The Power of Trade-offs

Around August every year, I’m reminded of the power of making trade-offs. You see, I take a month off every summer (actually five weeks). And, yes, I get a lot of “you do WHAT?” from clients, friends and colleagues alike as they first react to the audacity of taking that much time off. Incredulity quickly transforms to curiosity as the next reaction is typically “How do you do that?” My answer is quite simple: it’s all about priorities and making trade-offs.

Prioritization is just a nicer way of saying that you have to make trade-offs. With all the hoopla over the years about having it all and whether it’s possible or not (regardless of your gender, by the way), I’m intrigued by the fact that so many resist the notion of making trade-offs, as if it means defeat in some way. And I’m left to wonder, “Can you truly lead your organization effectively if you can’t lead with priorities in your own life?”

Take Andy, for example, who is the COO of an investment management firm. When I first started coaching Andy, he made it very clear that he needed to figure out how to operate at this senior level where the scope and scale of impact was much broader. I asked Andy to make a list of what was important to him personally and professionally. The list was two pages long. “Andy,” I said, “My question was what’s most important – not everything you think you should do.” It was no surprise to me that just as much as Andy struggled to lay out priorities in his personal life, he was challenged with making the tough choices at work about where to focus his and his team’s energy. As a result, he and his team ran very hard but never felt like they were accomplishing anything at the level that they’d like.

While much has been written about time management, energy management, strategic prioritization, here’s a quick and dirty back of the envelope way to make priorities work for you, both personally and professionally.

1. Name your trade-offs. I can empathize with those who feel like everything on your list is important. It probably is. But can you circle the ones that are most important. Peter Bregman, in his book “18 Minutes”, describes our reticence to choose priorities as the “buffet challenge” – – there are so many good things to choose from, all for one price, that we don’t choose. Instead, we try to do it all. The answer (as it is for the buffet) is to choose a few things. Bregman suggests listing 3-5 things you’ll focus on for a year and spending 90% of your time in support of those areas. This requires determining what doesn’t fit on your plate anymore and leaving it at the buffet for someone else to eat.
2. Own your trade-offs. Making decisions about what to focus on and what not to focus on can be tough. What if you pick the “wrong” things? What will you give up? What will others think? What if you’re not happy with the outcome? You need to make your choices without judgment and without the fear of being judged for the choice you make. You are the one who will need to live with and deliver on that priority so the number one person who needs to fully believe in it and embrace it is you.
3. Create guardrails. When you’re taking a long drive down a highway, it’s easy to get distracted by other things which then take our mind off the road. Thank goodness for guardrails that get us back in line. Having guardrails to keep you from straying off the path on your priorities is critical too. For example, Andy chose developing his team’s bench strength as one of his priorities. A guardrail which kept him in line with this priority was having monthly development discussions with each of his direct report. One of my clients had “making his wife feel special” as a priority. He mapped out a whole year of monthly surprises of things she enjoyed – – flowers, spa visit, a babysitter – – that supported his choice.
4. Get alignment. Whether personally or professionally, make sure you get those important to you to buy into your priorities. If not, it will be a tough lonely road ahead to stay the course. On the personal front, make sure your significant other, kids or friends are supportive of the choices. It’s hard to choose “taking care of my health” as a priority and have your whole family scowling every time you say you’re heading out for a workout. Pat Lencioni does a fabulous job in his book “The Three Questions of a Frantic Family” outlining how to get families to rally around core priorities. Likewise, aligning your team, boss and key stakeholders on key business priorities is critical especially when you are in a leadership position. Without their buy in, it will be difficult to achieve the results you set out.

Bottom-line: while it’s not easy to make tradeoffs, it’s imperative. Make it part of your regular routine to reflect, recalibrate and reengage in your priorities. Over time you’ll find that, both in and out of work, the act of making trade-offs will serve you, and those around you, well.

Now, as for those five weeks off… For me, having memorable life experiences with my family, seeing the world and being able to substantively recharge periodically for work are up there on my list of paramount priorities. One of my guardrails, an awesome one I’ll admit, is taking a month “off the grid” to travel every year with my family. While this requires me to say “no” to other financial wants and time commitments, it enables me to say “yes” to the things that enable and inspire me to be the best leader I can be – both personally and professionally. That’s my trade-off in a nutshell. What’s yours?

– Muriel Maignan Wilkins