Limit Time With the Wrong People – Coaching for Leaders

Carey Nieuwhof: At Your Best

Carey Nieuwhof is a former lawyer, a bestselling leadership author, a podcaster, and the CEO of Carey Nieuwhof Communications. He speaks to leaders around the world about leadership, change, and personal growth. He writes a widely read leadership blog at CareyNieuwhof.com and also hosts the top-rated Carey Nieuwhof Leadership podcast. He’s the author of At Your Best: How to Get Time, Energy, and Priorities Working in Your Favor*.

In this conversation, Carey and I explore the reality that so many of us face in both our personal and professional lives: spending time with the wrong kind of people. We discuss how to notice we’re not helping, how to limit time, and what to do when a conversation needs to happen. Plus, we make the invitation to proactively do what often gets missed: spending time with the right people more consistently.

Key Points

The people who want your time are rarely the people who should have your time.
Many leaders give too much time and attention away to people who aren’t helped by the interaction.
Having a frank conversation with a person who you’re not helping is usually good for both of you.
If you’re not able to limit interactions with the wrong kind of person, line up those interactions outside of your key energy times.
A key way to do better at limiting time with the wrong people is to affirmatively decide to spend time with the right people.