9 Critical Things All Successful Leaders Must Balance

Balance - a condition in which different elements are in the ‘correct’ proportion. We all try to find the ‘correct’ proportion or balance in our life  - hours awake vs. sleeping; healthy vs. unhealthy eating; sedentary vs. active lives; people we spend time with vs. those we don’t; what we buy vs. what we can afford; things we work on vs. things we ask others to do; etc. Life is full of choices – of holding on or letting go.

Work is exactly the same way. As a leader, we must make choices and prioritize every day what we do and don’t do.  Below are nine critical things every successful leader must find the ‘correct’ proportion and balance between:

1. Achieving short-term objectives and sustaining long-term potential
2. Tapping into team member ideas and personally coming up with new ideas
3. Reinforcing teamwork and allowing individual initiatives  
4. Reinforcing positive results/behaviors and correcting unacceptable ones
5. Accepting more projects and asking for help
6. Delegating responsibilities and doing it yourself
7. Sharing decision-making and making all the decisions
8. Disconnecting temporarily and staying connected to work electronically 7/24
9. Racking up more hours at work and fulfilling life responsibilities

Now consider some of the consequences of being out of balance:
- Fatigue
- Loss of effectiveness, efficiency, or both (spread too thin and diluted effort)
- Adverse effects on health (trying to burn the candle on both ends)
- Strained relationships (at work and in life)
- Increased expectation to continue to do even more
- Feeling overwhelmed, overloaded, and stressed

So, here’s a simple but potentially powerful exercise. You can’t make more time in the day - but you can set or reset some boundaries or limits so you can stay in better balance. Take a piece of paper and make two columns. Label one column “More” and the other “Less.”  Now, take two minutes and write down as many things you can think of that you want or need to do “More” of – to be in better balance. Then, next to each item you listed write the opposite in the “Less” column. Finally, pick two “More” items from your list that are realistic and needed right now. Put a daily reminder on your I-Phone or computer calendar to help keep you focused each day on these two items.

Here are a couple of examples to get you started:
- More (Listening) and Less (Talking)
- More (Planning work for others to do) and Less (Doing the work of others)
- More (Believing in others) and Less (Doubting others capabilities)
- More (Checking in) and Less (Checking up)
- More (Leaving work at work) and Less (Constant checking technology)

Improving your balance takes time and practice and it doesn't just happen overnight. The key to keeping your balance is knowing when you’ve lost it. So, how’s your balance?