Country Music and Leadership
While driving recently I heard a song by Luke Combs titled “Better Together”. At the same time, I was pondering how I would share a message I’ve been thinking about that discussed passionate leadership. I’ve written an article, wasn’t good, even tried to present it in a speech and it fell flat. Something that I was so passionate about (pun intended), kept falling short on its intentions. As I listened to the words it hit me. Some things just aren’t meant to be quantified with words and given in script, especially a feeling. So, instead, let’s take the lead from the song and discuss being an all-in leader.
As a leader, people want the best of you; all of you every second of every day. Pretty daunting, and to add to it let me say this, you must give it to them. As a leader you can’t take a time out and deflect a situation.
Therefore, the need for catch phrases like: “the burden of leadership” exists. It is a burden, sometimes it leaves you exhausted from the effort of giving your best self. When you stumble, you pause, reflect and learn from it. (I’m obviously not talking about moral or ethical missteps.) I want to highlight a few things that are helpful to stay sharp and areas where you are impeding your leadership prowess.
Strategic engagement; time is a resource we can’t make more of. So, you need to develop models to engage, up, down and with peers. If you don’t schedule it, the calendar will consume your time and you will realize you didn’t use your time effectively.
Reflection; you need to take the time to do this well. Looking at days, weeks and months ahead, all the while asking yourself did your focus areas have the desired effect or result? If not, where do you need to divest or reinvest. Add to this your ability to provide guidance that is effective to other senior leaders.
Rest; it’s a marathon. Understand that you will reach burnout. Especially if you don’t take 10-15 minutes everyday to decompress. Also, scheduling a couple hours on the weekend and a weekend once a quarter where you try to unplug is imperative. (yes, I realize as a senior leader this is impossible.) However, you have to try.
Fitness; in the military every morning we have time for PT. It is an act of daily self-discipline. We know that it’s an important part of mental well being and if nothing else, we know we have accomplished something. For people not in the military if you don’t plan physical activity, well it’s probably not going to happen. It’s more than that though, for me the clarity offered after some good PT is priceless. My best thoughts and ideas come after these minutes of intense sweating.
Areas that are draining you:
We’ve all seen the leaders that have worked 16–18-hour days and the rest of the formation follows suit. In my experience these same leaders are terrible at managing their time. They are putting in the hours just because they think it means they work hard. If you haven’t read the book “Rest,” I recommend you do so. Thank you Joe Byerly for including it in your monthly reading list. One of the best phrases in the book is ‘what defines an honest day's work’. Spoiler: it’s a lot less than you might think.
Meal planning, yes, I’m going on a health tangent. I’ve planned my meals for decades. Either I or my wife prep meals on Sundays that I pack for lunches. What a lot of people do is grab what’s available or stand in the food lines getting whatever overpriced slop is in the local food court. I usually eat my lunch in my office, take time to read, reflect or even plan some nonwork calendar events. An even better use of my time is to take my lunch and walk around the organization footprint until I find a leader doing the same. Then sit down and have a casual conversation, trying to avoid “shop talk” as much as possible.
Give yourself some time, each day where it is just you. No distractions and no one else. Be alone with your thoughts to meditate, do breathing drills, journaling or even activity. To be a leader you need to have clarity, to have clarity you need to be alone with yourself so that you can contemplate and reflect. It isn’t selfish, it’s leadership.
I see too many leaders that are just going with the flow, they lack drive and real passion for the position. This can’t exist in our Army nor in other sectors. The real question you need to ask yourself; “do I love what I do?” If the answer is no, then how are you correcting it? If you can’t, then perhaps it's time for a change. Get out of the way so passionate leaders can fill the role. Part of service that is overlooked is the selfless part of it. If you're staying in a role because of ego or consistency then we need you to move on. After all that’s what life is all about, moving forward, not staying stagnant.
