What is Productive

Even as leaders, we place great store in being active.? We know it’s good to be seen at the coal face of the company, doing the heavy lifting.

But there are serious shortcomings with this practice:

• When we have our head down, working, we don’t see what’s going on elsewhere.
• It leads us to believe that apparently passive activity (APA) has no value. As if it’s the opposite of productive.

My former point is self-explanatory.? We can solve that by confining ourselves to certain overt working tasks in frequency and duration--at probably half of our output.? And use delegation for the remainder.

My latter dot point probably needs some explanation.? I would include as examples of APA as reading, resting, observing, sleeping (yes, different to resting), inquiring.

I cultivate each of these because I know that each is productive.

Reading is my favourite example of productive APA (that is, PAPA).? So many people I know regard reading--fiction in particular--as a leisure activity, not something that we should be doing at work. Fiddlesticks.

In a previous post, I made a case for 15 compelling reasons to read the novel.? Here is a selection:

• It helps us to consider our own standpoints, and to plumb our own feelings, fears and aspirations and to accept other people’s experiences and points of view.? This becomes tolerance.
• It empowers us to be storytellers.? When fact seems too boring or too raw, the leader can devise a story that leads us to consider the fascinating and the inspirational.
• A novel’s structure suggests alternatives for our own story and the narrative that we can choose for our business. Fiction provides endless choices on how to fashion our exposition and development.
• It develops our emotional intelligence.? Being exposed to and understanding others’ feelings, thoughts, motivations and behaviours, makes us happier and better human beings, better parents, better partners and better leaders.?
• We can’t sprint the marathon.? A novel allows us to change the pace, temporarily shift our relentless focus on the race, giving us the opportunity to be revitalized when we resume.

And then there is the non-fiction world.? I don’t mean newspapers or the how-to manual.? I mean the sort of book that challenges existing methods, that brings us research, discoveries and practices.? Particularly in that subject that encompasses every discipline, every industry, every business: leadership.

In his slim volume, The New Rule Book, Chris Cheers says that resting is when the body is not working or moving. ?Rest doesn’t insinuate a lack of energy or drive, but the means by which we can recharge and reconsider, so that the next burst of activity is measured and effective.? Intermittent rest also enhances endurance and expedites recovery.

And, when we are resting, acute observation becomes not just possible, but rewarding. The brain is now not so concerned with having the body running at top pace.? All that energy may be diverted into seeing what is happening and consider what is not happening.? It’s the strategic view from high on the hill, rather than down in the valley.

Then insightful inquiry becomes possible.? We can fully engage with our own experience--challenging our thinking and devising ways to extend it.? We can also seek the input of others about alternative approaches that may lead to new perspectives and unexpected opportunities. All we need is a quiet place, an in-person conversation and maybe some note-taking or drawing materials.

Cheers also points out that sleeping is when you become unresponsive to the environment with suspension of consciousness.? It’s when we restore capacity for memory, attention and learning.? Failure to get enough sleep creates a form of amnesia the next day, meaning that our recollections of important events are hazy, inaccurate or absent.? Long-term sleep deprivation may precipitate Alzheimer's disease.

Regular readers will know that I am also an ardent advocate of aerobic exercise—that is, prolonged and demanding loading of the cardiovascular system, which improves normal memory and reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s.? I have written previously about the joys of middle-distance running; while swimming, cycling and other exercises also deliver the goods.? Be active, by all means.

But also embrace the possibilities for PAPA.

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Next week: ?Who’s in the Circle?

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About the Author

Jeff Bell?is Principal of executive consultancy ResultsWise in Perth, WA.?To boost your leadership, ask Jeff about Band of Leaders Australia (BOLA) [email protected] and his consulting, coaching and strategy facilitation, or his Advanced Leadership Course [email protected] Mobile 0439 988 662.