This is the time when effective leadership is needed the most

Leaders today face a myriad of business challenges. Without coherent and steady leadership these issues can become overwhelming to your staff, disrupting performance, and opening the door to unwanted turnover. Effective and balanced leadership is needed now more than ever.

It is a good time to go back to the basics

Effective leadership requires a balance between daily pressures and deadlines and the preparedness and ability of you and your staff. It is time to reevaluate how you deal with all the pressures you and your staff face. No one wins when unreasonable expectations lead to job burnout.

Following are two stories that demonstrate the need for balanced leadership

“The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, by Steven Covey, offers solid advice that directly relates to today’s stress levels, life choices, and the path to effective leadership. 

The Golden Goose

We have all heard the fable about the farmer who had a goose that laid golden eggs. He started out impoverished. Then one day he discovered his goose had laid a golden egg. Every day the goose had the capacity to produce one egg. The farmer became wealthy beyond his imagination. As time went on, he became impatient that the goose could only produce one egg a day. He decided that was not enough. In the end, he killed the goose, only to find there were no eggs inside. This desire to have the goose produce more than it was capable of, ruined his chances for any future eggs.

Watch Your P’s and PC’s

Our expectations of ourselves and our staff are analogous to this fable. To be effective we have to maintain a balance between our “Production” (P) and Production Capability /Capacity (PC) demanding production, or expectations, beyond someone’s capability or capacity it is likely to lead to low morale, inefficiencies, and higher rates of absenteeism, and turnover. Unreasonable expectations are a clear path to burnout.

The Woodcutter

The second story illustrates the importance of building the personal and staff capability and capacity to accomplish desired objectives.

While walking through the woods a man hears the sound of someone sawing in the distance. He walks over to see what it is. As he gets closer, he sees a woodcutter feverishly using a saw trying to cut down a large tree. The poor fellow is exhausted, sweating, and red-faced. “Hi, I see how hard you are working, but your saw is dull. Why don’t you stop for a moment to sharpen it? That would make it easier and faster to cut the tree and you wouldn’t have to work so hard.” The woodcutter, still sawing, responds, “I have no time to stop.”

Sharpen the saw

The lesson here is that we all need to stop once in a while to sharpen our saw. Although regular breaks and exercise may help, there is more to the metaphor. Effective leaders practice balanced leadership.

Consider the following actions:

• Work to improve, simplify or automate broken processes.
• Keep aware of the latest trends and resources.
• Seek and offer training and skill development for you and your staff. 
• Set realistic expectations in line with your staff's production capability and capacity.
• Make sure to clearly state goals.
• Set reasonable and consistent priorities but be prepared to adapt.
• Monitor your staff for burnout. Help them take advantage of the resources they need to sharpen their saw. 

Are You a Leader? A Self-Test