If you are the leader, there’s one system that matters more than others.
I’d be so bold to say it’ the most important system in the entire organization for the leader…
Your Calendar.
As the leader goes, so goes everything and everyone else.
How you spend your time is your highest investment. Is it spent on areas of low return, or are you maximizing your hours by focusing sweat equity in the tasks and relationships with the greatest yield?
How you spend your time will also have a trickle down effect to every leader and every corner in the organization.
This week I’m helping you take advantage of this quarantined time by getting better at your systems so your organization can reemerge from the COVID-19 Crisis stronger.
This entry is the final installment of a 4 part “Systems Series.” Access parts 1-3 here:
- 3 Results of a Good System.
- How To Build a System From Scratch
- 3 Systems That Propel Leaders To The Next Level
Part of transforming your calendar into a system of time investment is through what we call a “Calendar Audit”, whereby we closely examine how a leader has been spending his/her time.
When our Coaches guide a leader through this they usually uncover…
- Huge buckets of time that are unaccounted for
- Time we both agree has not been maximized
- More time for the leader to do what they actually enjoy!
Below I have listed a portion of the incredibly empowering “Calendar Discovery Questions” we guide leaders through during their calendar audit.
Through this we maximize a leaders impact by maximizing how leaders spend their time.
As the personal system of how you spend your time becomes more focused and productive, the same thing will happen in the organization you lead!
KEY “CALENDAR DISCOVERY QUESTIONS” FOR YOUR OWN CALENDAR AUDIT:
Am I Living Life “In Rhythm?”
I don’t believe in balance.
Balance is attempting to give equal attention and energy to everything at the same time.
It’s not practical or possible!
Life is best lived “in rhythm” between Intensity and Rest.
The key is scheduling those times of intensity and scheduling those times of rest.
We coach leaders that every day, every week and every season needs a definite finish line…and then we rest.
What Are My “Fab Five”?
Ask yourself, “What are the the five things that I do that provide the greatest return on investment for my organization, my team and myself personally?”
Now go ask others about what they think should be in your five.
Create a list and narrow it down to the most crucial five…or as we like to call them…your “Fab Five.”
These five behaviors should be consistently placed in our calendar first. They should occupy up to 80% of our time! Then and only then do we add all of the other things to our calendar!
How a leader spends his/her time is an organization’s most precious commodity. Are you spending your time in such a way that you are receiving the greatest return on investment for your organization?
What Do I Need to STOP Doing?
I am not only focused on doing the right things, I am focused on quitting the wrong things!
Every leader should maintain a “Stop Doing List.” I maintain one on my desktop.
This is a running list of things of which you don’t need to be spending your time! Many of these are things you should be working diligently to delegate, hire or equip someone else to do.
Are My Key Relationships and Life-Priorities Being Maintained?
Is my family on the calendar? Date night? Family night? Time for my key relationships? Time to be a good neighbor? Time for Worship, Community, Service? Personal Development? Exercise?
Many times we shelve the important for the urgent. Don’t allow that to happen to you.
Place the important aspects of your life on the calendar and don’t allow anything to get in the way.
Take your personal and organizational impact to the next level by focusing your time with the help of a coach.
Coaching with CourageToLead not only gives you the full Calendar Audit, but your coach also provides you accountability to stick to your new plan. Every leader needs a coach because every leader needs a system of getting the greatest return on their time.
Our coaches are equipped to help you implement the right processes to experience personal health and growth.
In the midst of the COVID-19 Crisis, we’ve created a 90 day coaching intensive to move you forward faster.
Get started by scheduling a free 30 minute coaching call and speak with a coach today.
