Earlier this year I was working with the CEO of a high-growth startup.
In the early stages of our engagement, we were talking about his goals. Toward the end of the conversation, he sheepishly asked, “Can we talk about focus?”
I leaned in, recognizing this was important for him, and said yes.
What came next was a confession about the pain he was experiencing as he tried to focus on his CEO duties, but frequently failed due to a combination of distractions amplified by his overall stress.
His business was growing and many fires needed to be addressed. But, on many days, rather than dive into this work he spent countless hours, checking his phone, browsing social media, and finding ways not to start his mission-critical tasks.
He needed help but thought that social media addiction was too small of a topic for the CEO of a high-growth startup to be struggling with.
So, he was experiencing shame and loneliness as the problem got worse.
What I was able to share with him is that he’s not alone. I work with a number of top CEOs who are under stress and experiencing significant struggles to stay focused in today’s work environment. If you too are struggling with focus, in ways big and small, I hear you. I hope the following post,exploring this issue as well as offering ideas on how to begin to address this in your life is helpful.
The Distraction Epidemic
This client is far from the only CEO I work with who is struggling with focus right now.
In fact, in reviewing the 50+ CEOs I worked with in 2023, more than half named focus as one of their top three priorities to work on and improve.
What’s going on?
Recently, Jeff Bezos, in an interview with Lex Fridman, gave one of the most succinct explanations of what is driving our society-wide challenge with focus. He shared these points:
“Our brains are plastic.”
“When something is convenient we do it.”
“Our phones (where we constantly process short-form content) have become attention-shortening devices.”
(You can find the full interview here with the discussion of focus starting at the 1 hour and 41 minute mark).
The points above are simple but profound and should give pause to any leader who cares about performing at their best in 2024 and beyond.
“Our phones are attention-shortening devices.”
In my work with founders and CEOs I can +1 everything that Jeff detailed above and name a few additional macro changes that are making focus harder for most leaders and employees.
The change to remote/hybrid work means most people don’t have a default consistent work schedule and need to make more frequent decisions about where and how to work each day.
Our adoption of WhatsApp, and Slack vs email as default team communication tools and the normalization of using our phones constantly to receive/send work messages.
The shift toward Zoom meetings (due to hybrid work) has increased screen time and opportunities for distraction.
The rise in global anxiety connected to COVID, the global recession, and the increase in wars and conflict, all of which create emotional responses and distraction.
My first-hand reporting shows that leaders struggling with focus span from neurodivergent leaders who were already diagnosed with ADHD to leaders who traditionally have never struggled with focus. Focus has become more difficult for everyone.
If you want to learn more about the broader global changes undermining our brain’s ability to focus, I recommend listening to this conversation between Ezra Klein and Maryanne Wolf.
What can be done?
Like all improvement goals there is no single solution, and the path to change is dependent on each person’s goals and neurological programming.
What is true is that to grow requires clarity (stating to yourself that Focus is an area you want to improve), motivation (an earnest desire to change), and strategies to drive this change.
Put another way: Change = Clarity + Motivation + Experimentation
Ideas to Experiment With:
Once you are clear in wanting to improve your focus, here are a few suggested experiments you can run all of which have helped in different ways for different of my clients:
Pomodoros. Pomodoros is one of the simplest and most validated ways to help leaders who are are diagnosed with ADHD. Pomodoros is a process whereby you set 25-minute time and commit to completing one specific task in that time. It works because when you get tempted by distraction you know you’ll have a break when the timer goes off to check your phone or explore the idea that popped into your head.
Blocking Focused Time. Blocking time in your calendar to work on your “Top Goal” is a form of ruthless prioritization that is essential for all scale-up leaders to develop. Doing this pushes you to notice and learn what holds you back from actually doing what you say you will do during these blocked-off hours.
Schedule pair-based “focused work.” Similar to how a gym buddy helps with accountability it’s possible to have a focused-work buddy who you meet with on Zoom for an hour to do focused work (an EA or Chief of Staff works great!).
Create a dedicated space in your house or office where you can close the door and be sealed off from noise, interruption, and distraction. One of the hidden consequences of working from home is that it increases the surface area of distraction (whether that comes from curious children, our significant other, pets, chores, or something else). Having a dedicated place away from distractions and negotiating with your partner or housemates not to interrupt you when in that space can help.
In Conclusion:
With any challenge comes opportunity.
As more and more executives struggle to focus, the leaders who develop their capacity for deep work have a competitive edge.
If you have additional questions about focus, partnerships, or coaching, feel free to reach me at nathan@sharpend.co.