Inconsequential

Leaders of organizations do a LOT of stuff. When meaninglittle and inconsequential stuff eats up most of our time, then the impact of our leadership diminishes. 

And, in most cases, the performance of the organization diminishes right along with it.

What are some of those inconsequential actions of leaders?

• Attending to "tasks" not directly related to our stated vision and goals.
• Engaging in mindless and meaningless compliance-related work.
• Hiding from the troops, or the customers.
• Posturing and pontificating.
• Spending endless hours in non-productive meetings.
• Letting politics and personal differences unduly influence decisions.
• Making excuses for poor data trends.

So what REALLY matters as powerful time allocations for impactful leaders?

• Noticing and acknowledging work that moves us toward our vision and goals.
• Engaging, meaningfully, with the troops AND the customers.
• Asking good questions to all stakeholder groups, and listening discerningly to their responses.
• Creating the conditions that attract and hold talented people in our organization.
• Monitoring the data closely, adapting and adjusting quickly to affect improvements.
• FOCUSing relentlessly on continuous improvement.

There! That oughta be easy. 

(But it's not. Time to roll up the sleeves and get out of the office.)