The “I’m Too Busy” Myth and its Cost on Leadership
Businesses seem to be busier now than at any time in history even as many work from home through this crisis. Debatably, some of it is self-inflicted as leaders plow through mounds of data, tackle the crisis of the moment, or fall victim to all their electronic gadgets. I know from my Army experience, our “can do” attitude would surely lead to a full calendar and daily schedule. I worked insane hours in many of my jobs just because the task list was greater than hours in the day. A Harvard Business School survey of 1,000 professionals found that 94 percent worked at least 50 hours a week and almost half worked more than 65 hours. Ever-improving and efficient “time saving” devices like smartphones and chat channels now allow people to conduct work far beyond the office and well outside the nine to five workday. Whether it’s self-inflicted or task overload something has to give. That something is usually people.
I have a special appreciation for this, having served as a commander of several large organizations. It took a lot of my time to write appraisals and coach my people in person. My time walking around talking to my soldiers and their families came at a cost of other demands placed on me. Business leaders, with all the demands placed on them, are so consumed by running their business daily that they see right past the needs of their people and opportunities to invest in them. I don’t buy the argument that “I’m too busy.” Reflecting on past assignments I could have and should have made the time to invest in my subordinates. I focused on the task instead of the person and it was the person who deserved the attention more than the task. It required setting and sticking to priorities and the management of my own personal task list. It also required me to delegate and hand off tasks that could be accomplished by others. Though there were days when the schedule conquered me, there were more when I conquered it and made a difference in the life of another person and his or her family. The results were amazing.
Rob Campbell