Where the Best Leaders Spend the Majority of Their Time

Do you know where great leaders spend the majority of their time?

The answer isn’t…

• The boardroom
• The production line
• A top business school
• In front of customers
• Or, any other specific location

The answer is less of a “where” and more of a “when”.

Allow me to explain…

Over the past 20+ years, I have worked with some amazing leaders. As a global management consultant, I have had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout Europe, North America, and Asia.

My experience suggests that the best leaders spend the vast majority of their time being present in the present. 

This may sound obvious.

It may even appear easy.

However, I invite you to consider your own behavior. It is highly likely that you often find yourself physically located in one place, but mentally engaged elsewhere.

Here are a few examples:

• You are sitting in a meeting, but continually grab your smartphone to check your email.
• You are eating dinner with loved ones, but your mind repeatedly wanders back to the office.
• You are having a performance conversation with an employee, but your thoughts are tending to other pressing issues.
• You are celebrating a success with your team, but simultaneously worrying about the next challenge you face.

Do these scenarios, or others like them, sound familiar?

If so, know that you aren’t alone.

In fact, you have read less than 200 words in this post, but your mind has probably already traveled someplace else. The Statistic Brain Research Institute suggests that the average adult’s attention span 2015 is 8 seconds – that’s less then the attention span of a goldfish.

No wonder, we have so much trouble staying in the present.

I invite you to be present right now and finish this post.

Don’t just read the words. Focus on them. Take inventory of yourself and vow to improve. Doing so, may prove to be time well spent.

Here are four considerations to help you to be present in the present…

1. Learn from the past; don’t dwell on it

Your past is full of ups and downs. It contains things that went well and results you wish you could change. Parts of it may be the source of frustration, disappointment, and embarrassment; others memories bring you pride, energy, and excitement.

Occasionally visiting the past is a good thing. You can use it to frame a situation, reflect on how a problem was resolved, or gain perspective. But, don’t spend too much time there.

Whether you scored the championship winning touchdown or fumbled on the one yard line, let the past go. Great leaders know that they can’t change the past, so they don’t spend too much time there.

2. Plan for the future; don’t borrow trouble

Yes, it’s important to create plans. It’s critical to consider alternatives, prepare for contingencies, and brainstorm through different scenarios. However, some planners go well beyond the planning phase and begin to borrow trouble. They become anxious, fearful, and begin to doubt themselves and their organization.

Taken to an extreme, they begin to assume failure before they take their first step.

Great leaders invest time planning, but they don’t assume failure from the start. They know that that type of negative thought process, is often self-fulfilling. If a great leader thinks something is destined for failure, they either devise a new plan or quickly cut their losses.

3. Craft a vision; don’t live in the clouds

Every leadership book discusses the importance of vision. They echo the common idea that great leaders help their organization determine its purpose and then cast a vision for the future.

As important as it is to craft a vision, communicate with clarity, and gain enthusiasm around the direction, visioning in and of itself is insufficient. Great leaders spend purposeful time crafting a vision for the future, but return to the present as quickly as possible. Because they know that the present is where life happens.

4. Take action; don’t wait for things to come to you

Great leaders are proactive people. While some people prepare themselves and wait for the opportunity to rise, great leaders act as an opportunity catalyst. They create the opportunity for themselves and their organization.

Being present is a key part of the opportunity creation process. Leaders who are present engage all of their senses. They listen with the intend to understand. They watch things unfold. They sniff out opportunities. In short, they are fully engaged.

So, pause, choose to be present in the present, and knock ’em dead!

Best- Patrick