Managing Leadership^®

One of the remarkable things about executives is how they define what is important. It generally turns out to be whatever they happen to be doing. That, in turn, usually is what they want to do.

They’ll often deny that, of course. Who would want to be swamped with a tide of demands that never wanes, to continuously be called upon to resolve this conflict, make that intractable decision, or pull some manager‘s fat out of the fire?

What they would rather be doing, they will tell you, is focusing on strategic issues, looking to the horizon, anticipating the future. That’s what they tell you they want to do.

We all say that, don’t we? But the fact is that what we really want to do is precisely what we are actually doing. On the one hand, the unending flow of activity gives us a comforting feeling of importance. We know that this will keep up as long as we continue to accept it, and we are secretly petrified that it will stop if we adopt pretensions to being selective about the matter. So we outwardly grumble about it – appearances must be kept up, after all – but inwardly we welcome, encourage it.

On the other hand, this wall of work produces a constant pressure that relieves us of one we fear more: the requirement to actually decide what we should be doing with our time, and to act on that decision. There is nothing but uncharted individual initiative out there, and inescapable accountability for how it is used. No, thanks!

So, we have the best of both worlds. We demonstrate noble aspirations to our true executive calling at the same time that we conspicuously “sacrifice” those ambitions to the unceasing demands made of us by the daily grind.

But the truth is, we can delegate almost everything before us. And here’s a deep dark secret that we shouldn’t kid ourselves about: we can simply toss most of the rest.

What about you? Are you making, and steeling yourself to act on, the hardest decision of all: how to use your time, what to direct your executive attention to?

Many make the point that we can take control of our work flow, or let it take control of us. But the fact is that we are always the captains of our own fate – and we can never blame fate for whatever that turns out to be.

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Today’s tip: In the context of the US automobile industry hitching a ride on the bailout bandwagon, what is the possible significance of the strikes repeatedly hitting Boeing, as reported in this item from BBC News? Who is at fault for the resultant delays in its next major aircraft – is management being shortsighted here, or labor – or both?

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