Prioritize Like a Pro: The One Question Every Leader Should Ask

I was recently on a leadership coaching call. The leader on the other side of the conversation does a great job in a challenging situation. Nine months ago, he made some necessary decisions, but they came with consequences.

He’s now working to rebuild portions of the organization and team.

When we met, his first question was, “How should I prioritize my time?”

Great question.

The Leadership Dilemma: Too Much to Do

Leadership isn’t easy. If it were, everyone would do it.

One complication of leadership is the sheer amount of tasks compared to the time available to complete them. No leader can get to everything, especially in a growing or rebuilding season.

So, how do you prioritize your time and energy?

Our temptation is to list all the things we need to do or could do and then prioritize based on what we feel is most important.

Here’s the problem: That approach can lead to prioritizing pet projects, favorite people, or low-hanging fruit. Perhaps a pet project should be highly prioritized, but how do you know?

You need a starting standard to remove your intrinsic bias. Something that cuts through the options and opportunities for you. A clarifying question to reveal what really matters.

The One Question That Clarifies Your Priorities

While working with this leader, I asked him to list all the things he could do, wanted to do, felt he should do, and felt others expected him to do.

That’s a pretty long list.

Then I asked him to filter the list through one question: