Leadership Mindset: Know the Three Things Only You Can Do
Article 2 in the Leadership in Real Life series.
Jennifer Youngblood
4/23/20262 min read
For most of my career I struggled with an overfull calendar and competing priorities.
In every job, I was doing a lot. But I wasn't sure I was focusing on the right things.
A mentor changed everything with one question. She had been in my corner for decades, a very senior officer I'd worked alongside since I was a young analyst. When she put this question to me, it landed differently than most feedback does. Not because it was hard to hear. Because it was so obvious, and I couldn't believe no one had ever said it before.
“What are the three things only you can do in this role?”
I had organized my work around my task list. The things my managers had told me must be done. The things I'd learned needed to be done. I had never once approached it from this angle.
Not what I could do.
Not what I've always done.
What only I can do.
It usually comes down to things like: setting direction, making key decisions, removing barriers, building the relationships only your role can build, driving the cultural changes that your team needs the most.
Everything else? Someone else can do it. And often, should.
The question does two things at once. It protects your highest-leverage work. And it forces you to think in strategic priorities and get beyond your to-do list. It switches your perspective from ‘busy leader’ to ‘strategic leader.’
When leaders don't make this distinction, they become a bottleneck. The team slows down around them, and the real work may not get done.
When they do, something shifts. The team grows. Ownership expands. And the leader can actually lead.
If your days feel full but not focused, it might be time to ask the question.
Your three things won’t look like anyone else’s, or like your three things in your last job. And that is the point.
What’s one thing on your plate right now that probably belongs to someone else?
Leadership in Real Life. Leadership Mindset: Know the Three Things Only You Can Do
#Leadership #ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipDevelopment #LeadershipMindset