Creating Time for True Leadership

Let's try an experiment.

Cancel all your meetings for the rest of this week.

Sound preposterous? Okay, how about just one day?

Still too much?

Hmm... how about one afternoon?

If the idea of clearing your calendar - even for one afternoon - is giving you major heartburn, it's time for a strategic reset.

Across 20 years of advising nonprofit, association, and corporate executives, the number one desire I hear is "I wish I had more time to focus on the big, strategic work."

You're not alone in wanting that time and space.

But the demands on your time are never going to go away.

Even if you're fortunate to have a truly magical executive assistant who manages to keep your calendar focused and keep you moving, there will always be another urgent or important need to tend to. (Shoutout to the many incredible nonprofit EAs who do hero's work for missions by keeping their execs on track).

The time isn't going to show up on its own.

You have to make it.

And that means getting comfortable with clearing your schedule for long enough to settle your mind, tap into your inner perspective, and make clear choices.

Just like your budget is the truest representation of your organization's priorities, your calendar - the way you spend your time - is the truest representation of your priorities as a leader.

If you look across the next 2 months and don't see any time for:

• deep-thinking,

• reading,

• getting feedback from or mentoring team members,

• integrating all the ideas/insights/information you've taken in recently into a larger understanding of your organization's path and purpose

Then you will keep finding yourself on the hamster wheel - being in constant motion, but not really going anywhere.

It's one thing to know you need more time.

It's another thing to actually make the time and do the work.

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How are you doing with creating the time you need to focus on what matters?

As a strategic advisor to nonprofit CEOs and department leaders, this is one of the ways I help - enabling you to create space, explore the bigger strategic questions facing your organization and your team, take action, and be accountable. If you’re ready to get the right support so you can get off the hamster wheel, send me a message and we’ll make time to connect.