[5-min leadership] Having Solitude

Many experts argue that effective modern leaders must be “thinkers,” those who can take time in solitude to consider what should be done and – and perhaps more importantly – why.

Thinkers who question the routine can formulate new ideas and directions with independence, creativity, and flexibility.

Successful leaders today must have the courage to argue for ideas that may not be popular.

This can only be achieved if the leader takes their own counsel, and in the end, comes to a final decision.

Many people might think solitude and leadership are contradictions.

In reality, solitude is the essence of leadership.

No matter how many people the leader consults, he or she is the one who ultimately must have the courage to make a hard decision. This requires concentration and the ability to focus on one issue long enough to develop an idea about it.

In the nineteenth century it was relatively easy for a leader to find solitude anytime they wanted to concentrate on a problem.

Today leaders are saturated continuously with information, questions, and entertainment from a variety of electronic sources. Society did not make a conscious decision to surrender the bulk of its time to texting, tweeting, and staring at a screen. However, the reality is that we are always connected and easily fall victim to endless scrolling. Therefore, creating time for intentional reflection is critical for leaders to identify and solve pressing issues.

It is difficult in our modern culture, but today’s leaders need to mark off sixty to ninety minutes daily for “time to think.”

A leader can make it known that he or she does not text and only checks email periodically—or at a certain point during the workday—and will neither write nor respond to emails on weekends.

This approach will not occur without cost. Emails will go unanswered for hours rather than minutes, subordinates might have to wait for meetings with the boss, and other meetings may be postponed.

But scheduling a time to think and reflect is not a zero-sum game.

Fundamentally, a leader must decide whether reflection and hard analytical work are important.

Or, if they will continue to succumb to the day-to-day distractions.