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The last comment made me wonder - if one is a Director in a smaller startup (where they have a lot of individual contributor -like tasks, and the need to relationship-build and then also spend time to focus and catch up on things that their directs need from them…) how do they do that in a non-anxious way? Or does the next level mean one is signing up for the extra workload for the extra compensation? It seems like something must give, including hours in the 24 hour day.

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prioritization! yes, some things should get delegated. some balls should be dropped (low impact). some times your directs might be able to figure it out if you give them a bit more rope.

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As always, thanks not for the high level… and also actionable steps. It’s making me realize that in project meetings I have, I need to minimize “next steps” that are always action items that I take on that others could just as well.

I also notice in other meetings with people one level up (Directors), they’re really trying not to take on next steps unless no one else can do it other than them. And this crosses gender lines too (male and female directors aren’t taking on scheduling of follow up meetings…).

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exactly. prioritize and be protective of your time. Make sure it's spend on the highest impact tasks (which are probably not the ones that anyone can do). I have a related post on Non-promotable tasks that might interest you: https://yuezhao.substack.com/p/how-to-say-no-to-non-promotable-tasks

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