I was about to hit “send” when it hit me.
I don’t have time to do this.
There I was in the middle of my yearly me-treat – time away alone to think about my business and new directions. I came up with an idea for a program, and even drafted the first step to test it.
It felt really good.
Then, all of a sudden, I realized I can’t start a new program right now. I have two new coaching clients, a company offsite and (excitingly) my first in person executive training in Colorado, all in the next 5 weeks.
The new direction is going to be great, but has to wait. So I didn’t send the email.
As I reflected on my choice, I realized I’d seen this movie before.
We think of overwork as something heavy and ugly. But I’m started to wonder if it often shows up with a smile.
The stretch assignment
The new idea
The additional project
Maybe it’s enthusiasm that leads to overwork more often than bad intentions?
One of my coaching client is an ideas person. It’s one of the reasons they’re so valuable to their company. But before we started working together, their team experienced it differently. With every new idea, they were left thinking, “But what about all the other ideas that came before?”
Another client noticed that as their leadership role expanded, people took their words more and more seriously. A suggestion could be seen like a directive, and a brainstorm could be taken as the new priority project.
They learned to be more deliberate about how and when they introduced new ideas. They included context – whether this was something to act on now, or just keep in mind. And, even to hold back ideas that weren’t going to enhance the work, yet.
A question a leader (or small business owner 🙂) can ask is….
Why am I sharing this idea now, and what do I want to happen once it’s shared?
On the receiving side, I know many forward-thinking leaders who actively seek out new assignments. It is absolutely true that raising your hand for work that interests you is a great way to get additional experience and recognition.
But, what if we turned it around and asked:
How can you grow in your existing work? Deepening, versus broadening.
And no, I don’t necessarily mean going deeper into the details, however interesting they may be. Deepening a project might be thinking about:
- What’s one person I’m not interacting with now who cares about this work?
- Where else could this idea be applied in the future?
- How can I structure the next team interaction to increase collaboration and engagement – aka what do I want them to know/do/feel after I speak?
I’m all for raising your hand for new work – I did it and do it still.
But I also see that leadership isn’t just about generating ideas or taking on more.
And that’s my renewed commitment to myself and the people I work with: to stay focused on what matters most right now and to give it the attention it deserves.
Let me know how you’re finding the balance between the new and the existing.
