The great management guru, Peter Drucker, once said, “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” To be effective, leaders must discern what they should spend their time doing, say no to the unnecessary, and delegate or outsource the things that don’t require their direct attention.
Everyday, we hear from small business owners and entrepreneurs that all share a similar concern – they are trying to do everything themselves and in the process are not only burnt out, but they often fail to take care of the most important things to make their business a success. Luckily, many of them have begun to use freelancers to take work off of their plates and get more done.
The trick is having the wisdom to know how to make these critical assessments on a daily basis, as your inbox fills up, your kids scream for your attention, and your to-do list grows. Wherever you are in your leadership journey, there are bound to be a lot of forces that compete for your time and minimize your effectiveness. Here we’ll tackle how to discern the difference:
In your daily life, you can ask a few critical questions as you determine your priorities:
1. Is this necessary towards achieving your business or personal objectives? If the answer is no, just say no!
2. If you’ve decided something needs to get done, ask: is this something that you can get someone else to do for less?
3. Is this a critical function that I’m unqualified or unable to perform to the standards that are necessary?
Most people outsource in both their personal or professional lives. From hiring a housekeeper or cook, to getting more done in your business life by bringing in outside technical or creative expertise, more people are outsourcing more of their lives than ever before.
The digital age allows us more flexibility to do so, but we may always struggle with the fine art of when to say yes, no, or delegate.
