Doesn’t exist, really.

Because if you’re like my clients, you have important decisions to make at all hours of the day (and sometimes night), and many of those decisions come to you without much warning.  Whether it’s a client that’s distressed and needs immediate attention, or project that’s just gone sideways and needs to be put back on track, trying to make decisions only at a certain time of day (as I just heard someone espouse) won’t work.

But.

What you can do is ensure that the decision-maker is in top form.  That means frequent bio breaks and time scheduled between meetings, if only for 10 minutes, to collect your thoughts, breathe, and transition to the next; daily short walks outside to smell the fresh air and perhaps grab a nutritious, energy-fueling bite to eat (ok, yes, chocolate falls into that category for me); weekly strategic thinking time that’s sacrosanct to enable you to be more proactive, which will not only reduce your time running from fire to fire but also give you increased awareness as to which decisions make the biggest impact for you.  If you can include your Chief of Staff or other deputies in that strategic time, better yet.

Decisions that require your best thinking don’t come on a schedule.

But you can create your own calendar of sorts, one that is governed by the inputs that keep you functioning – and leading — at your optimum.

 

Sarah Levitt is a trusted and strategic guide to the c-suite who works with CEOS, senior leaders slated for promotion, and executive leadership teams.  She is the author of the book Magnificent Leadership and consults and speaks to a broad range of clients, including Harvard Kennedy School of Government, BASF Corporation, Ultimate Software, and American Bankers Association.  She is also a coach in the elite Executive MBA program at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

For more on working with me directly, you can reach me at: sarah@sarah-levitt.com  My next openings are in mid-November.

For your 2020 conferences and events you can reach me at: sarah@sarah-levitt.com  My most popular topics: “Magnificent Leadership® – Building Self-Correcting Teams™” and “Magnificent Leadership® – Keys to Success”

New keynote for 2020!  “Magnificent Leadership® in a New Role: Essentials for Success”

And if you haven’t yet read the narratives of extraordinary leaders of all kinds who faced difficult decision-making, you can find your copy of my book on Amazon.

Stay tuned for new ways of working together.  Coming soon.  Some pretty exciting stuff!