I have just finished a very brutal travel schedule for the first quarter of the year. Though I love to travel for work or pleasure, this last round has made me weary and has left my cup feeling dangerously close to empty. I find that I have dropped the ball on a lot of little things such as answering emails or LinkedIn messages in a timely manner and have simply not scheduled personal appointments that are necessary to my own self-care and wellness.
Taking busy out of the equation
I know that I should give myself some grace, and most days I do. However, lately, I have been using “busy” as a reason for not doing the little things entirely too often. I never want anyone to feel that I was too busy for them or that I am not willing to be fully present. I, just like most of us, have been on the other side of that equation and it does not feel good. I once heard a speaker say we should remove “busy” from our vocabulary and to focus on the little things we could do for ourselves and others. Make the time, slow down, breathe.
The longer I live, the more I realize that little things are the most important to relationships and leadership.
I work with a colleague who is amazing at little things. She is always the first to remember a birthday, send a text to say she’s thinking of you, coordinate a delivery for someone who’s experienced a loss or is recovering from a health issue. I marvel at her ability to do all these things and make everyone around her feel seen, included, and recognized. I know that I will never be as good at little things as my colleague, but if I can commit to doing one or two a day for myself and those I work and live with, I know my cup would be fuller, my connections would be stronger, and I would be a better leader.
Little things: Big impact
Leadership is often conceptualized as the big decisions that create a major impact for organizations and individuals. While there is no doubt that BIG is a part of leadership, giving more thought to the little things will make us better leaders and better humans. The little things are what make people believe in us, see our consistency and follow-through, and make them feel a part of something bigger than themselves. The little things are the fundamentals of trust. And trust is the essential ingredient to any successful relationship.
As leaders we often ask our people to take on big things—learning a new skill set, developing a team, helping take our companies to the next level. These big things come with big commitments of energy, time, and resources being poured into work that could be used in other avenues of their lives. Recognize your employees when they live your values. Send a text to check in. Reach out to a co-worker to see if their kid got into the college they wanted. Any of these examples will take 30 seconds to five minutes out of your day, but these efforts will result in being more connected, more present, and make your colleagues more willing to follow you into the next big thing.
If we expect the big things (and we do), let’s take some time to remember the little ones as well.
