What is your “what only you can do”?
What would it take for you to design your work life such that you too “only do what only you can do”?
Over the last couple of years, I have been conversing regularly with a senior corporate leader, encouraging them to do less.
Do less? Well, as I often say to those in such a leadership role:
“the less you do, the more valuable you are to the business”
So, it was with some pleasure that I heard them share, when we last spoke, the quote:
“Only do what only you can do”
This leader has now really anchored upon that phrase (derived from Nietsche, see image above) and, as they looked ahead to 2023, has now become crystal clear on what they will do and what they will not do. From this, they have developed three areas they will focus on, along with a few projects for the business that they will either sponsor, own or otherwise be connected directly to. Everything else they will delegate and trust other leaders in the business to lead and deliver.
For myself, this conversation was the first time I had heard that particular quote and it has given me pause to reflect on what I do and what I don’t do, reaffirming for me the power of “only do what only you can do”.
As one example, I can coach, train, and mentor businesses, but I don’t do that anymore. Where it is called for, I delegate that to others who are at least as good as me at that work and who are also energised by it. For me, though, I only work with leaders and on leadership (which includes Purpose, Vision, Communications, Leadership, and Strategy), that’s all.