One of the greatest leadership challenges that I face on a day to day basis is staying on track. When I interviewed for my current role as Director of Admissions & Recruitment I told my supervisors that I would focus on recruiting and marketing. This proves very challenging to do.
Overall I would give myself a grade somewhere around a B+ for my job in the past few years - one of the main reasons it is not an A is that I constantly get pulled into different directions. Committees, problem solving, staff issues, customer service, administrative duties, computer issues etc. These are not bad things, but they do pull me away from my focus on Marketing & Recruiting.
So, I find myself saying no to a lot of things that are tangential to the job I was hired to do. This is a skill you will need to learn if you hope to be successful in leadership. If you are a good leader, people will ask you to be involved with lots of great things, but if you are not taking care of what you are supposed to do at your core, you will lose your base. Don’t ever lose your base. What you are known for, what got you there in the first place. Keep your base job strong.
If you say yes to something, ask yourself what you are now saying no to? If you are a busy person, anything you add to your schedule will weigh on some other thing you are already doing. Keep focused on what got you there, keep performing with excellence. Stay off bad time committments - trust me on this one.
JVD
Good thoughts, JVD. Thanks for sharing.
Hey JVD, good thoughts… one thing though… i found working in the corporate world, that it was often those who left the core of their job, to do other tangential things that got the most attention… and I don’t mean in addition to their primary role, often people who just took their eyes off it almost completely, and worked on the peripherals that got the press…
Good words JVD.
Lon, you make an interesting point. I wonder if people succeed more in the peripherals because they are doing something that is a better fits with their strengths and passions there.
I think how that differs from what JVD is saying because you seem to be thinking of people who pursue a side track, and JVD is warning leaders not to get sucked down the side alley by meaningless, passionless things (or simply just too many good things).
All of the input is fantastic and obviously had hit a cord:)
Thank you for spurring thoughts. I’m sure many have Good to Great by Jim Collins. Hits home with points made. There is also a book written by Thom Rainer, that looks at leadership as it relates to churches.
Thanks for the feedback - that is an interesting point you all are hitting on - if the peripherals are what are giving you passion / getting you noticed - then are you in the right fit? Sure projects come up here and there and you can say yes to good opportunities, but ultimately if you are in the right fit in the first place I think your core will shine. JVD