, the coach listened to Bob talk.
Bob talked for the entire hour, vocalising the thoughts and issues that were swirling round his head. The process of articulating and explaining to his coach tidied up Bob’s mind no end, and at the end of the session he could clearly state what was causing him concern. By identifying his concerns clearly, he could see ways in which to tackle the issues which had eluded him before.
Bob emerged from the meeting room a happier man, with a plan of action. There was a positive vibe about him, ready to meet problems head-on and vanquish them. His team picked up on this and their mood and output lifted too. Bob’s coach had a comment from one of the team members: ‘He’s so much better after talking to you!’
Names have been changed, but this is a real story.
If you’re struggling to see your own way ahead clearly, how are you able to lead others?
As a leader, your actions and attitudes cast a wide ripple through your business. When you are confident & decisive, it has a knock-on impact to your team. Conversely, stress and uncertainty are also picked up on, even if you are a good actor: humans have natural instincts and can tell if something’s wrong.
A Coach’s role is to listen to you and help you discover and articulate what you want to achieve. The time you spend together is entirely devoted to you – which is a rare luxury in today’s world. Think of all your interactions with friends, family, colleagues: when did you last spend one or two hours with a person really actively listening to you, while you talked about exactly what you wanted?
Ringfencing time to clarify your ideas is not an indulgence, but a necessity for cutting through the demands of today’s world. The time you spend getting clear on your thoughts, goals and actions means you are able to confidently lead your team and business. Identifying the key issues means you can focus on them and cut down the work on lower priority items and distractions.
Prioritising your goals, making decisions with confidence, including clear instruction and delegation to others, will ultimately result in you having more time to focus on the key issues. And in turn, you will feel like you have more time for yourself, despite spending extra time with a Coach.
Spending your time wisely will give you more time, not less.
Enhance provides coaching and mentoring for ambitious Directors.
Call us on 0203 500 6300 or contact us here to find out how we can help you.