Procrastination – The Silent Killer Of Leadership
Written by: Dr Wayne C A Wright, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Are you aware of how procrastination can kill your leadership credentials? We all do it, and it is the silent killer of our leadership potential.
Do you:
Put off doing critical tasks regularly
Ignore facing letters you know are from suppliers or the bank that you owe money to
Hope that the bank balance will improve to put off making that key decision to save the company
Put off firing that key employee who is disruptive to the business
We have all been there.
Procrastination is the silent killer that undermines our leadership credential to our staff and the world around us.
What causes us mentally to procrastinate:
We struggle to get motivated until the activity and task become urgent and a deadline is close.
We are overwhelmed with thoughts of doing the task at all
Sometimes we convince ourselves that we are not capable of doing the task
Invariably we get paralysed by not knowing how to start the task or activity or even what to say if it is a confrontation element with an employee
This is a big one for me. The activity is tedious and boring. I want to jump on the task that I love doing.
Or we fear failure, as the task is too great and overwhelming
My top 6 tips to beat procrastination:
Schedule a time to do the 'difficult' task with someone else. For example, month end is a process I hate, so sitting down with Alison who does my accounts, forces me to do all the admin and expenses that I dread
If FEAR is driving your activities, talk this through with someone else to understand the risks of NOT doing it. This is where having good advisors around you will help you to see the wood for the trees as well as helping you to be accountable in making the right decision
Always evaluate the risks of NOT doing a key task or activity. As a director it is imperative that we always evaluate the risks and create solutions to mitigate those risks. Again doing this with your team will share the burden and arrive at a consensus for getting things done
Calculate the financial losses of ignoring an activity or task. Sometimes you need to scare yourself into action when you evaluate the impact of NOT doing something.
Evaluate the reputation damage that you and the company would receive by NOT making the right decision. If politicians did this, then the world would be a better place!! Making ethical decision is hard, but essential if you do not want to be in the front pages of the main newspaper or social media post.
Break down the difficult task into smaller tasks. As they say, 'how to eat an elephant...'. So breaking the task down into smaller manageable bite sizes makes the activity bearable and doable.
You see FEAR invariably fuels the power of procrastination. Once we deal with that fear initially then it gives us the strength to deal with the task.
So rise up and do it TODAY.
You will thank me for it!!
Contact us if this is what you see this characteristic in your leadership style, and we can work through ways to tackle this 'silent killer' once and for all. Click here for more information.
Dr Wayne C A Wright, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Dr Wayne Wright has worked in some of the most celebrated corporate entities as well as fast growing medium sized businesses at senior and board levels. His experience is in the building of businesses from the bottom up with a clear understanding of the strategic elements essential in driving successful growth. With a scientist background he is named on 9 patents. Wayne has investments in healthcare businesses in the UK and US and for the last 20 years has led [W]sq solutions, a small boutique entrepreneur coaching organisation that works with fast growing businesses in accelerating growth and profitability.
