When you feel completely overwhelmed by your life, like you are just barely keeping up, it is time to reexamine your priorities.  We all lead busy lives.  However, when your life starts to feel as if it is more than you can handle, its time to step back and take a hard look at all of your commitments.  Ask yourself the following questions:

• What are your top three priorities?
• What activities are you currently engaged in that further those priorities?
• Which activities do not?
• Do you currently have any white space planned into each week?
• What two activities can you eliminate or delegate in order to create some (or some more) white space?

Leaders lead lives of significance because they align their activities with their top priorities.  Narrow your priorities and pick your top three.  Then make sure that you are spending your precious time only on those activities that matter most.  Finally, plan white space into each week for some much needed rest, relaxation, rejuvenation and to address those pesky “emergencies” that tend to derail your over-scheduled life.

Have you ever left a performance review thinking, “My manager has no idea what I accomplished this year”?  Don’t let your achievements go unnoticed – and make sure that you are not keeping them a secret.  Keep a precise list of your completed projects, attained milestones and accomplished goals.  Then before your next performance review, share that list with your manager.  Not only will you ensure a more accurate review, but you will also be helping your boss with one of his/her time consuming administrative tasks: drafting performance evaluations.  After all, who knows what you accomplished better than you do?

Do you have any other suggestions as to how to make your annual performance reviews more accurate and/or productive?  We would love to hear your thoughts!

We all can acknowledge that helping others to succeed creates high morale and a positive work environment.  The problem is we can often be overwhelmed by our perception of the time it takes to serve others.   Remember, leadership is not about being complex, it’s about being effective.   Here are some simple ways you can provide service-based leadership to your colleagues, friends and family members:

• Listening. A simple caretaking gesture is to ask someone how their day is going and then really listen to their response.   Ask a couple of follow up questions after they fill you in on their activities of the day.

• Surprise someone with service. Every office, team or family has less desirable jobs that must be done.   Instead of letting someone else do the dirty job alone, step up today and help them with that chore no one enjoys.

• Plan for “leadership time.” Leave an hour of your day tomorrow unscheduled so that you can spontaneously check in with a colleague or offer support to a family member.   Strive to place this hour of opportunity on your calendar each week.

• Focus outward. Resist the urge to get caught up solely in your “to do” list.   Each morning make sure you are aware of the projects and deliverables your team members are working on.   Simple awareness of the challenges others are facing allows you to create opportunities to assist, support and recognize achievement.

Don’t get caught up in the reasons why you don’t have time to serve others.   Instead, hold yourself accountable to taking three action steps on behalf of others each day.   Small outreaches make a tremendous difference to others.

Angie and I were just asked to respond to the following questions as part of a feature article on Lead Star.  Thought I’d share our thoughts with you, they are the heart of our leadership message:

What are the key differences between being a leader and being a manager?

A simple way to remember the key differences between being a leader and being a manager is to look at it like this:  you manage things, you lead people.  Management is about staying on top of budgets, projects, resources, data and deliverables.  Leadership is all about people.  A leader is someone who can influence outcomes and inspire others effectively.  Both skills sets are important to build.  In our professional culture management skills are more common than leadership skills. 

What are key leadership traits?

The best leaders focus on meeting and exceeding performance standards, being accountable by owning problems and their mistakes. They also are focused on serving others and can act decisively when needed.  In addition to demonstrating these fundamentals well, the most trusted leaders are those that have the courage to be authentic and know how to keep their emotions in check so that their behavior is inspiring, not alienating.

Does every manager need to be a leader?

The most successful managers are also leaders.  Have you ever had the experience of working for a bad boss?  The reason why you had that tough experience is because you worked with someone who had authority, they were a manager, but they had limited leadership ability.  The best bosses, and the most influential colleagues we’ve had, are memorable because they demonstrated leadership on a regular basis.  The consistent, simple gestures of leadership make such a difference to those we know at work and in life.

Can anyone become a leader?

Leaders are made, they are not born.  Leadership is a choice.  If you choose to become a stronger leader then you can.  Our society often ties the term “leadership” to power, prestige, notoriety or a fancy job title.  These notions of leadership are false.   Management titles are bestowed upon you.  Leadership development is a path you must choose to pursue.  You don’t need a power position to achieve success as a leader.  Some of the best leaders we’ve known were the credible individual contributors on teams–those who understood that high performance, service to others, accountability and decisiveness are qualities that earn you respect.  By studying leadership practices you can improve your ability to influence outcomes and inspire others–the two capabilities leaders excel at.

What do we call people who make mistakes and are accountable for them?

For many of us, we call them heroes who continuously earn our praise.

I love that Jim Joyce, the umpire who is now nationally known as the man whose bad call kept a young Detroit Tiger pitcher from earning a perfect game, was named the best umpire in the league in an exclusive poll taken in the past week.   (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2010/06/jim-joyce-voted-mlbs-best-umpire-in-espn-poll/1)

To me, this proves that at the end of the day, our society values accountable leaders who do not hide from scrutiny, but rather are upfront and honest in their shortcomings.

Jim Joyce’s story isn’t a sport’s story.  It’s a leadership story.  Accountability is so rare in our society it’s amazing how when we see it – on small or grand levels – we applaud and celebrate it.  So why then, if accountability is so valuable, do people tend to hide from it?  Here are my thoughts – I’d love to hear yours:

• No one likes being wrong
• We expect perfection from ourselves (though no human being is perfect …)
• We are afraid of the outcome if we admit our failures or mistakes
• We don’t want to upset expectations
• No one likes their judgment questioned
• We have egos … precious, fragile egos
• Deflection and blame can take the attention away from ourselves

Most of these reasons, or rather “excuses,” have to do with our own insecurities, fears, and lack of confidence in ourselves.  It takes a pretty amazing leader to look beyond their insecurities to do what is right (not what might feel good in the moment).

We all can practice accountability daily, and in turn channel and project our inner Jim Joyce.  We have to start by acknowledging that we’re not always right and if there is a problem, and we’re close enough to it to know about it, then we probably had something to do with it.  Also, try repeating a mantra I learned in the Marine Corps … it’s humbling and grounding: I am responsible for all that I do and all that I fail to do.  When you don’t hide from your mistakes and instead acknowledge them, you are able to make great growth as a leader and earn the respect and trust of those around you.