Focus on the Important Stuff

 So how do you even determine what is the important stuff?

Leaders set priorities that line up with their goals.   They focus on the important stuff and the difficult stuff instead of avoiding it or being too busy to deal with it.  Setting priorities is embedded in their leadership style to ensure what is important gets done instead of ignored.

Everyone is not going to agree.  That is OK.  Remember your goals determine the plan.  If the task does not fit it can be moved lower in terms or priorities and it could actually be scratched off the list.   Ponder this for a moment.....scratching it off the list may be the best decision for things that do not align with your goals.

Who decides what is important?

There are many who push their agenda forward as most important distracting you and your team from focusing on the right areas.   These influences from others can be both from your team and outside your team.   As the leader, you need to have the discipline to steer your team to keep the important items the priority.  Over-reacting is a common strategy, however, it usually is not the best one in the long-run.

At times other pressing items will become more important and given higher priority.   Being flexible and evaluating each new demand to determine if it is important or not is a delicate balance to embrace.   Leaders stay in check, focused and update the priority list while communicating the new information to the team.

How do you move important tasks forward?

Lead by example.  Communicate to your team what is important, why it is important and why it is required by reviewing the overall goal.   Be firm to ensure the team remains on the right track.  Remember it's all important stuff and it's up to the leader to prioritize and keep the team focused.

How are you determining what is important on your Team?

(Originally published on 08.24.16)