Many CEOs and leadership teams are feeling overwhelmed right now. For some, it’s because their business is really struggling due to COVID-19. Others are pivoting to a great new business opportunity, while the rest may still be trying to figure this whole work from home thing. Here are some important tips.
FOCUS ON WHAT YOU WANT
Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want. If you’re feeling stressed, overwhelmed, frustrated, I can guarantee you I know what you’re focused on – you’re focused on what you don’t want. The guaranteed cure for that overwhelm, and a source of consistent motivation, is to focus on what you want. It sounds simple and it is. If you’re focused on what you don’t want, flip that switch and focus on what you do want. What’s that better vision of the future, or better vision of the day?
FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL
Locus is just a fancy word for “center.” When confronted with a challenge, you can have either an internal or external locus of control. If you have an internal locus of control, you make things happen. If you have an external locus of control, things happen to you. It’s the difference between being a creator in your life, or a victim. When you’re dealing with a challenge, you need to evaluate where your locus of control is. With an external Locus of Control, the problem is “out there.” If you have an external Locus of Control, you say something like, “Why do my people keep coming back to me with the same questions over and over again?” They’re to blame. With an internal Locus of Control, I own it. I’m responsible. Instead of saying, “Why does my team keep asking me the same question over and over again?”, I might say, “How can I better communicate with my team, so they understand it the first time?” With an internal Locus of Control, you actually have a chance of solving the problem.
DO THE NEXT RIGHT THING
When you live your life off of a to-do list of 175 different things, you can’t help but feel overwhelmed. You need to narrow your focus and think of one thing at a time. Stop all the multitasking and just do the next right thing. Many successful leaders follow this advice by journaling every day. In that journal, they list the two to four most important outcomes for that day – not the 175 things they need to do, but the most important outcomes.
About the Author: Mike Goldman, author of Breakthrough Leadership Team, is a nationally recognized speaker, author and leadership team coach.
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