It’s funny how life has a way of balancing itself out.  I have found that the time when I feel the best and am the most productive are when my life is in balance.  I also have noticed that when my friends and clients are in that same zone they experience similar results.

In my new book coming out later this spring, Leadership by Invitation, I explore the concept of answering the call to lead.  What will it take to answer that invitation?  A new commitment to investing in yourself and in others to create the impact and influence needed to lead.

So if we need to make new investments, we need to be prepared to make the necessary deposits that will result in a positive return on that investment.  As I was balancing the checkbook the other day it struck me that our Leadership balance sheet is much a checkbook.  You make deposits and you make withdrawals and what you have to work with is represented on the bottom line.

Credit Cards Don’t Work When It Comes To Leadership

I know you understand that if you want to take a withdrawal, at some point in time, you needed to make a deposit in order to make that withdrawal.  Let’s take a look at a few things that leaders need to keep in balance to lead.

Look, the day is going to come, if it hasn’t already, that you need to make a withdrawal from your leadership bank and if you don’t have the funds to cash that check, you will lose the opportunity to make a difference is someone else’s life.  Credit cards don’t work when it comes to leadership and we can’t ask life to take a time out until we build back up our account.

I have heard more than once that if you want to see where someone is committed, look at their calendar and look at their checkbook.  Those two things will show you where you deposits are being made.  The question is whether or not they are in something that will allow you to make a withdrawal down the road.

Life Has No “Time Back” Guarantee!

TIME

If there is never enough time, and there never is, how can we expect to make the necessary withdrawals to invest time in others.  Leadership is influence, right?  Most leaders are consumed by the needs of the people they lead.  It’s not intentionally set up that way, but those in authority, the leaders, are typically expected to solve the problems.

So how does a leader make those time deposits?  They can start by EMPOWERING others to make their own decisions.  Part of being a leader is casting vision, and communicating that vision will allow others to understand the desired outcome and make decisions, on their own or within their team, that will produce that same outcome.

Another great way is to DELEGATE.  I love what my mentor John Maxwell told me.  If someone else can do something 80% as well as you, let them do it.  You don’t have to do it all yourself!

You Can Wear Your Running Shoes In The Boardroom

HEALTH

Most of us live in a culture that is simply moving faster than we like.  If you want to live in the age of technology, you need to be prepared to move at light speed like the rest of the world.

I love the quote “Lead, follow, or get left behind.”  If we don’t take the lead on leading ourselves to take the necessary steps to show up with physical energy, mental clarity and emotional stability, (Tweet This / Share on Facebook / Post to LinkedIn) how can we be expected to instill that in others?

As a leader, what deposits are you making to allow for those withdrawals?  Are your eating, exercising and sleeping habits providing the deposits necessary for you to make those withdrawals when a twelve hour day is needed?  I have said it before.  The toughest person to lead is me.

What Is Your Disaster Management Plan?

We are usually last on the list and leaders, by nature, put others first.  This is a formula for disaster.  Look at the most successful leaders.  They show up with energy, clarity and for the most part physically fit.  Any clues to be found there?  Do you think they are making the right deposits?

I have heard more than once that if you want to see where someone is committed, take a look at their calendar and their checkbook.  That’s my challenge for you today.  Take a look at those two things and see what they are producing for your bottom line.

That leads to an related question of great importance.  What adjustment do you need to make today to build up equity in your Leadership Balance Sheet?

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Barry Smith    1/24/14   photo by author   © Building What Matters 2014