5 Steps to Leading with Purposeful Priority & Actioning the Important
Never mistake activity for achievement
— John Wooden
As busy people, we can get very caught up with being reactive, managing the list of things to do that comes tumbling into our email box or through our door.
I have been guilty in the last couple of months (several months – if I am honest) of being very busy but not very productive. This has been echoed by many leaders I have spoken with. Partly, I believe, it is because when we face uncertainty, we become anxious and feel a sense of overwhelm which drives us into ‘let’s just get on with it and get things done.’
The issue with wanting to get things done, is that we often choose the activities that we can tick off the list quickly or easily; the less challenging tasks. The more challenging tasks then get left, like the proverbial 'elephant in the room' and cause us to start procrastinating over how we can ever achieve them.
This became more obvious to me when I noticed my own unhelpful behaviours with work and identified the habits that get in the way of many leaders, which stop us achieving success.
James Clear explored this in more detail. He noted that when we are ‘getting things done’ we are in motion but that this is very different to taking action. Sometimes motion is useful, but it will never produce an outcome by itself. Instead, we just get busy. So, if this motion doesn’t lead to results, why do we do it? Sometimes we do it because we actually need to plan or learn more. But more often than not, we do it because motion allows us to feel like we're making progress without running the risk of failure (for me this is so true). Most of us are experts at avoiding criticism. It doesn’t feel good to fail or to be judged publicly, so we tend to avoid situations where that might happen. And that's the biggest reason why you slip into motion rather than taking action; you want to delay failure.
James Clear noticed that when we are in motion, we are planning and strategizing and learning and although these are all good things, they don’t produce a result. Action, on the other hand, is the type of behaviour that will deliver an outcome. Motion makes you feel like you’re getting things done but really you’re just ‘preparing’ to get something done. When preparation becomes a form of procrastination, you need to change something. You don’t want to merely be planning, you want to be practicing. Motion will never produce a final result, action will.
For me, I have been really busy with my motion (reactive) list; emails, policies, research, re-writing training materials and not tackling the actions that create change and lead with purpose; writing articles, connecting with more headteachers, creating more learning opportunities and promoting these. This has been mirrored in conversations with leaders who are busy ‘firefighting’ and ‘doing’ but not getting anywhere with some of the key priorities that will make all the difference.
Mastering action can change your life. Knowing your priorities helps to reduce stress, helps you focus and ignore FOMO, can improve productivity and time management and even help with work-life balance as you create better boundaries for your working day.
From working with my clients, carrying out research and trying a few techniques myself, here are 5 steps to be more productive and action the important:
Firstly, PRIORITISE and CHOOSE YOUR FOCUS.
“If you have more than three priorities, you don’t have any” - Jim Collins
The challenge when we get busy with things is that we feel a sense of overwhelm and we end up with a mind frazzled by to-do lists. Take a deep breath and write down the main things that you should be focussing on. Some of these may be on the to-do list but often they are not. Sometimes they may even be the thing we have been avoiding! Try not to have more than three key priorities at any one time. If more crop up, note them down to come back to. Choose the ones that will make the biggest difference to your children. For example, it may be raising reading standards or improving the quality of teaching of SEND.
Secondly, GET CLARITY.
“Clarity and simplicity are the antidotes to complexity and uncertainty.” – General George Casey
Don’t get caught in being reactive, be proactive. On a sheet of paper, write down what it is that needs to be achieved. Then answer these questions:
Why do we need to do it? This gives us the purpose and will remind us why we need to drive action.
What actions need to be taken? This gives us clarity on the things that need to happen.
How will these be achieved? This enables us to break down the process.
When can these be achieved? This sets the plan in motion with clarity of timelines.
Who needs to be involved? This gives clarity on which colleagues to communicate clearly with.
Thirdly, MAKE TIME.
“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” William Penn
Part of the issue with time is thinking that we don’t have enough of it. I personally believe it is because we don’t give ourselves the time we need. I often hear “I have got so much to get done but tomorrow I am interviewing and then I am teaching.”. We need to look at time differently. If you are fully booked in your day then focus on those things and don’t try and squeeze important tasks in. If you do, they certainly won’t get completed and if they do, they probably won’t be of a high standard either. Take your priorities and match the task with the appropriate amount of time needed. If you find you have a morning, block it out to focus on that task e.g. learning walks for each class to look at guided reading. If you only have an hour, consider how the task can be broken down, just visit two classes. Don’t multitask, you will use your time ineffectively.
Next, CREATE SUCCESSFUL HABITS.
"Success is neither magical, nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of good habits." Unknown
‘Know thyself’ is really important here. Think of your best environment for working. If you achieve more when working from home then set your larger tasks to be completed there. If you are more focussed in the morning, start the more challenging elements first thing. Getting others to hold you to account also helps immensely, tell a colleague what you are doing and when e.g. “I am reviewing the data today and will have a 3-point action plan by 3pm” and ask them to check in on you. There is nothing as good as an impending deadline to motivate us to action. If you work best on your own, create opportunity for self-study and if you are energized to action by a group then work in an environment with others. Look at where, when and with who you have created your best work and apply those situations more readily.
Finally, BE KIND
“At the end of the day, you can’t control the results; you can only control your effort level and your focus.” – Ben Zobrist
Often it will happen that other more urgent things will get in the way of best laid plans. In these situations, where we are side tracked and don’t action what we need to, it’s important not to give ourselves a hard time. If we berate ourselves for not achieving, we end up in a negative cycle of blame which takes energy and does not motivate us. Instead we need to accept that things didn’t happen the way you had intended and apply some self-kindness (“it’s okay” and a cup of tea!) and identify what you are going to do next. Being flexible allows us to bend and not break.
Applying these strategies has enabled me to achieve more in the last two weeks than I have done in the last two months. This is the first blog for a while and it will be a regular monthly feature (you can hold me to account on that one!). So, ask yourselves, am I just in motion or am I taking action?
If you want to prioritise purposefully
or create successful habits,
why not book a coaching session with us...
"I highly recommend The Thinking Academy! Leonie is an exceptional coach; professional, insightful and deeply kind. I found the experience transformative to say the least; in a very real and practical way. Highly recommended!"
Primary Headteacher, July 2020