Focus on the doughnut… not the hole

Many managers’ temptation is to deal directly with what’s in front of them that seem urgent or what’s not working. But doing this prevents you from focusing on what matters and strengthening your area of excellence. As a manager, you’re no longer an individual contributor so should spend your days on the following;-

Anticipating: What do you need to know that you don’t? What opportunities can you create? How do you typically scan the horizon to see if you are aligning with the right priorities? How do you generate team improvements?

Reframing: Neutralise negativity by getting people focussed on what could be instead of what is. Your job is to bring value; understand what’s going on and how you can bring new perspectives to move things in the right direction. Understand the causes of problems before tackling them or you’ll end up with surface solutions.

Challenging: Your own assumptions and the way you do things. Have a frame of reference where necessary but be open to trying new ways and taking some calculated risks. Assess your own tolerance of risks and those of others you manage.

Interpreting: Things are hardly clear-cut these days and learning to operate in ambiguous situations is a must. Trust in your wisdom but seek some from others in interpreting situations. Don’t take things at surface value.

Facilitating: Understand what makes people think why certain agendas are important to them. Learn to surface what remains unsaid that influences behaviour. Don’t approach issues or situations as events. You almost have to develop your intuition so that you can sense when something is not going right.

Leading: Continue to improve your leadership. As for feedback, work out ways to keep it coming.

Now take action: What do you need to stop doing?