“A primary task of leadership is to direct attention. To do so, leaders must learn to focus their own attention.”
Daniel Goleman
In a fast-paced environment, it’s difficult to think about the future and where you want to go. Understanding what your future looks like and how to raise your leadership bar requires dedicated, undistracted thought. It requires a sharper focus on the things that matter down the road.
In the work I do coaching clients, we discuss the importance of being thoughtful and optimistic when preparing for the future. Time must be dedicated to evaluating the possibilities and potential. What do I mean?
You’ll need to split your time between current tasks and potential or future tasks. This doesn’t necessarily mean an equal split, but some kind of proportionate division, dependent on the circumstances. It comes down to deciding what to let go of in order to focus on the future.
The Myth
In Leading with Emotional Courage: How to Have Hard Conversations, Create Accountability, and Inspire Action on Your Most Important Work (Wiley, 2018), author Peter Bregman is keen to point out that this is difficult for many executives. You see, some leaders are stuck in the common paradigm that non-essential tasks are not productive and have no apparent return. They have become convinced that only the tasks that provide a quantifiable return (and quickly) are worth pursuing. Those who have raised their leadership bar know this to be untrue.
The Real Power of Focus
Future goals are gradually achieved by working in ways that, on the surface, have no short-term rewards, but in principle have great long-term payback. This includes networking and building relationships, daily writing or journaling, learning new personal skills and reading. The key is to continuously improve yourself and your prospects while understanding that these activities may not support your immediate role. It requires a renewed focus and dedication.
What do you think? How do you focus your attention to raise your leadership bar? I’d love to hear from you. You can call me at 561-582-6060, let’s talk. And as always, I can be reached here, or on LinkedIn.
