In the workplace, leaders are often so busy trying to keep up with their workloads and the responsibility of taking the organization forward that they fail to spend the quality time with their staff necessary to support, guide and build relationships. While the team may be profitable, over time it will lack the depth and quality necessary for long term success.

Effective leaders..

• Appreciate the value of spending time with their team members in support, training and things not related to work.
• Realize that their time is limited and valuable and so think about how and who they will spend their time with. Often it's the "creaky door that gets the oil" and the leaders' precious time is taken up by exceedingly needy and problematic team members. This will impact on the effectiveness of the team, as the team members who want to grow and develop can miss out on this time with their team leader.
• Manage their time well and can say “No!” at the right time.
• Know that for long term success it is important to find a balance between time at work and time at home. What is the value of being successful at work when all of our personal relationships are falling apart?

So, who are the people in your team (and in your family) you need to spend some more time with? How are you going to set this up so that it happens regularly? Are there people in your life that you should be spending less time with?

“It is easy to trust someone who has never let us down. But if we are taking any level of risk at all there will be breakdowns, some of which will be caused by us. And rarely do we act fully alone – some breakdowns will happen because we have pushed the boundaries of what is possible given the dynamic of our existing relationships. Unless we use the inevitable breakdowns in an uncertain, rapidly changing world to learn how to trust each other more, we won’t grow to meet the challenges we face, let alone be prepared to take the risks required to do the extraordinary together.

“The opportunity of leveraging breakdowns in trust to fuel breakthroughs in relationship is not just a nice possibility. It is an essential skill for thriving in a world that increasingly depends on or ability to cooperate and collaborate to be successful.” - Susan Mazza

“You need to be authentic as a leader — to behave in a way that is consistent with your values. You earn the right to lead. You need a leadership philosophy that's grounded in self knowledge, and that begins with your purpose or passion. Why are you a leader? What do you intend to do as a leader, and how do you bring your values to that intention? Today's environment calls for visionary leaders who have a firm knowledge of themselves — knowledge that can translate into authentic, forward-focused action. The origins of your leadership style are in your life experiences. Determining the meaning of those experiences, and how they have shaped you, will transform the way you lead.”

Todd Henshaw, retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel

“Every effective leader I’ve know is passionate about what he or she is doing. The time and energy devoted to work demand a commitment and conviction bordering on love.” - Warren Bennis

Jimmy Wales is a catalyst. As founder of Wikipedia, he has built a life and business around engaging, empowering, and collaborating with a community of people. Wikipedia takes its name from the word “wiki” (from the Hawaiian word wiki, meaning "quick") and encyclopedia (from ancient Greek meaning "the circle of arts and sciences"). Wikipedia's 15 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world, and almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site. Said Wales, “I couldn’t write and encyclopedia by myself. From the very beginning, Wikipedia was a community.”

Actually, it didn’t start out that way. The venture began as Nupedia, an online English-language encyclopedia whose articles were written by experts and reviewed under a formal process. But Nupedia languished for almost a year, unable to generate compelling content and to compete with existing encyclopedia powerhouses such as Encyclopedia Britannica.

Releasing control of the tool is the thing that actually led to its success. But just because Wales is not in control doesn’t mean he’s hands-off. Jimmy is a catalyst for Wikipedia. He focuses his attention on maintaining the health and energy of the community, solving disputes, and keeping people engaged. He empowers people and gets out of the way…letting go, trusting people, and relying on others to effectively build the site. And it’s working – quick!

So, would you characterize your leadership as “catalyst” or “controller”? Is it working?

Contrary to popular belief, your decisions don't drive your long term success - your decisiveness does. Said another way, when you reach a crossroads on any issue, the act of choosing creates power, not the choice itself. The issue is momentum. No matter what you choose, when you commit boldly with conviction, you create momentum. When you hesitate you don't. And success is built on momentum.

But many leaders and business owners get caught in a decisionless cycle – where tasks are listed, piled, or held for another time when we might get to them. If they’re important, they’re buried in the pile with other less noticeable items. If they’re not, they clutter our ability to see what’s really on our plate on what will move us forward.

So, how do we avoid to wasteland of “decisionless” leadership? With the 3 D's of decision making. Do it, Delegate it, or Delete it.

Number 1: Do it

Don’t put it on your list, don’t hold it for another day. Do it. Now.

Number 2: Delegate it

Maybe it’s important, but really falls outside your skills or expertise. So, delegate it. Get those tasks off to the right people. With the ball in their court, you can focus all your attention on the ones bouncing around in yours.

Number 3: Delete it

Get rid of the long list of ideas, articles, and possibility projects that you’ve been collecting in piles for “when you get a chance.” Keeping that stuff around is distracting you from what’s most important. This is one of the least used, and most effective, decision tools.

So, what do you need to do, delegate, or delete today?