The Lazy Genius Way author, Kendra Adachi, is an Enneagram 1 and a former perfectionist who eventually had to give up on the notion that she had to be a genius about everything.
She gives practical advice on how to surrender the belief that you have to excel at everything you do, shows you how to decide what to become a genius at, what to be lazy about and how to dismiss the negative voices in your head.
Welcome to Episode 439 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.
Plus, in this episode’s Ask Me Anything About Productivity segment, Carey answers Mzwandile’s question about how to measure emotional productivity.
Have a question about productivity? Let Carey coach you. Leave your message here!
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World Vision
The deepest truths about living like Jesus often come from leaders who are suffering, persecuted, and living in a hostile environment.
And through the beatitudes in Matthew 5, we know that people in difficult circumstances like these are often the closest to living like Jesus did.
World Vision invites you to listen to voices of leaders from around the world! Leaders who have used their suffering and persecution to build and strengthen their faith.
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Sign up today at worldvision.org/carey.
Conversation Links
The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi
Inspiring Insights: Well-being and resilience in senior leaders (Deloitte study)
Kendra Adachi on the Typology Podcast
At Your Best by Carey Nieuwhof
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Insights From Kendra
1. You can’t be all things to all people
As an organization, if you have too many initiatives, you can really confuse your team and your customers. Sure, you think, “Let’s be the best at this! And the best at that! And the best with this!” But when you try to do all of these things, it can muddy the mission. Your team may say, “Wait, what is it we do here?”
Ask yourself, “What matters most?” When you prioritize what matters most, it helps clarify all your decisions.
2. Let someone else be a genius about what you’re lazy at
You can’t be a genius about everything. You sure can try, but it will likely exhaust you.
A better approach, Kendra suggests, is to let others be a genius about what you’re lazy at. Don’t like mowing the yard? Let a landscaper do that. Wish you were a master gardener (but you’re not) and could grow your own tomatoes? Get your produce from the farmer’s market. When you let go of being a genius about things you aren’t, you allow others to focus on their giftings, and you can spend more time being a genius about the things you do well.
3. Schedule rest
When you’re in charge of a business or your church, overworking is often rewarded. We glamorize the hustle. Or, maybe we put the pressure on ourselves—because if we’re not doing the extra work to build our businesses or grow our organizations, who else is?
But, when you aren’t rested, your team is likely not getting your best. And your team needs you. This is why Kendra suggests you schedule rest so that you’re guaranteed to do it. Because when you are a rested leader, you are a better leader.
Hear Carey and Kendra discuss more of her Lazy Genius Principles in the episode.
Quotes from Episode 439
We're not comfortable with what we have to offer not being for everyone. - Kendra Adachi Click To Tweet Not everything can matter to everyone. - Kendra Adachi Click To Tweet We know that not everything can matter to everyone, but we sure try really hard to make everything matter. - Kendra Adachi Click To Tweet What's the worst that can happen if you pick the wrong thing? Well, you stop and you pick a different thing. - Kendra Adachi Click To Tweet When you name what matters most, it lets everything else fall in line. - Kendra Adachi Click To Tweet We all have stories, and we all have hurt that we probably don't know we're carrying. - Kendra Adachi Click To Tweet We all have lenses that we see the world through based on things that have happened to us before. - Kendra Adachi Click To Tweet A lazy genius is someone who is a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't, but to them individually. - Kendra Adachi Click To Tweet All humans have a critical voice in our head, but a perfectionist has a particular poison in the critical voice. Click To Tweet Productivity is about more than just, ‘Did you crush it at work?’ Click To Tweet If you're crushing it at work but losing at home, you're losing. Click To Tweet Emotional health means you are feeling the good parts of life and the bad parts of life. Click To Tweet A common feeling for people who are burned out is you feel numb. Click To Tweet When you get margin in your life, you'll be able to disentangle some of the mess that is inside you. Click To TweetRead or Download the Transcript for Episode 439
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Next Episode: John Mark Comer
John Mark Comer returns to the podcast to update what’s happening in this cultural moment, why so many people inside and outside the church keep falling for cultural lies about sex, truth, freedom and culture, why the political left and right ultimately fail, and points to the way forward for the church.
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