Picture this: You’re working at full tilt, nose to the grindstone, and you hear some version of the message, “you need to do more with less.”
You think to yourself, I’m already maxed out! I don’t have time for this!
There are plenty of formulas for managing time and knocking out to-do lists. In the old style of management, leaders shifted into command-and-control to do more with less—cracking the whip, tightening the controls, and driving employees harder.
This doesn’t work. Not sustainably.
To deliver impact in the midst of dwindling bandwidth and resources, start with mindset.
Why? Because our state of mind or perspective at any given moment can drive our definition of what is possible.
For example, from a perspective or state of:
- Fear: With fear as the primary state, “Do more with less” signals threat. For example, if you don’t force yourself to work longer and harder, you might be out of a job. With fear, our impact is limited to putting out fires and problem solving the issue in front of us—we lose sight of the bigger picture.
- Anger: From a state of anger, “Do more with less” may signal a frustration over corporate greed or frustration that others have it easier or aren’t helping as much as they should. Anger diminishes our ability to connect with others, which then limits our collective intelligence.
- Courage: From a state of courage, “Do more with less” signals an opportunity to rise to the occasion.
- Reason: From a state of reason, “Do more with less” becomes a quest to figure out the perfect formula for balance and productivity.
- Connection: From a state of connection, “Do more with less” is an invitation to reach out to others and co-create.
I can find myself in any one of the above states/perspectives, but my goal is to lean into the latter state—connection. From this mindset, I can:
- Be compassionate and honest with myself
- Connect with others and appreciate their brilliance, and
- Collaborate to create new ideas/systems/things
Doing more with less and delivering meaningful impacts starts with ME, in my most enlightened state (unhindered by lower states of fear and worry), connected with YOU, to create US.
Like an ant bridge, where ants link to one another to form a bridge that crosses a chasm, when we are connected and collaborating, we can get from here to there, with a sense of ease and wonder and delight.
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Curious about coaching leaders to increase their engagement and impact in the midst of dwindling resources, limited time, and shrinking work-forces? Join our Certified Leadership Engagement & Impact Coach program (the next-gen of our capacity coach program)!