An executive was talking with me about how she leads and lives her life. She said, "Many leaders spend time trying to anticipate problems which could arise that are out of ordinary in their business. I have a different approach.” She continued, "I spend my time setting the standard and then I manage the exceptions". On a professional level, this looks like developing discipline and accountability with strong systems and processes. It takes time and determination to build and execute a set of standards that will yield a strong infrastructure.
On a personal level, it means understanding how to set boundaries in our daily lives so that we can manage the outliers that will come. Leading is stressful and developing guidelines for our decisions, our behavior, and our time will give us the ability to better handle the unexpected crises that pop up in all of our lives. Spending time to set the standard for our personal lives will take discipline and intentionality. However, having no guiding principles or routines for our lives leads to chaos and a lack of ability to handle the curve balls life will throw at us.
Take some time to evaluate the guidelines and boundaries in your life. Identify areas where you need to develop guardrails. Choose to lead with structure and balance and you will make a difference.
Guidelines
