The Full Stack Leader

By Jen Dary, founder & CEO at Plucky:

TL;DR Don’t take everything on at once—solve the right problems at the right time.

If you’re in a season of great change at work, don’t throw yourself into a bidding war for a new house while changing schools for your kid while adopting a couple of puppies. Be mindful about your choices because they are all entwined.

Check in with yourself every few months or, at a minimum, when a new opportunity presents itself at or outside of work. Genuinely ask: what do I need from work these days? What do I not need? Then move forward accordingly.

Part of being a grown-up leader is being self-aware enough to solve the right problems with the right kinds of solutions.

My take: Great advice! Leads to self-reflection.

Time management. How does this change my approach to accepting new opportunities or taking on more at work? Can’t move with the speed and quality on a dozen things at once. Maybe just pick one or two best-fit projects and give them 100% of my effort.

General manager view. What might improve if I reduce work-in-progress and focus? What better performance is needed and what does this require of which activities?