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It’s late, you’re tired, and your inbox is still overflowing with unread messages. This is the moment where you decide whether it’s better to power through or power down.
On the one hand, you could power through in order to stay on top of things. There is value in that approach because maintaining control limits stress. Further, for better or worse, business rewards productivity. On the other hand, you could power down to maintain sanity. There is value here in that rest and recovery are critical for maintaining one’s well-being. Further, it prevents burnout, which is connected to major episodes of productivity derailment. So what should you choose? Typically, our personal characteristics drive this decision. Things like personality, motivation, and the like. What we should be incorporating into this decision are situational elements. Can certain people wait for your response? What does your calendar look like over the next few days? How have you been doing lately on sleep, stress, and overall well-being? When in these moments of deciding whether to power through or power down, consider the context and implications of your decision. When it comes to leadership, we are inundated with contradicting suggestions on "what" to do.
We should have executive presence, but we should also be a humble leader. We should be proactive, but we should also have a clear goal in mind before taking action. So which is it? The more accurate (and more helpful) answer is that it depends on the situation. This is the "when." Don't oversimplify. Add context. Challenge yourself to think through the when, not just the what. |
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