Stuck in everything “Right Now”?
Hi there,
It sucks when your boss wants everything right now from you.
It’s impossible to deliver everything right now.
Not even a robot could do that.
Not even a thousand robots could do that.
So why is this happening to me?
There are two possible reasons for this:
- You have an idiot of a boss
- You are dealing with the leftover problems from the past
Let’s talk about #1. Your boss. And let’s just call it for what it really is.
Your boss is disconnected from reality.
For whatever reason that might be. We don’t care. We can not fix that. Maybe call his parents. 😆
In all seriousness, for some reason, your boss (and most likely his boss, too) continues to set unrealistic expectations.
Most likely, these unrealistic expectations are a syndrome of anxiety and fear. Something is not going as planned, and they are not telling us transparently.
Combined with low (or no) levels of emotional intelligence (usually because of high levels of narcissism), the persona of an impatient child makes itself to the forefront of destiny, which is you.
You are being dealt the temperament of a distressed child.
That persona of a distressed child surfaces when things don’t go well, and no quick fix is in sight.
Worst of all, in business, no plan is in place to lead the organization out of this mess.
Without a plan, it’s sheer chaos.
Here is how you can get back on track:
- Be the adult in the room
- Retain a complete listing of all requests
- Timebox each request
Saying yes to everything doesn’t have to mean you are committed, and you will request more information about each and every request before you commit.
This is critical.
It slows down the mind of your boss just enough for some requests to be moved out of the panic zone.
Note: Saying ‘No’ to your boss, who is in child mode, is professional suicide. Do not do that.
Be the adult and request more information—even time with every “right now” request. Slow down the decision-making process.
Retaining a complete list of ALL requests will help your boss see the complete picture [eventually] and come back to reality and prioritize accordingly. Can’t have all the candies in the store at once.
Timeboxing is a productivity technique. Put each request into a timebox (on your calendar) with a discrete beginning, defined length, and end in mind. How much time will you commit to deeply focus on just this one thing. One request at a time. THIS IS CRUCIAL!!! Do not work on multiple requests simultaneously, or ‘Right-Now’ becomes ‘Yesterday’ and then you will be always late–leading to a PIP and employment loss.
Finally, do not forget to:
- Remember that you are an adult
- Your boss is panicking, and you can not control that; so enjoy the show!
- Retain your sanity at all costs. Find a technique/process by which you ingest every Right-Now request.
And don’t forget: Your boss needs you to get things done. Anything, really. You will not lose your job if you deliver in an orderly fashion and at a high quality. As long as you drop off a candy once in a while, and your boss knows that, your boss will retain you like candy char in the kitchen (aka long-term).
I am hoping this helps to conquer some of your burnout.
Psssssst. 🤫 Forward this article to others who need help.
PS: If you want to know about #2 (leftover problems from the past), email me and I will send you the solution.
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Leadership is hard. We spend a lifetime perfecting to lead teams and organizations with tangible results that change people’s lives.
Let’s make sure we get it right without burning out.
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I have been living in the trenches of a C-suite leader for over 17 years, leading thousands of employees between Startups, PE, and Fortune 50 companies. I am the former SVP and CTO for IBM Watson Health, Chief Architect for Intuit in Silicon Valley, and founder of MoreTalent AI with a successful exit in the 7-figure range. Every newsletter I send out has invaluable insight to help you succeed in your journey.
