Helping professionals navigate career transitions & leadership shifts | ICF Certified Coach | Licensed Firework Career Coach
If I had a penny for every time I've heard a new leader say "I've achieved nothing today, I spent the whole day helping my team"… It's a common feeling for leaders, especially those who are 'doers' and measure their productivity by crossing off items on their to-do list. Often, the natural instinct is to try to do it all - meaning late nights catching up on your 'own' work. This leads to stress, and over time can result in burnout. Being a leader means shifting your focus from your own tasks to your team’s success. Here are three things that have helped me and my clients balance this transition: 🔸 Redefine productivity As a leader, your success is measured by your team’s achievements, not just your own. Shift your mindset from crossing off to-do lists to asking yourself - how am I helping my team succeed today? Pop that on your to-do list if it makes you feel better 😉 🔸 Prioritise delegation Delegate tasks that don’t require your direct input. This frees up your time and empowers your team to take ownership. Yes, it might feel uncomfortable at first, but it's key to developing your team’s capabilities. 🔸 Create time blocks Set aside time to focus on high-priority tasks without interruptions. Block it out in your calendar and communicate these boundaries to your team, so they know when they can come to you and when you're focused on critical work. You might even want to move to a different environment that you can start to associate with your own focus time. Leadership is a journey and you'll be learning and adjusting as you go. It’s not about doing more. It's about doing the right things to support your team to achieve results together. How have you found the balance between helping your team and getting your own work done? I'd love to hear your thoughts! 👇 #Coaching #CareerCoach #Leadership #FirstTimeLeader
Angie Smith you are spot on with this. Until we feel courageous enough to delegate and trust our team to do it with their own perspectives we will continue to micromanage and not be able to empower others to grow and make greater impact. Leaders must build trust in team members and help them grow
Such a relatable point Angie Smith! Redefining productivity as a leader is key. I’ve found that when I focus on my team’s success rather than just my personal tasks, everything flows better. Delegation is definitely a muscle I’ve had to train over time, but it’s been crucial for both team development and preventing burnout.
Angie, Fantastic insights on leadership! 👏 I love how you emphasize redefining productivity and the importance of team success over individual tasks. It's such a valuable shift in mindset. Have you found that creating time blocks has been the most effective strategy in balancing both leadership and personal work? Would love to hear more about your experience with delegation! 🤔
#Managing Partner/Operations Director, #Relationship Profiling. DoWhatMakesSense. BeWhatFeelsRight
2moThose who don’t know how to delegate are managers, not leaders. I’m talking about a mindset, not a title. Up until a point wanting to be involved in all the execution can be a sign of a committed person. Past a point, it’s a sign of control and micromanagement. Interestingly enough, if you can’t make that shift towards letting go and empowering others, you get stuck at a certain level, while you desire to be more. And when that desire doesn’t seem to come to fruition (bc you can’t let go), you likely become even more stuck in wanting to control the whole thing, which then leads to frustration spread onto others too. The key is to overcome the fear that you’ll miss out on things if you’re not part of every detail, plus building the trust muscle to empower others do parts of what you’ve been doing so far, fully knowing they’ll do them differently than you would, and still trusting it will be fine. It’s an internal psychological struggle, but unless this battle is fought, you are stuck being a manager and likely overwork yourself to exhaustion