What are the most important priorities you uniquely need to focus on as a leader?
When I ask executives or CEOs, many list priorities they realize they aren’t currently focused on.
One reason for this common challenge is because of a largely invisible—yet essential—skill in leadership: capacity management.
Having capacity means you have the ability to do what truly matters in leadership and life. It requires having the energy and reserves to accomplish what is most important for you to accomplish.
Leaders who aren’t focused on the most important aspects of their role often have a capacity management issue. However, leaders lack awareness that this is truly the problem. Instead, when someone isn’t performing well, the discussion is often about lacking capabilities.
Leaders rarely ask: does the person have the capacity to complete the work that we are asking of them?
Conversations that involve capacity often focus on short-term output, which is a limiting view. They tend to be about how everyone is operating over capacity and needing to do more with less. I see so many leaders working in a harmful cycle of a non-stop high intensity pace without recovery. Unfortunately, this is not surprising with much of Corporate America’s overemphasis on short-term results and output.
Alternatively, when we view capacity as the overarching skill to lead at our best, we develop an expanded view of capacity. The untapped potential is how to create long-term capacity, which enables having the greatest impact and creating extraordinary results.
Five common myths about capacity in leadership:
1. Capacity is viewed as fixed rather than buildable
Myth: Capacity is often considered a static resource: something people either have or don’t. In Corporate America, many leaders don’t feel like they have enough capacity.
Truth: Capacity is dynamic. It can be expanded or eroded depending on how you manage your energy patterns throughout the day, focus on stimulating work, and optimize your workload.
2. Capacity is often reduced to short-term output versus long-term effectiveness
Myth: The conversation around capacity usually centers on how much we can accomplish right now.
Truth: Non-stop sprinting without recovery leads to burnout. Leaders who thrive replenish and build systems to sustain their energy and focus for long-term effectiveness.
3. Not having enough capacity means not working hard enough
Myth: When leaders say they don’t have enough capacity, it can be misinterpreted as a lack of effort or drive. People then believe the solution is to work harder.
Truth: My research shows burned out leaders who lack vitality operate at a lower capacity, with reduced productivity. The first step for a leader to increase their capacity is to replenish their energy through vital leadership.
4. Capacity is rarely linked to vitality and well-being
Myth: Many leaders worry that caring for themselves and their well-being is selfish and will somehow detract from their performance or goals. They lack awareness about the connection between well-being and performance.
Truth: My research shows leaders operate at their highest capacity when they are thriving. Focusing on your physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual well-being is foundational to peak leadership performance.
5. We assume every leader has the same capacity needs and goals
Myth: Capacity is treated as a standard measure where what works for one person works for everyone. We assume every leader should be able to handle the same workload, pace and intensity to succeed.
Truth: We each prefer to operate at different capacity levels. We can develop awareness of how we can optimize to operate at our highest level of capacity.
Ultimately, capacity management is the currency of leadership because it directly determines a leader’s ability to focus on what matters most, sustain their energy and perform at their best over time.
How Leaders can Expand their Capacity
1. Identify and create space for the most important work
When you have true capacity as a leader, you’re able to focus on your “big rocks”, your highest-value priorities, as Stephen Covey calls them.
Reflection:
What are the top five priorities you need to focus on in your leadership? How much are you focused on each of those? Respond with: Low, Medium or High.
- Low: I don’t focus the majority of my time and attention on my top five priorities. This means you have significant opportunities to improve your capacity management.
- Medium: I focus a portion of my time and attention to my top five priorities; perhaps focusing on certain priorities more consistently than others. This means I have some strengths and some opportunities to improve my capacity management.
- High: I’m firing on all cylinders and substantially focusing on each of my top priorities. This means you are managing your capacity effectively.
Next, choose one priority you want to create more space for in the next week. Make a plan and block your calendar so you can prioritize it.
2. Understand what optimization looks like for you
Understanding what optimization looks like for you is one of the most powerful leadership insights you can uncover. We each have a unique capacity blueprint. It’s the times we’ve performed at our best and felt energized, focused, and present in both leadership and life. To lead from that place more often starts with reflecting on what helped us operate at our highest capacity.
Reflection:
- When have I felt most optimized?
- What was happening in my work and life?
- How did I feel physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually?
- What space did I have for my own well-being and the people I care about?
3. Manage your energy as the primary place to increase your capacity
Once you build awareness about your capacity, focus on your well-being as your access point to start growing your capacity.
To truly optimize our capacity involves daily cycles of sprinting and recovery. As I’ve shared, leaders often overstress non-stop sprinting. Building in the recovery after is how we recharge to have energy for the next sprint, which expands our capacity. This requires having an understanding of our energy patterns and replenishment needs.
Reflection:
- Where do you need to sprint in your day and week?
- Where could you build in time for recovery?
- How could you replenish physically, emotionally, psychologically or spiritually?
To set leaders up for success in accomplishing what’s most important, we must start bringing capacity management into the core of the leadership conversation. This means shifting away from a fixation on short-term efficiency toward a deeper understanding of how to expand and sustain capacity over time. Leaders perform at their best when they’re energized and focused on what they can uniquely do. Capacity is the currency of sustainable, effective leadership.
