For many the idea of being a leader—of being in charge, of being the boss, of being responsible for a team or a company—seems overwhelming. And frankly, it can be. It’s a big responsibility.
But to be successful, we must be able to get things done and do them well. Leadership is great when leaders are effective and productive.
No one wakes up in the morning and says, “Today I am a leader.”
Leadership is earned, built and cultivated in small steps, with small things done successfully every day.
Emily Dickinson once said, “If you take care of the small things, the big things take care of themselves.”
So how do we take care of the little things so that the big things take care of themselves?
Block out time for mindfulness. When you’re busy, it’s easy for time to run away from you. Before you know it the day, week, month has passed. As a leader it is important to take the time for mindfulness. Identify what is most important to you. Think of the little things you care about the most; determine what is truly meaningful. Determine which actions generate effectiveness and productivity and which are wasting your time. This information will help you with making the hard decisions and doing what is really important.
Guard your time. Your time is your most precious resource; invest it well. Every minute spent on a task is one less minute of your life. Whenever you’re faced with a new potential project or task, ask yourself a simple question: “Does this task help or hurt of what is important to me?” If you feel something takes away time from your goals, then avoid it. Never let another person’s priorities become your own.
Eliminate and delegate. As you look at your list, ask yourself what you can eliminate and what you can delegate. Make sure everything on your personal to-do list is something that either satisfies you or brings you closer to your goals. Don’t spend your energy on things that drain you, but on things you enjoy that bring value to yourself and others.
Don’t add; substitute. Watching the list of things you need to get done slowly grow is incredibly stressful. So when something new comes along, substitute that task for one that’s not generating results. If it’s worth pursuing, substitute it for another task, action or project and make the time for it.
Be honest and prioritize. The best reason for starting small and with what is meaningful is that doing so ensures that you’re being honest with yourself. If you focus on the things you cannot do, or the things that you think should be meaningful rather than the ones that truly are, you’ll find yourself getting nothing done. So be honest as you identify and prioritize the small things that are important to you.
Take care of the little things and the big things will be taken care with ease.
Lead From Within: As leaders with all our responsibilities and our functions, it’s hard to do all things great, but if as leaders we take care of the small things with excellence then we will have accomplished the big things with success.
Additional Reading:
- Not Every Problem Needs A Solution
- Spend Your Time Feeding Your Soul
- How To Make The Most Of Our Mistakes
- Conquer Your Fears To Achieve Your Goals
Of Lolly’s many awards and accolades, Lolly was designated a Top-50 Leadership and Management Expert by Inc. magazine. Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of The Most Inspiring Woman in the World. Her writing has appeared in HBR, Inc.com, Fast Company (Ask The Expert), Huffington Post, and Psychology Today, and others. Her newest book, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness has become a national bestseller.
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17 Responses
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November 2, 2015
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July 5, 2016
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WillemKwatapa
27. Jan, 2015
🙂 Powerful and very true…..
lollydaskal
27. Jan, 2015
Truth Willem is always powerful. Right?
Melanie Fischer
27. Jan, 2015
Great concept! I truly enjoy your posts Lolly, you are always very clear and to the point.
lollydaskal
27. Jan, 2015
To write is to want to be of service. To have my articles read is a gift.
Thank you for reading Melanie.
LaRae Quy
27. Jan, 2015
I really love this piece of advice, Lolly:
Don’t add; substitute.
Simple, but so effective—instead of letting that to-do list get longer with all the great things that are coming our way, substitute it instead. Take something off that list that is not providing value and meaning. The new thing may also need to be taken off at some point, but we’ll never know unless we give it a try
As you say, listen to what your heart is telling you.
Great article 🙂
Panteli Tritchew
28. Jan, 2015
Blocking out time for mindfulness and asking “Does this task help or hurt of what is important to me?” is great advice. As you say, time is our most precious resource When we are mindful and tend to the knitting that matters most, we will soon find that we have “the time” to share our …time!
Matthew Lyczkowski
30. Jan, 2015
Great article!!
I particularly like the “Be honest and prioritize”. It shows that you need to prioritize areas that bring purpose to life and is exactly what I am trying to teach the sales reps that report to me. With a true, honest purpose, you will know that what you are doing serves a bigger purpose.
Thanks!!!!
Russell Smith
31. Jan, 2015
“Time for mindfulness. When you’re busy, it’s easy for time to run away from you. Before you know it the day, week, month has passed.” Please also consider: Before you know it, a lifetime has passed.
vikram
02. Feb, 2015
Dear Lolly,
You are blessed with good writing style which has meaningful contents. Great article with good points
Eugeniya
02. Feb, 2015
Everything needed in this article! Indeed, leadership is a great responsibility at first place but it starts from little ordinary things. Ideas of mindfulness, substitution, taking off unnecessary things are so simple and that’s why real. So simple but few people can put it that way. And of course everything should be go from within. May I also recommend you a new free photo app Carde -it is created for happy vibrant people as you are?It is free on , feel free to check it out and comment on it.Thanks!
Gloria McBreen
25. Feb, 2015
It’s great to be reminded of the important things here that can so easily be forgotten. “Never let another person’s priorities become your own”. Thanks. I need to be vigilant on this one!!
Rakesh Meher
15. Aug, 2015
Great article..I will remember the golden rule” never let other priorities become your priority”.
Samer
07. Jan, 2016
As usual .. Lots of added value .. Thx Lolly 🙂
Marc Zazeela
24. Feb, 2016
Lolly,
I particularly like your statement about mindfulness. So many folks are caught in the past or worried about the future. They forget to take care of the here and now.
This moment is the most important time of your life. Take care of it and the rest will take of itself.
Cheers,
Marc
John Yeo
06. Jul, 2016
Guarding the precious seconds and making the minutes count