The calls on a leaders time are many and varied. True leaders are never bored and the office job-jar is never empty - a recipe for time burning! Very often leaders are forced to take on more than just a normal days activities, in terms of projects, incident responses, things going wrong and social interaction with staff and family.
Time is a finite commodity for all of us. Like it or not we only get allocated 24 hours in each day. Committed leaders and managers will naturally try not to let any item drop off their to-do list, often at the risk of overextending themselves or their teams. Great leaders will make sure that there is a pattern of balance overall but are usually ruthless with time management and how they prioritize their time and make sure that there is time set aside for the social, family and own time needs.
Those of you who have attended our Leadership introduction will recall the reference to John Adair's Action Leadership model and the need to always keep the task, team and individuals needs in balance - this requires specific action on the leaders part. Knowing your individual team members likes, dislikes and values is key to getting balance right for all.
Making time for other activities means actually scheduling them in the diary, making blocked out periods known and accepted by bosses and teams, having a degree of flexibility as team leader for your team members and also tracking and following up that individuals are in fact getting rest and recovery time in whatever form works for them.
Key take-outs:
- Regular breaks from routine need to be programmed in your diary
- Do prioritize items to focus on most important actions first
- Ensure your team get breaks and help them use the breaks to the full
- Strive for balance between your work, social, family and community time - all are essential to your feeling of well being.
- Make sure you give yourself a regular period of own time.