The Big 3: How Strategic Leaders Protect Their Focus

Focusing on the right work has always been one of the most essential skills for leaders. In the environment we’re operating in right now, it matters more than ever.

Demands keep rising. Decisions have to be made faster. Teams are leaner. AI has increased capability and noise. And the leaders I’m working with continue to be asked to deliver bigger results with fewer people, budget and time to think.

Photo by Vlada Karpovich

The question I ask my clients more than any other these days is a simple one: Are you focusing on the most critical work? When the answer is yes, leaders accelerate their results and impact, even under pressure. When the answer is no (and it often is) they run hard, often with no end in sight.

The pattern shows up in different forms. Some leaders are overloaded with work that’s urgent but not important. Others are working hard on something without clearly defining it first. In other words, they’re deep into the how before fully agreeing on the what. Either way, the capacity gets eaten up on activity that isn’t moving anything forward, and the work that would move things forward gets pushed farther and farther out.

Being an effective leader does not mean working more hours than everyone else. It’s about getting clear on what really matters in your role, and building the discipline to protect time for it. Focusing on the right work is also one of the Core Strategies on our New Lens® leadership development platform, because I’ve seen, again and again, that it shifts how leaders show up under pressure. If you only have time to focus on one area of leadership development right now, this is the one that drives everything else.

Stressed Leaders vs. Strategic Leaders

In my coaching work, I’ve found that many leaders fall into a couple of broad categories:

Stressed leaders get pulled into urgency. Their calendars fill with meetings that could have been emails, decisions that could have been delegated and reactions to things that would probably have resolved themselves. Over time, they fall into destructive patterns like micromanaging, avoidance and overwork.

Strategic leaders are busy, but they deliberately protect what gets their deep attention. They focus long-term. They delegate with intention. They stay curious under pressure. And they guard their time and energy for the important work that uses their unique capabilities.

The shift from stressed to strategic doesn’t require more hours in the day. It simply comes down to a few specific moves.

Identify Your Big 3

Your Big 3 are the three areas where you can have the biggest impact on your organization, given your role and strengths.

If you’re like many high performers, you often overlook your strengths. You might set the bar so high for yourself that you stop noticing what you actually bring to the table and why it matters. But as you focus on the next challenge or opportunity, don’t lose sight of how you are already making a difference. Start by identifying your top three strengths and then go a step further: Define the “so what” of each strength: What does it enable you to do that others can’t easily do? How does it create tangible value?

Let’s say approachability is one of your strengths. The “so what” might be that people openly tell you what’s really going on—which means you surface issues earlier, solve problems before they become crises and build the kind of trust that makes teams perform at a higher level.

Put Your Big 3 Into Action

Once you identify your Big 3, determine what percentage of time should be spent on each and start making shifts. Then look at your calendar for insights. What does it tell you about how you currently spend your time? I am always amazed at how much you can notice just by pausing for a moment. 

Next, look for opportunities to drive more alignment with your Big 3. What’s getting in the way of your Big 3?  Create capacity as needed. Maybe there’s a project you could delegate to a team member that could also be a development opportunity for them. Or perhaps you bow out of a low-value meeting or try to reduce the frequency of the meeting. (The other attendees will probably be 100% behind you!)

As you free up time, start adding dedicated blocks for focused work in your Big 3 and schedule it for when your energy is naturally highest. For most of us, that’s in the morning. Shut out email, calls, Slack and other distractions as much as possible. Each interruption costs you from eight to 25 minutes of productivity.

Aligning your calendar with your Big 3 isn’t a one-time exercise. The leaders I’ve worked with have found that taking even 15 minutes of reflection per week helps them stay strategic instead of slipping into reactive mode.

Align Others Around Your Big 3

Don’t keep your Big 3 to yourself. Share them with others.

Start with your manager. The two of you should agree on your Big 3, what they are and how much time to allocate to them. Once you’re aligned, make a habit of regularly sharing how you’re driving results in these areas. Take at least five minutes at the end of each week to notice what you accomplished and the impact. Remember, part of your manager’s job is to maximize your potential, and they can more easily do that when they can see how you’re creating value.

Your team members also need to know your Big 3, to help them understand what’s important and why. If you don’t explain the why, they’ll fill in the blanks themselves.  To take it a step further, help each of your direct reports identify their own Big 3 and guide them in making the necessary shifts in how they spend their time.

Just Get Started

This week, I want to challenge you to identify your Big 3. You can’t afford not to. It’s a critical first step in turning stressed leaders into strategic leaders (whether we’re talking about you or your team members). We’ve been down this path with so many leaders over the past 18 years, and can give you perspective, guidance and support along the way. Just get in touch to learn more.

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Don’t wait for performance to drop before taking action. Discover how the New Lens® platform helps organizations support managers with bite-sized, actionable learning—built for today’s fast-paced, high-stress environments.

4 Questions for Team Leaders as 2023 Ends

As 2023 draws to a close, you might find yourself in a whirlwind of year-end tasks, deadlines and holiday preparations. In the middle of all that, you might not have had the chance to take a step back and assess the broader picture of how your team is faring. But as we approach the new year, it's crucial to set aside time to reflect. Taking a pause to evaluate the collective journey of your team over the past year can provide invaluable insights on the path you should take going forward. Use these questions to help you take the pulse of your team and identify what they might need from you.

Image by Alexa from Pixabay

What does your team’s stress level look like? As a leader, it’s crucial to recognize the symptoms of burnout on your team and to address them quickly. The effects of long-term stress (which we’ve all been experiencing!) can show up in different ways. For example, you may have noticed that your team members don’t seem as focused as they used to, or that communication feels strained. If your team members are showing signs of burnout, affirm your commitment to their well-being and look for ways to address the situation. Do you need to adjust workloads, deadlines, or the pace of work? Do team members need more support to navigate any changes or uncertainty? 

How can you help team members manage their energy? To address stress and burnout, you can also ensure that team members have the resources they need to maintain balance and sustain high performance. Leaders play a pivotal role in fostering a supportive environment that encourages overall well-being. Encourage healthy habits like regular breaks, setting boundaries between work and personal time, and actually using vacation days. And don’t forget to lead by example: If you work around the clock or don’t take breaks or vacations, your team members will assume that’s what you expect of them (no matter what you say).

How clear is your team on what success looks like? Since the beginning of 2023, a lot may have changed in your organization. Priorities and expectations have shifted; new challenges and opportunities have emerged. You may assume that your team knows what’s most important now. But, in times of rapid change, sometimes key messages about priorities get lost in the busyness of our day-to-day work. So, take some time with your team before year-end to talk about priorities going into 2024. Connect the dots for your team members about how their roles fit in and affect those priorities. Make sure each team member knows the top areas where they should focus to have the biggest impact on the business and empower them to focus on those “big three.”

Is there a need to upskill your team? If you have observed performance issues in your team in 2023, ask yourself whether they have the skills and training necessary to succeed. Over the past few years, so many organizations have gone through resignations, layoffs and restructuring, leaving their employees grappling with new roles or evolving responsibilities. Beyond that, if staffing is lean and workloads are heavy, your newer team members may have received little to no onboarding. But even your seasoned employees may need additional training if they’re taking on different types of projects. We’ve definitely seen these struggles and created the New Lens® app to address them while making it easy to fit development into busy schedules and tight budgets.

This week, I challenge you to identify one area to focus on with your team in 2024, and one or two initial steps you will take. This small investment of time will yield big payoffs in the coming year.

Are You Waiting for Things to Get 'Back to Normal'?

A lot of high performers have been pushing hard lately, figuring that they'll catch their breath when things get "back to normal."

If that sounds like you, I want you to pause for a moment and reconsider your approach. The seismic changes we are all experiencing continue to unfold. Since "no normal is the new normal," what does that mean for the way you work and live?

This Is a Year Like No Other

When we're so busy with day-to-day tasks, it's easy to forget everything that's changed in just the past 12 or so weeks.

Covid-19, which was declared a pandemic on March 11, may have you worried about your own health or the health of loved ones. You may have also experienced profound changes at work. The economic impact of the pandemic has spurred furloughs and layoffs. With those cuts, people who still have jobs face heavier workloads. Many of us also began working from home — while simultaneously caring for our kids all day as schools closed.

And then, in the midst of the pandemic, George Floyd's death set off protests, civil unrest and a national reckoning with racism. If you are a Black American, you may have felt more anxiety and depression. On the business front, many organizations are making changes to better support diversity. (And some have faced public allegations of racism.)

That's a lot! As people have been pointing out on social media, it's like we're experiencing the 1918 flu epidemic, the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s all at once.

Are You Stuck in Crisis Mode?

Understandably, a lot of us have been working in crisis mode — or "just trying to get through."

The problem with that approach is that it’s not sustainable with all that is going on. Some states (including Texas, where I live) have seen a surge in coronavirus cases. We're also seeing a new wave of layoffs. For those still employed, working from home remains widespread, and work-life balance is suffering. And while some districts plan to reopen schools this fall, it's far from certain how that will happen and the changes it will require. At the same time, the protests sparked by George Floyd's death continue, and new incidents (like the police shooting of Rayshard Brooks) further increase tensions.

The bottom line? "Normal" might be a long way off. You might be used to simply powering through short-term crises at work. But that isn't sustainable during this period of ongoing change. As an executive coach, I'm seeing a lot of fatigue among high performers who are relentlessly pushing themselves.

Strategies to Accept and Adapt

If you're feeling exhausted, here are some strategies to avoid burnout:

• Focus on the present. None of us can predict the changes and disruption that are ahead of us.

• Use your body to change your mind. Activities like physical exercise, dancing to music you love, singing, playing with your kids, or doing things that make you laugh can be very effective.

• Be kind to yourself. For example, if you always push for perfection in your work, ease the pressure. Your "good enough" may be more than good enough right now.

• We’ve all had moments of irritation and impatience. It’s totally understandable. Find constructive ways to release the negativity so that you don't unleash it on others. Start by pulling the thoughts and feelings out of your head (uncensored) and onto a piece of paper. You’ll be surprised at how well this works.

• Reflect about what you really need. What have you learned from the past few weeks about your own tendencies in this “new normal”? And what does that mean you should stop, start, or keep doing?

• Give yourself a break. Maybe you have to defer your dream summer vacation but can you find another way to recharge? A day trip or just taking a few days off, even if you just stay at home, might do the trick. If nothing else, deliberately add breaks into your back-to-back work schedule.

You can't control what happens next in this tumultuous year but you can make choices to improve your mindset and reenergize. This week, identify one thing you will do better navigate the new normal. My self-paced tools may help you navigate some of the challenges you are facing.

How to Stay Focused Before the Holiday Break

The fast pace of work seems to get even more hectic as the year winds down and the holidays get closer. You probably have more work to do than you can actually complete in a day, and distractions are everywhere. It's easy to feel scattered and that you aren't accomplishing anything meaningful. So today I want to share some ways to regain your focus and make the final workweek of 2019 a productive one. You can also use these strategies to get 2020 off to a productive start.

1. Prioritize the Right Work

The first strategy is to always focus systematically on what matters the most. In other words, focus on the “right work” — the work that will have the biggest impact on business results. That typically includes just three or four priorities. How clear are you about what those should be? If you haven’t recently identified where you should focus to have the biggest business impact, given your role and skills, take a few minutes to do so.

Raising your awareness about this will help you start making different choices about how you spend your time. You may be juggling a lot of balls, but are they the right ones? Make sure you take some time to evaluate that. 

2. Set Aside Reflection Time

During this hectic season, you need quiet time more than ever. Book an appointment with yourself to step away from your tasks and just reflect. Whether you're identifying the right work, finding ways to create more capacity in your schedule or preparing for what’s coming up next year, blocking time will allow you to be much more deliberate.

3. Shut Out Distractions

Also recognize when you need uninterrupted time to complete important work. Leave your desk if you think you’ll have too many distractions. You can go to a conference room or another quiet area of your office. Sometimes it can help to work a little bit from home before you come to the office.

4. Take Control of Email

Another big distraction is email. Put some more structure in place for how you manage your inbox. When I ask people if they get more than 100 emails a day, most say yes. And a lot of them get distracted by each email as it comes in because there’s a notification. So, regardless of what they are doing, they get derailed by an email that might not be that important compared with what they should be working on.

A great first step toward getting a handle on email is turning off notifications. Resist the temptation to constantly check your email. Instead check it at specific intervals throughout the day. 

5. Tell Others What You're Doing

No matter what strategies you use to stay focused, communicate them to others. For example, let others known about your new approach to email so that they know how to get hold of you if something urgent comes up at a time when you're not checking email. You might say, “Text or call me if it’s something that can’t wait.”

These conversations help others understand that you are taking steps to increase your efficiency, responsiveness and ability to get the most critical work done. It will get them thinking about your effectiveness and what they should be doing to improve their own. 

Pick at least one of these strategies to try and notice how the changes you make affect your productivity. For more tips like these, check out "Staying in the Driver's Seat," one of the titles in my Leadership EDGE℠ series.