Imagine that this is what is on your calendar this week…3 presentations, 15 meetings with various groups, 6 meetings with your direct team and your kids have two sporting events that you need to attend after work. Some of you may be thinking how on earth can that be real? I can tell you that it is absolutely real and the way that many people will be spending their week. It seems crazy, but this is actually probably conservative for many. It is a lot more hectic than that.
This was my experience many times when I was working in my previous role. There were days where I had so many meetings to attend and so much to do that I just couldn’t do anything. Has this happened to you? I had to literally take a few minutes to just write all the things down that were priorities and absolutely had to be done that day. I took the list and started figuring out how to get it done. That may have been delegating some of those things to others to complete, asking for help where I needed it and doing the rest myself. I also looked at all these meetings to decide if I really needed to go or not. Sometimes we get in “meeting” mode and don’t realize that those meetings need to be re-evaluated to see if they should be changed or canceled.
I want to highlight one of the things that I mentioned above. It took me a long time to realize that it is perfectly okay to ask for help. I used to see it as a sign of weakness, but I know now that it is a sign of a smart leader and should be done as soon as you recognize the need. If it is big enough to get your whole team involved, then do it. Don’t wait until it is too late and things are falling through the cracks and your team isn’t delivering on their commitments. That is not going to look good for them or for you.
The important message here is to take a breath and find a way to move things forward. This is what coaching does for my clients when they are stuck and not sure how to proceed. As we discuss the challenges they face, we come up with an action plan to help them move forward. Sometimes just talking through it and looking at options is enough to spur them into action. If you are feeling stuck and overwhelmed, coaching may be just the answer to help you take steps to move past it. Here is the link to set up time with me: Schedule a call
