Helping leaders achieve sanity and stay in control of their lives

Leaders these days are feeling more stressed than ever. When they lose the big deal, they are stressed with the possibility of announcing cuts and layoffs – in order to sustain the business.

And when they have seized the big deal, they celebrate the success and are stressed with the anticipated demands of having to meet all the deadlines and managing the workforce to perform efficiently.

On and above, leaders must continuously stay competitive by taking personal responsibility to upgrade themselves on relevant work skills, read profusely to digest all the information that comes from all angles globally, catch up with the latest techy gadgets to increase their speed of communication, answering e-mails speedily, network through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., not to mention having to juggle work, family, friends and personal life as well.

Essentially, they have to put on the Superman cloak to do more in less time!

Where do they start if they seriously want to maintain sanity and continue to stay in control of their work and their life?

Employees often can sense if their manager is having a bad day, or had a bad start in the morning. If left unchecked, stressed-out leaders will “spread the contagion” to their subordinates. Leaders and managers who expeditiously recognize the need to learn how to stay in control of their work and become more efficient are often happier and can perform more productively.

Here are tips on how to stay in control of workload, to be more efficient and effective at work, and at home too.

1strule: Do not evade the issue that you are overwhelmed and need help.

Face saving is not heroic anymore. More so when you, as leaders, are seen walking around the office as “zombies” in the day with lackluster energy and has a desk piled with papers which will shield you from the “other world”.

Acknowledge that you need help, and ask for it.

2ndrule: Do not give yourself excuses for your inefficiencies and blame it on the lack of time.

To be busy does not equate to being productive. Don’t get caught in the cycle of “busy-ness”, and the continuous spiral of meetings and paperwork. Find a way to escape from this unending madness by taking back control of your work and your time. If you find yourself dragging your feet to work each morning, exhausted at the end of each workday, and you are not feeling a sense of accomplishment, you know where that is leading …

Only you can decide. Acknowledge that you need help, and ask for it.

3rdrule: Do not forget about your personal space, family and friends.

Success is measured not by work alone. It’s more beautiful and meaningful when you live to work, and have time to also enjoy spending with the people who are important in your life.

Yes, you can be coached on life skills, work skills and how to effectively achieve the role as a juggler with “numerous balls in the air”, depending on your demographic. They are your family, friends, work and personal space, and not forgetting the space to feed your soul, too, through prayers.

It requires skills, discipline and commitment to achieve the echelon of a successful juggler. If you are dropping one or more of these balls frequently, then acknowledge that you need help, and ask for it.

4thrule: Do not stop learning and trying

You may have been working for over half your life, or more. You may have had an impressive university degree or even achieved your PhD. and so? Do you really think you know it all? Have you been taught on how to do more in less time? Have you been taught on using tools, which might help improve your efficiency and effectiveness levels at the workplace? Have you been continuously seeking personal development and keeping in pace with new technologies?

Acknowledge that you need help, and ask for it.

5thrule: Do not be a wet blanket

Be the visionary leader and a supportive one. When one of your subordinates or team member come to you for help, find out how you can help them to improve without throwing them a wet blanket. Encourage them to seek personal development. Encourage to excel in their roles. Encourage them to take personal efficiency programs to help the organization increase productivity levels. Work as a team. If you don’t have the skills and expertise…

Acknowledge that you need help, and ask for it.

Have a reality check.

It’s about time to take back control of your work and your time; stay sane!

Once again, acknowledge that you need help – and ask for it.

The writer is managing director/master PEP consultant at PEPworldwide Asia Pte Ltd (www.pepworldwideasia.com) and d’Oz International Pte Ltd (www.d-oz.com)