Why Your Perception of Time Is Making You Less Successful as a Humanitarian and International Development Leader

How might your perspective of time prevent you from making a greatest impact?

Learn the secret to gaining more time as a humanitarian and development leader in today’s quick quote episode inspired by this quote:

"Time is a created thing - to say, “I don’t have time” is to say “I don't want to.” - Lao Tzu (Laou Stzuh), Chinese philosopher and writer

Listen now to find out how your perspective of time is affecting your performance!

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FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Why Your Perception of Time Is Making You Less Successful as a Humanitarian and International Development Leader

How might your perspective of time postpone actions that actually could have the greatest impact?

Welcome to The Modern Humanitarian and Development Leader podcast, the podcast helping humanitarian and development supervisors make a greater impact by taking control of your time, leading more inclusively and empowering your team all the while avoiding stress, burnout, and overwhelm. I'm your host, leadership coach and former aid worker, Torrey Peace.

Are you ready? Let's get started.

Hello, my aspiring modern humanitarian and development leaders. So today's quote is by Lao Tzu. I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly. A Chinese philosopher and writer. And the quote is: "time is a created thing to say, I don't have time is to say, I don't want to." So, let me repeat that one more time. "Time is a created thing. To say, I don't have time is to say, I don't want to."

I think this quote captures how many times we think not having time is a fact. The fact being there is no time. But what does that really mean? I remember coaching a leader who insisted that he did not have time to coach his team. And when we dug into that a little further, he realized not that he didn't have the time. But that he was prioritizing certain things over other things.

The other things being coaching. So when we say we have no time, that is actually not a fact. We always have time. We are just choosing not to use it for one thing over another. It means we are prioritizing something that we are doing or that we want to do over something else. We are choosing to not have time. So let's take another example. Perhaps you are waiting until you have more time to take a digital course. Maybe you even have a lot of projects or proposals that you're working on. So your time is spent doing those things and you feel like you just don't have time for a course.

I think we've all been there. But if you really had to, or wanted to take the course or you were required or told to take it, you would make time for it. If you really prioritized it, you would shuffle things in your schedule or delegate or find a way to make it happen. It's not that you would be doing all of the things it's that you would make sure you prioritize certain things. So in that sense, you do have the time. You are just choosing not to make time for the course, at least not right now. So the more we see our time as something that we have control over the more we can be in control over it. We are always prioritizing one thing over another. It is something that we do even subconsciously without even noticing it.

We're making decisions constantly about how we use our time. It's not that we don't have time for a digital course, for example, it's that we are choosing not to make time for it. So the Modern Humanitarian and Development Leader understands this way of thinking. That is, they understand that they have control over their time and they take responsibility for how they are using it. This means they prioritize or make time for things that have the most impact. And not doing or de prioritizing the things that don't make an impact or don't lead them to where they want to go. As long as you believe that you don't have control over your time, or that you don't have the time, then you will be a victim of your time instead of a master of it. This also means that you will be a victim to other people's agendas and to do lists, and guess what? They will ask you to prioritize what they want to do. And what is best for them. And not always what's best for you. So like in Lao Tzu's quote, it is an illusion that we don't have time. Even when we feel there's a consequence for not doing something.

So for example, if you have to do something or you're obligated to do it, You will be more likely to find time for it. If your supervisor to tells you to do something, you'll be more likely to prioritize that thing. But think of all the times you have not had time for going to dinner with friends. But you make time instead for writing a proposal.

This is a choice that we are making. If your family member was sick or your friend was sick, you would hopefully prioritize them over your work. You wouldn't say, oh, I'm sorry. I have this proposal. I don't have time to help you. So, how often are you saying you don't have time to things that could actually help you make a greater impact and grow as a leader? And how can you let go of the things that don't make an impact and choose what you want to do over what you think you have to do? All right, that's it for this episode next week on Monday, which of the two primary leadership styles do you most often follow? And how might yours be impacting your team's performance?

Find out Monday and until then keep evolving. Bye for now.

Are you the type of leader that tells others what to do? Or do you let them figure it out for themselves? Understanding your leadership style is the first step to deciding what's working for you and what's not. To find out your leadership style, take my free quiz. What is your leadership style? You'll immediately find out your default style, how it may be impacting your team, and a few practical ways to become an even better leader.

Just click on the link in the show notes, www.aidforaidworkers.com/quiz, fill out your quiz and click submit. So what are you waiting for? Go to www.aidforaidworkers.com/quiz and discover your leadership style now. Your team will thank you for it.