If you only had 3 hours next week...

Tina was new into her senior leadership position. Keen to do a good job, and genuinely caring about her division and her organisation, she threw herself into all aspects of her role.

She had seen a close colleague in the business who, when similarly promoted, had seemingly overnight become distant and inaccessible. Tina didn’t want to be that person. So she made time to walk the floors. To be accessible and responsive not just to her direct reports and peers across the business, but to anyone in her division who had a question for her.

Tina liked solving problems - that was one of the skills that had got her promoted. In her bid to help and support her colleagues, she made it clear that no problem was too small for her to look at. Tina’s progression in her career had also come about due to her ability to network and build relationships, both internally and externally with key stakeholders. Again, Tina was adamant that she wanted to continue to commit time and energy to this aspect of her role.

There was also the new strategy to put together, upward management of her CEO and the Board, and what she saw as another key aspect of her role - reinforcing the brilliant culture that existed within her division by constantly keeping herself and those around her accountable to their values and behaviours. And of course she knew she must prioritise her time with her direct reports, supporting and challenging them to deliver consistently on their targets.

At first, Tina managed to keep on top of things. Just. It was a stretch, but it was do-able. She threw herself into the new role, brought a huge amount of energy and enthusiasm to it, and whilst she was pretty exhausted at the end of each week, she told herself that this was normal. In the circumstances.

Those of you reading this though, and particularly those who have experienced this yourself, will know that there’s a big BUT. That Tina will, at some point, hit a wall. Where she can’t continue at the rate she is working. Where she starts to drop balls. Where her endlessly ‘doing’ and working hard is not achieving the things she and her division need to be achieving.

As a senior leader, your time is a strategic asset to your organisation. And everything you do has an opportunity cost. Each decision you make in terms of where to deploy your time means you’re not able to spend that section of time on something else. Meaning that your decision-making around how to spend your time, how to prioritise, which things to focus on - each day, each week, each quarter - matters.

The challenge for senior leaders of course is that by the time you reach this stage in your career you are extremely capable, you have huge amounts of experience and expertise, and the chances are that you really care about the organisation you work for. Which means that it’s far to easy to get sucked into areas of work, and tasks, that you should just not be. Whilst that might be sustainable over the short-term, it is never sustainable over the long-term. Which means that being clear on your role, your priorities, and how you deploy your time, is critical.

Tina’s inability to manage her energy and time, in a way that is sustainable, will have a negative effect on her. It will also have a negative impact on her division, and so her organisation. Her desire to be all things to all people, and solve all problems, also means that she will be taking away development and learning experiences for her people. And whilst they might be grateful, in the short term, for Tina’s all-doing approach, they might start to feel less positive about it over the long-term.

So what can help guard against this for Tina? Clarity on her role is critical. Senior leaders should be able to define their role in 1 or 2 sentences. And list out in bullet points what their role actually involves. A good example of this is what I refer to as the ‘McKinsey 6’. This is something that I share with many clients, coming from a 2019 article where McKinsey listed out the 6 areas that any CEO (whatever type and size of organisation ( should be focusing on). Take a look here to find out more. And then see if you can define your role in 1 or 2 sentences, and list out those small number of bullet points. Go on, pick up that pen…

There are a host of other tips and tools around, many of which I pick up on in Staying the Distance (see below), not least the constant reminder to yourself to make sure you are doing ‘what it is that only you can do.’ And the one that really tends to hit home? The one that a brilliant CEO in my network, who combines a focused and laser-focused approach with a real understanding of how to lead in a human way, shared with me a couple of years ago. At the start of each week, ask yourself what you would focus on if you only had 3 hours at work this week. How would you spend that time? It’s quite brutal. It’s not an easy habit to get into. Those of my clients however who have added it into their toolbox have found it invaluable in making sure not just that they get done what absolutely needs to get done, but also that they start to build a much more disciplined approach around how to spend their time. What to focus on. What to say yes to. And what to say no to.

Try it. And see how you get on.

For more on this or any aspect of leadership, with a healthy dose of mindset, sport, and I hope usefulness thrown in, do feel free to browse through all the articles in the Huddle, or get in touch with me directly on catherine@sportandbeyond.co.uk. For more detail on the area this blog covers, as well as many others, please do order a copy of my book - Staying the Distance: The Lessons From Sport That Business Leaders Have Been Missing. Links to buy the book can be found here