Copyright forbes
Portrait of businesswoman in modern conference room We’re all feeling the pressures of overwork, trying to fit more and more into each day. Ask someone how they’re feeling or how their week has been, and you’ll likely hear words like “busy” or “slammed”. This is sometimes said with pride or as a slight brag, when people are wearing busyness like a badge of honor. When was the last time you attentively sat through a meeting without multitasking? Maintaining focus is nearly impossible in virtual meetings, when notifications are pinging on the same screen as your video conference. We’ve all seen the tell-tale signs of multitasking in Zoom meetings, where someone is presenting their profile to the camera as they do other work or check emails on their bigger screen. When leaders let their busyness show, employees can feel undervalued or slighted by the lack of full attention. When leaders signal their extreme busyness, through their words, body language, and actions, it communicates norms and expectations to their teams. Leaders set the culture, and setting busyness as the precedent is not the culture you want. There may be necessary busy periods, but problems will start to surface when busyness becomes business as usual. Busyness Archetypes Busyness can present itself in many ways. Consider the following busyness archetypes or profiles that correlate to what we feel we need to control. The Meeting Collector has a fear of missing out on something important and measures their worth on how full their calendar is. The Invisible Multitasker can’t seem to focus. They are always working, maybe even rushing around, but never seem to finish anything. The Heroic Overworker believes they’re the only ones who can do the job right, making sure everyone else sees their dedication and overtime. The Hyper-responder is attracted to urgency, always on and always available. Putting out fires gives them a sense of purpose. Can you see yourself if any of these profiles? Leaders who embody these personas are likely in danger of damaging employee morale. By holding onto control, they’re unconsciously telling their people that they cannot be trusted to get the job(s) done. They are shouldering the cognitive overload, and therefore, cannot also be present as leaders. Arguably, they are too busy to lead. MORE FOR YOU The Delegation Paradox Leaders may find it hard to let go. Blame it on ego, the illusion of indispensability (a.k.a. “I’m too important”), actual or perceived trust gaps, or the false comfort of control, but delegation can be challenging. Releasing control may be especially true for emerging and new leaders who may still be navigating their transition from being individual contributors to becoming supervisors and architects of team strategy. From Busyness to Focused Leadership Despite the difficulties of letting go, delegating is a great way to empower the people you lead. There may be hiccups and extra time needed at first for quality feedback, but over time, delegation will lead to stronger engagement and performance. Leaders need to shift from busyness and from doing more to creating opportunities and to providing clarity within murky situations. Let’s end with a provocation: a leader’s greatest productivity hack may be to make themselves less busy. Editorial StandardsReprints & Permissions
