RESET = A must do everyday, many times a day

Resetting repeatedly can make you a more effective and present leader

While many leaders want to reset or reboot themselves during their work days, only a few actually do it. In one of my previous articles, I had briefly mentioned how Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO of India based fintech company Paytm, resets himself before every meeting and every conversation. 

Many times when we hear the word resetting, we associate it with complete overhauls or hard resets of challenging stuff like culture, goals and org structures, but soft resets are actually the kind of reset that are needed more frequently—maybe many times a day. 

In one of my previous organizations where I was managing multiple teams, I used to have two monthly business reviews back to back on the first Tuesday of the month. The first business review used to make me feel very low as we were repeatedly missing our goals there. It quickly became one of those meetings which I didn’t enjoy much. Soon I realized that this business review would have an impact on the subsequent business review as I would carry emotions from the first meeting into the next one. And, just because of my lack of mindfulness, the environment in the second review would become sub-optimal.

I knew that I had to be present in the second meeting and for that I needed to reset myself intentionally every time I entered the meeting. And once I started doing that the quality of conversation really went up.

All Leaders Need to Reset, You Just Need to Know How

In my experience, almost all leaders need to reset themselves and the ones who learn to reset effectively, are able to make the most of their time with their stakeholders. It might sound tough, but simple activities can help you reset yourself.

Here are some very quick ways that you can use on an everyday basis:

• A short mindfulness meditation session: Something as quick as a minute long mindful meditation can help you completely recenter yourself. Further, meditation also helps you be more aware and provides greater clarity of thought for decision making. Apps like Headspace and Calm can assist you in this!

• Go for short walks: A short walk around the office or to the cafeteria for a quick coffee can actually help you get out of the zone and help clear the clutter on your mind. Or maybe around the house if you are working from home!

• Meeting management: I tend to put some time between two meetings if possible. Easier said than done, but using a simple tool like smart meeting feature by Google has really helped me manage my time better.

• Intentional work blocks: If your work requires you to be in multiple meetings in a day, try putting some intentional work blocks so that you can get some alone time to complete your pending tasks and reset along the way  

• Admit that you need to reset: I remember one of my previous managers walking in a meeting room and telling the attendees that they need to reset themselves. Just taking a minute off and preparing yourself to get ready for the meeting instead of starting it without complete attention can set the room up for success! 

Reset & Repeat! 

I can’t stress the importance of these soft resets. There is no one way of resetting- find what works for you and implement it to see the quality of your work go up!

Do you use any such techniques to reset yourself? Mine is sipping a few sips of black coffee in my favorite coffee mug during the short breaks in between meetings. What’s yours?