The leader and self-management

One of the keys to success in leadership is the ability to manage oneself among all the roles we take on in life – father/mother/CEO/community member/etc.

Some leaders seem to manage a huge range of activities that seem incomprehensible from the outside.

I have been thinking about some of the attributes that make it possible for people to undertake all these tasks and remain focussed… and sane.

These appear to be some of the keys:

Decisiveness: The more you take on the better you need to become at decision-making. Having clarity around the benefits and negatives about a decision is the key to speeding up the process of decision-making. To have this you need to have reliable people informing you and then to be informed yourself about the issues.

The right questions: To become informed and make good decisions quickly requires that you ask the right questions. The ability to ask good questions comes from past experience largely and an understanding of the key issues. Asking the right questions might also require an attitude of humility and openness to letting others know that you don’t know everything!

Personal systems: It is just as important for a leader to have good systems as it is for a business. In today’s world where the PA has often been replaced by the PC we need computer skills to match our requirements, filing systems that work and a list of tasks for the day. I cannot face a day without my lists – where you have the list is immaterial – the iPhone, diary, laptop.

This list is also prioritised with the most important activities listed first. There are two reasons for this. One can spend a whole day/life being busy without achieving – hence the need to prioritise—also I do the most important things when I have the most energy — generally in the morning. My list is always with me and gets ticked off every day, with any remaining items listed again for the next day. Simple but workable.

Having the ability to say “no”

Everyone wants a piece of the leader, so it’s really critical to be able to say no to the things that are simply distractions and for which we have no real heart.

We cannot manage time, it operates at its own pace, the same pace for everyone, so we can only manage ourselves.

Marcia Griffin’s latest book, High Heeled Success (pictured left), is a frank account of building a business from a solitary sales person to a multi-million dollar business with 4,700 sales consultants around Australia and New Zealand. Contact Marcia to purchase. Marcia’s latest venture is skin care company griffin+row.