Busy-Blindness is holding you back

Have you heard any of these??

We need to fit our own life jacket first

We need to put ourselves first so that we can help others.

We need to ensure we are fit to lead…

…what do they actually mean?

One Manager I am currently coaching has trouble seeing his impact, lifting up his sights and identifying how he can be more effective. He is 100% caught up in hitting business targets that he has neglected his growth and effectivness. He is what I call busy-blind…can’t see past his back to back meetings, to the detriment of his growth and productivity.

He is blind to the fact that he is losing capability and credibility.

Busy-blindness stops you seeing what is happening to you and around you. It prevents you from growing and developing where you need to. Stops you leading yourself which is a dangerous place, especially if you are a people manager.

There is no point in trying to improve employee or manager skills if individuals can't drive their own self-improvement, see their mistakes or growth or realise the impact they are having.

I recon there are three things we need to be able to do if we are to continuously improve our self-leadership so that we can grow ourselves and lead others.

Self-motivate

If you can’t take action to grow without being managed, then you cannot lead. Simple. Sitting around and waiting for growth to happen is not leading. Being proactive means, you identify a goal or direction and use your own drive to move yourself and others towards it. Proactivity is fundamental to leading yourself and others.

Self-aware

Understanding how your emotions or actions impact others and be mindful how emotions lift or limit our own impact. Without this we are most likely limiting our results and not able to get the best out of those around us. Self awareness is the cornerstone of emotional intelligence. Demand for this has increased by over 40% in Fortune 500 companies compared to a drop in demand for technical skills in leaders.

Self-reflect

We have to be able to have a conversation with ourselves and review positive and negative situations. Then take action to get better. Yes we can improve on what went well as well as what didn’t. Using our inner voice to review situations objectively and guide our growth is vital.

Remove the Busy-ness Blindfold

So many of us get caught up in “doing work” that we fail to identify how we can improve ourselves, those around us in some way. Its like we have to stop and take off the blinkers to look in the mirror. Reviewing our situation helps us redirect and reinforce our growth.

Being better requires us to focus on enhancing ourselves, not just improving business outcomes.

Remove the busy-ness blinkers and ask yourself these questions:

What does good look like for me in my industry?

Where am I right now?

Where do I want to end up?

What are the actions I can take today, this month, this year to achieve better?

What can I stop doing to ensure I focus more on what matters most?

How can I create more space for myself to grow?

How does your busy-ness impact your ability to grow and learn? Do your back to back meetings limit your ability to lift up and see beyond your day? How has this impacted you? Share your thoughts and I will join in in the comments.

Paul Matthews is a coach, facilitator and trainer helping employees and managers GET BETTER. He works with leaders and their teams to help them improve what matters most. Focused on productivty and better results, his coaching, programs and training have helped 1000s of managers and teams grow. Learn more at www.paulmatthews.com.au