Mindful Leadership - When the 9-1-1 Operator at work is YOU.

It didn’t happen overnight, but one day, as I hung up the phone after another “I need help” call, it suddenly hit me that the company I worked for had a new 911 Operator, and it was me.

Does this sound like you??

It is definitely great to be able to help others when you can.? If you are in a leadership position others should and will look to you for guidance.? But when does it become too much?? When you realize you are not getting your own job done because all you do is help other people and put out fires??

It can be a blurry line between helping people and enabling their co-dependence.? Habits form very easily.? If someone repeatedly asks you for information, or forms or a copy of a policy, and you always supply it, they will keep asking you.? Even if it is something they could find themselves if they took the time.

When you are busy yourself trying to meet deadlines, it is often easier to just answer their queries and move on, but that does not solve the problem.

As painful as it may be in the short term, you have to take the time to point people in the right direction, rather than just do it for them.?? If you keep at it, eventually they will stand on their own two feet.? If they don’t, that is a different conversation.?

There is also a fine line between having an open-door policy and feeling like you need a “take a number” system like the deli counter in the grocery store.?

If co-workers are walking into your space at all times of the day without so much as a “hi, do you have a minute?”, then you need to set some boundaries, and that’s okay.?? Your work is just as important as anyone else’s so don’t ever feel guilty about that.? Unless something is a legitimate emergency and needs your immediate attention, people need to be respectful of your time.? If someone walks into your office and throws themselves into a chair, don’t hesitate to say something like: “I am in the middle of something right now that I have to get finished.? Can I message you when I am free, and we can talk?”

?The same applies to calls, be they on the phone or via Teams or Zoom or some other platform.? If something is a quick ask, that is one thing, but it is not okay for someone to get you on a call without any notice and expect you to be able to discuss something for the next hour.?

?Again, emergencies are emergencies, but these should be the exception, not the norm.? Everyone’s time is important.?