“Do you have a minute?” When you’re leading a team of five or an organisation of ten, it’s easy to be a yes person. You can drop what you’re doing and help people out without it taking too much of a toll on your own workload.
But it isn’t realistic to continue being the resident problem solver as you climb the ranks or grow your organisation. What happens when you have multiple people asking to pick your brains every day? Time is limited and it isn’t physically possible to be everyone’s go-to person.
Despite this, many leaders struggle to protect their time.
Of course, there are huge benefits of being available to your teams. By keeping lines of communication open, team members know they can reach out to you and are more likely to confide in you, share their concerns and seek guidance. The trust this builds contributes to a positive work culture.
But over-availability comes at a cost. For every person you say yes to, you’re saying no to something else. That might be a conversation with another colleague about a problem that only you can solve. It might be uninterrupted time for you to think deeply about a new business opportunity. It might even be your own wellbeing, if it forces you to work extra hours to get everything done.
How can you protect your time while ensuring teams still have the support that they need?
1) Set boundaries - and communicate them
Be clear about how your time should be used. What kind of problems should be brought to you, and which can be solved by someone else? While it’s important for team members to have access to someone when they need support, that someone doesn’t always have to be you. Read that again, twice.
Decide when to make yourself available and how much time you can set aside. Perhaps you have a one-hour window twice a week that team members can use to pick your brains. Communicate that to your team. And stick to it.
2) Ensure teams have the right support in place
Where you don’t have time, or a particular problem can’t be a priority for you, point team members towards a person who will be able to help them instead. This might be their line manager, a subject specialist within the team or another director. More often than not, this person will be better placed to help them than you will be, because they’re closer to the action. You can make this point to encourage team members to direct their questions towards them in the future.
Importantly, make sure the colleagues you recommend are expecting to be approached and are prepared and equipped to help. That way, you can avoid the “I can’t help, why don’t you try so and so instead” cycle.
3) Understand what’s holding you back
Turning down expectant team members during a moment of need is easier said than done – even if you’ve communicated your boundaries and ensured that teams have the right support in place without you.
Perhaps you enjoy being the person everyone goes to, or you feel like you’re letting people down by saying no. It might feel important for everyone in your team to like you. Or there might be an element of holding onto control or not trusting your team to operate without you.
These are all limiting beliefs that could be holding you back from progressing, whether that’s moving up the ranks or growing your own organisation. Bringing them into your consciousness is an important first step towards evaluating them and developing more constructive thought patterns that will help you move forwards.
Successful leaders dedicate their time and energy to the tasks that add most value to their organisation. While being available to your teams can add value - building relationships, driving engagement and solving problems promptly – it’s important to reflect on how much time you spend troubleshooting and whether there could be a more efficient way of working.
If you’d like to have a conversation about how coaching tor training could help you, please get in touch.