Whitney recently joined Kristie Stocker on KristieTV’s YouTube show Adventures in Leadership for a conversation about “How to Lead in a Time Crunch.” On Adventures in Leadership, Kristie interviews driven professionals from around the world who share expert insights, motivation, and success strategies to help leaders succeed. In the conversation, Whitney talked about why time management is so important for leaders and shared tangible strategies to help leaders take back their time and their lives.

Why is time management so important for leaders?

Over the years, Whitney has seen so many leaders who work hard and make so many sacrifices but aren’t where they want to be in their careers or in their lives. They have big ideas and big goals, but instead of making the impact they want to make and living the life they want to live, they feel like they’re being pulled in a million different directions. After seeing so many high-potential leaders in action, Whitney observed that the biggest struggle for leaders when it comes to time management is that they’re not managing their time at all. 

Whitney says leadership is about service and people constantly look to leaders for solutions, for guidance, and for help in achieving their goals. When everyone in your life, from your organization to your friends and family, wants your help accomplishing what they want to get done, you can lose sight of yourself. From her experience working with high-potential leaders, Whitney recognized that so many leaders focus on putting out fires and tackling things as they come instead of taking a step back to get clear on their goals. Without that clarity, it’s impossible to figure out where you want to be and how to build a path to get there. 

When leaders are in survival mode, they end up reacting to each situation as it comes instead of proactively using their time to achieve their most important goals. Survival mode also leads to feeling anxious, stressed, exhausted, and demoralized. You can put all your time and effort into getting things done, but if you’re not taking care of yourself, your purpose, and your ability to focus, you won’t be accomplishing the things that matter to you most. When you take back your time, you get to control your time instead of letting it control you. 

When you take back your time, you’ll be able to move with purpose, be a better leader, and show up in the most important areas of your life, from your career to your relationships. Stop reacting to fires and start taking proactive steps to manage your time and get on track to achieve the outcomes that matter to you most. 

Check out the video to see the full conversation.