Empty Space

Someone once told me that the difference between leaders and managers can be seen on their calendars. The manager’s calendar is crammed completely full with meetings, tasks, deadlines and double-books. It’s exploding with fires, both big and small, that need to be put out. A leader’s calendar, on the other hand, has some chunks of space. There’s time built in to craft a vision, to think creatively, and to connect with their team.

This distinction of leader vs manager is less about job title and more about approach. Obviously, a higher tier leader has more latitude to clear space on their schedule, but that doesn’t mean they’ll do it. As a culture, we’ve been tricked into conflating busyness with productivity, but in the long run, few things are as vital to true productivity as thinking deeply. 

From any position of leadership, we need to take the time to breath, ponder and connect. And if we don’t carve out that time ourselves, no one else is going to do it for us.