Find time for transformation
Time management was one of my earliest focuses when I became a leadership trainer. Being on top of tasks can instil great confidence in your leadership ability, and it’s still an area I recommend people explore. But for many leaders there are challenges beyond simple time management. The organisational environment moves at an unprecedented pace, and leaders need to spend their time analysing and responding to change for their business to thrive, or at times even just survive.
“Transformation” has become a buzz word. It’s bigger than just ‘change’. With the rapid evolution of technology and changes to both customer and talent demands having rocketed through the pandemic, I hear from leaders that transformation projects that might once have emerged only every couple of years or so, are now becoming a constant focus. They are no longer single projects, but a series of initiatives designed to pivot and propel businesses into a new future. It’s no wonder “transformation” needs a fresh perspective when it comes to making time.
I believe there is a fundamental principle that needs to be considered and woven into leader’s plans when working on transformation projects. They need to be mindful of their energy levels and how to channel the best version of themselves into leading successful projects. Transformation requires innovative thinking, strategic planning, problem solving, conscious communication and high levels of motivation. These ‘higher brain functions’ sit in the cerebral cortex, our grey matter, and the good news is that we can learn these skills and improve them throughout our lives. The bad news is that often we create habits that might prevent us from using them to the best of their ability.
So how do we prioritise good brain health to enable us to be the best leaders through transformation?
First, I believe we need to think about time holistically. The 20th century saw us gain more leisure time through the introduction of working hours regulations and the concept of ‘a weekend’. Yet since 2020 the ONS have found that the time we spend on entertainment, socialising and other free time activities has been steadily declining. With increased digitisation we have normalised sending emails on the commute, through the evening and even whilst on holiday. Through our phones we now carry with us an ability to work from pretty much anywhere at any time. But should we? Ensuring that we have a healthy work life balance supports our wellbeing and prevents burn out – ironically both areas that impact our productivity anyway. Taking time to assess the balance of our time is a way to bring back control.
But we all know it is just too easy to ‘put the hours in’. Skipping lunch, working late, being wed to your desk are all commonplace on the backdrop of large-scale change initiatives. But many studies show that ‘ploughing on through’, skipping breaks and weekends does not actually make us more productive. In fact, taking breaks, in multiple forms has been found to make us more productive, not less. A study by NASA showed a staggering 34% uplift in the performance of their pilots directly following a nap for example! Whilst taking a snooze midday may not be a viable option for most of us, we can consider scheduling our day to allow for peaks and troughs. Trying to think about innovative new solutions after 3 back-to-back meetings is unlikely to see ideas flow. Resist the urge to save more basic tasks for an end of day sweep up, and instead schedule them in between the more intensive cognitive tasks through the day as a way of creating a partial cognitive break.
Another holistic approach is to structure how we work. Office workers can have quite a sedentary lifestyle, spending hours at desks struggling to hit their daily step count. Exercise is good for our physical health, but what impact does it have on our ability to think creatively? Firstly, exercise increases blood flow and stimulates brain chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin. These in turn not only help us feel more alert in the short term but can help reduce stress and anxiety – both of which are the enemies to good rational thinking. A walk outside may be even more beneficial. A change of environment stimulates the brain, awakening the senses through new sights, sounds and even smells. So why do we assume our best thinking will take place in the same physical space as the rest of our work? When we need to channel our creative problem solving, switching up our environment and making meetings/calls into a more beneficial ‘walk and talk’ might just see more ideas flow in the exact same timeframe.
I believe leaders who gain self-awareness of how, where and when they can generate their best ‘higher’ thinking will be better able to work through periods of transformation and reap the benefits both in terms of performance at work and their own self-esteem. This is a belief influenced by the work of Aleksandra Hertelendi, a fellow leadership specialist who has created her own paper and model around how leaders can work with their energy levels and ‘find time for transformation’. I was able to get an early look at Aleksandra’s paper and the approach is both practical and realistic – it’s definitely got me thinking!
We’re carrying on this conversation in a free webinar! Join Aleksandra and I to hear more about her FLOW model at Midday on Friday 6th December.
Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEudu6sqD8qHd3pZKE-zhXMrR8Q0dWL8WdD#/registration
