Focus in a World of Multi-tasking

As a leader, how do you keep your focus in an age of multi-tasking?

Multitasking may speed you through your to-do list, but it also makes you more likely to make mistakes and less likely to retain information. Here are three ways to focus:

• Think good thoughts. Positive emotions improve the brain's executive function and encourage creative and strategic thinking. Improve your emotional balance by taking short breaks and thinking about things that make you happy.
• Ban distractions. Be aware of what steals your attention. When disrupted, make a conscious choice to return to the task at hand.  This may mean shutting off your Blackberry/Smartphone.
• Leave things behind. When you turn to a new task, part of your brain is still thinking about the last one. Before starting something new, go for a walk, climb stairs, or do some deep breathing to clear your head.

Adapted from "Train Your Brain to Focus" by Paul Hammerness, MD, and Margaret Moore.

Balancing Motivation and Follow Through for Yourself

As a leader, how do you balance the need to self-motivate vs. follow through?

When approaching a difficult task—getting to the gym, writing an important presentation, attending to an issue in your workplace — you may chide yourself for lacking motivation to get it done. However, it's often not a question of motivation, but follow through. You may want to do the task—you know it's important—but your brain talks you out of it. You tell yourself you can do it tomorrow or you have more urgent things to do. Don't let your mind sabotage your aspirations. Make a specific decision about what you want to do - by a fixed time - and then don't question it. Tell yourself: I will work out tomorrow at 6 AM or I will finish the presentation by Tuesday at 1 PM. If your mind starts to argue with you, ignore it.



Adapted from "Your Problem Isn't Motivation" by Peter Bregman.

Too Much Listening or Too Much Talking?

As a leader, have you found the balance between listening and speaking up?

Listening is a critical, often underutilized skill.  Sometimes for leaders there is a temptation to do a lot of the talking.  In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of how important it is for leaders to be effective listeners.   But if listening is already your forte, you may need to do more talking. Speaking up is a good way to demonstrate your expertise and gain the confidence of those around you.  As a leader, too much listening can come across as a lack of confidence or knowledge.  Staff need to hear from you - in measured amounts.  If you're hesitant as a speaker, find a safe place to try it out first. Talk shop with your friends or colleagues to test your ideas. Then, refine them to share in a meeting or with your colleagues. Try to say something early on in a meeting, even if it's something small, to establish yourself as part of the conversation. The challenge here is to support your staff by speaking up enough to set the stage for the conversation without creating an environment where your staff will feel they need to echo your ideas.  It's a fine balancing act.  Listening is important, but so is speaking. Success depends on doing both.  Finding the right balance - to ensure you bring out the best in your staff - is the place you are aiming for.  It will take some time but the rewards of building the capacity of your staff are worth the effort.


Adapted from "Keep Listening, but Start Talking" by Whitney Johnson.