Are You Too Busy For Your Own Good?

I had a bit of a rant this week about the irony of a situation that happened. I organised a webinar aimed at business owners who are doing too much, working too hard and have too much to do. The reason they generally have too much to do, is that they still have a worked mindset.

What do I mean by that?

Well, let me give you an example. It’s nearing the end of the day – you’re planning to knock off in half an hour or so, and a client request comes in.

Of course, it is mega urgent (when is a client request not mega urgent) and it is a client where you want everything to go smoothly. Perhaps it is a new client. Or maybe one where things have gone wrong in the past.

You know that you have people on your team that you could ask to do this. BUT. It would take you longer to explain the situation to them than it would for you to do the blooming thing yourself.

And so you do it.

This means that your half an hour knocking off work time now becomes an hour and a half later.

And that is not the first time it happened today, let alone this week.

You are working TOO hard because you are still in a technician mindset. You are not operating as the leader of the business or the team, but as its star performer.

The problem with that is – whilst you may get the job done, everyone else is not

having to pick up the load. In fact, they KNOW that you will do it, and they don’t have

to, so why should they? Or perhaps they know you will refuse their help if offered, so they don’t offer.

Meanwhile, you are there getting more tired and fed up by the day, with no time to

do your real job of leading the team and sticking your head above the parapets to

oversee the bigger picture.

This is what I am passionate about – this is what I work with business leaders on every day of my working life. I work with leaders on staying focused on being the leader and not doing the do.

So, imagine the irony.

I organised a webinar – free I might add – to help leaders who are too busy to get less busy but more productive. It was called – “From frustrated, overworked and under-valued to productive, profitable freedom”.

51 people registered for the webinar. They all got a confirmation email and a

reminder. And then at the appointed time……….2 people turned up.

I get it. They were all MD’s and CEO’s. I expected a fallout. There is always a drop

off when I run a webinar – not everyone who signs up can make it on the day. But

2 PEOPLE????

It’s hilarious.

They were too busy to come to the webinar which would show them how to be less busy.

It's a bit sad really, that the thing we need most – to invest time and knowledge and skills into our own self-development – is often the last thing on the list.

If you didn’t see the notifications for the webinar and would like the slides or the recording – please message me and I will get a copy to you. And if there is one thing you take from this as a leader, let it be this.

If you don’t look after your own development, how can you look after anyone

else’s? And that’s your job as a leader. Lead by example, therefore, and put your

own oxygen mask on first.