Summer is here! Remember how great that used to be as a kid. School was out. You had nothing to do but run around, hang out with your friends and eat popsicles (Flintstones push pops were my favorite). As a leader6/8/21 and an adult, summer doesn’t look exactly like it used to. But it’s a great time to step back, reflect, grow, and get ready for what’s next. If you’re ready to grow as a leader this summer—while still enjoying your summer—this is for you!
1. Focus on time management
Summer is a great time to work on developing your time management skills. That warm weather and longer days are just calling out to you to enjoy. But if you’re used to working long hours on your business, summer isn’t going to feel that different than any other time of year. So, pick your favorite summer activity and use that as your extra motivation to build your time management skills.
Learning to properly manage your schedule can do wonders for you as a leader and as a human. It can help you be more productive at work and open up time in your schedule to rest and recharge.
Work on identifying the time wasters that you struggle with and get them under control. You may need to create boundaries for yourself to stop from getting pulled into projects that your employees should handle. You may need to eliminate distractions like social media or attending every single networking event that comes your way. And you may need to learn to set hard deadlines for yourself.
I find that if I don’t set a time limit for myself when working on certain projects that it will fill my entire day. Sometimes you need to set a time limit and make the project fit within that slot.
If you’re not currently using a planner or scheduling your day, check out the SPEARity app to help you be more productive and organized so you waste less time.
2. Make your meetings more effective
Meetings can be one of the biggest waste of time in the physical and virtual office space. And when summer days are calling, no one wants to be sitting in a stuffy board room or staring at their computer screen for hours on end.
There are a few really simple ways that you can make your meetings more productive:
- Have an agenda
- Only invite people that need to be included
- Have a leader for the meeting
- Show up on time
- Show up prepared
- Keep it short
- Eliminate distractions
- Let people show up virtually if it works better for them
- Take notes and share them with all attendees
- Be open to feedback
3. Be planning for fall
There’s something about fall that brings about somewhat of a new beginning feeling. If you have kids, they return to school. The weather starts to get a little colder and people seem to be in the office more. Many get back at it after taking a more leisurely summer.
If you want to improve as a leader over the summer, make sure you spend time planning for the fall. The 3rd quarter moves fast and you want to make sure you have a plan to finish the year with a strong 4th quarter.
If summer is a slower season for your business, this is your time to do planning and strategizing for the coming months. Then when everyone returns from summer vacations and shorter work days, and they’re ready to hit the ground running, you’ll be ready to lead them.
4. Do a little teambuilding
We’ve all heard a lot over the past year about the negative impact that isolation and remote work has had on some people. Make sure you find a way to do some teambuilding over the summer. This will continue to be slightly trickier than it used to be but put the work into making it happen. Find something that will allow the entire team to participate and feel comfortable.
If your team is comfortable getting together in person, plan a fun day outside of the office. If you’re not in-person because of Covid or because you have workers in remote locations, get creative.
5. Take breaks
And most importantly, remember to take breaks. As a leader, you’ve been carrying even more weight over the past year. Show yourself grace when things don’t go as planned. And get out of the office and away from your desk more this summer. Do the fun summer activities you like to do. Don’t use work as an excuse to stay cooped up with your head down, working all summer.
If you’re not into summer activities, that’s fine—you still need to take breaks. Do something you enjoy.
We aren’t meant to go non-stop. We’re not built for that. We need time to rest and recharge. Your team with thank you for it and so will your family.
If you want to use this summer to transform yourself as a leader, working with our SPEARity business coaches in Milwaukee is a great way to do it. Reach out today to talk with one of our coaches about your options.
