What does it take to REALLY Lead? Part 3- A is for Availability
A – Is for Availability.
Welcome to my mini-series – What does it take to really lead?
You may recall I made an acrostic from the word lead:
L is for Learning
E is for Example
And today:
A is for Availability
“My success, part of it certainly, is that I have focused in on a few things.” Bill Gates.
To be good at leading you must be available to the cause. You need to be accessible to those whom you lead.
What I have all too often observed is that leaders tend to be ‘very busy people’ and can be distracted from their primary role. Therefore, to excel in leadership, you must allow your priorities to be challenged. Leaders need to guard their own time wisely in order to remain fruitful in their leadership.
As a busy leader myself, I have had occasion when I have said ‘yes’ to too many things, ultimately finding I’ve spread myself too thinly and am not serving people as well as I could. Saying ‘no’ would have served them, and myself, better.
Saying ‘no’ is not always thinking small. Saying ‘no’ might actually be thinking big when leading because you know your calling and are determined to stay in the groove of your calling.
I totally endorse this quote from Tony Blair: “The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes.”
As I grow in getting better at remaining focused on what I should and should not do, I become more liberated to say ‘no’ to good causes. This ultimately helps me to remain in ‘my lane,’ growing in effective leadership and becoming more fruitful.
Jesus calls us not to be busy but to be fruitful. One of the keys to remaining fruitful is to be available to grow and serve in those areas for which we are equipped, not allowing our time and effort to be taken up in areas to which we are not really called.
As a leader, not only should you remain available to those whom you lead, but also you should set aside time to invest in yourself. I come from the premise that you will always find time to do the things you want to do. If we want to bring value and growth to others, we must grow ourselves and this takes time. Making sure we are available for the ‘right things’ will help us tremendously in our journey.
In the increasingly busy world in which we live, we must constantly review our priorities to ensure that we remain available to the areas that are of most importance to us. Too often I have witnessed good people getting ‘distracted’ from what should have been their main priority and loosing their focus in the process. Keeping the ‘main thing’ as the ‘main thing’ will allow us to grow in our leadership and not be distracted by other ‘good’ things. Our focus and vision must be set on the bigger picture.
Are there areas in your life that you should ‘review’ to ensure that you are available to do the right things? Or are you simply being a busy person? Are you fruitful? Remember this: if nothing changes – nothing will change!
Being radical with our time helps our leadership. History shows us that people of great influence were not great just because of what they earned or possessed; rather, they became great because of what and how they gave their lives to accomplish it.
John Maxwell is a great example of one who is very effective in his leadership. He guards his time carefully in order to be available to the calling upon his life.
If you want to grow to be an effective leader keep the ‘main thing’ the ‘main thing.’ Stay focused on your vision, role and responsibility. Think big in this area. Be quick to recognize distractions that often come dressed as ‘very good causes or opportunities’ and guard against them affecting your availability within the great leadership role to which you have been called.
About the Author
Tony Lynch is a featured writer for the John Maxwell Team Blog.
Tony also excels at delivering vision and strategy to his clients for success. With an abundance of experience he is building a community of those who desire winning mindsets to think big, to overcome self limiting beliefs, but especially to become all that God created them to be.
Tony can be contacted at: http://www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/tonylynch/