"I'm just so busy, but I feel like I'm not getting anything done," Brandon moaned.
It's a complaint I've heard again and again. Leadership can be chaotic. Every rung up the career ladder brings more complicated challenges, a greater weight of responsibility, increasingly complex decisions, and additional stakeholders affected by our work.
Still, we don't have to live in constant chaos. Help is available if we'll take it. The truth is that it takes two people to tame the chaos.
When I was a kid I struggled mightily to keep my room clean. Okay, that's not quite accurate. I actually didn't struggle at all which is why it was always a mess! The problem was that I would start to try to clean, but quickly get overwhelmed and not know what to do next or even how to start.
Taming the chaos in your leadership life can feel the same way. I've read most of the popular books on time management and organization. Many had helpful insights. But it was when my own executive coach gave me a few valuable tools and walked me through some simple processes that I was able to gain the traction and momentum I so desperately needed.
There are plenty of ways you can find a partner to help. Of course, you can work with a coach. I can give you some great tools and encouragement. But, you can also buddy up with a colleague, a friend, or a family member. The trick is to do something different. As Albert Einstein so wisely stated, "We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them."
So what will you do? I'd love to hear how it goes.