Dr. Eric George, Founder and CEO of ERG Enterprises. Nationally recognized thought leader on entrepreneurship, investing and leadership.
As an investor, I encounter entrepreneurs from a variety of industries, each bringing different leadership styles, work habits, philosophies, etc. A key benefit of my position is seeing how these characteristics translate into tangible business results. And it continues to refine my understanding of what makes an effective leader—knowledge I apply to my work as a serial entrepreneur and full-time physician.
Based on my observations and experience, I firmly believe no universal formula exists for effective leadership. Often, success doesn’t require extroversion or introversion but rather an understanding of how well a specific style fits the stage of the business and its context.
Still, certain behaviors and practices can provide essential value for every leader, no matter the individual or circumstance. In this article, I’ll examine two practices in particular that can help drive leadership success, illustrating their importance and offering tips for implementing them. At the very least, they deserve serious consideration when making your resolutions for the New Year.
#1: Protect your time.
Time is finite. We only get 24/7/365 to make things happen—nothing more, nothing less.
As a leader, you never get enough time for everything you want to accomplish. Look no further than the email calendar of the average CEO for proof. Assuming that the immutable laws of nature apply to leaders, too, we need to find more time to protect what we already have at our disposal.
This year, make it a resolution to protect your time. Here are several practices that can help you:
• Trim unnecessary meetings as low-hanging fruit.
A recent study found that leaders spend 36% of their time in meetings. That leaves less than two-thirds of your day to focus on your other priorities that don’t require a formal invite. Make a habit of inventorying your calendar regularly, giving special scrutiny to recurring obligations. Question their ROI and whether asynchronous communication could serve as a viable substitute. Don’t be afraid to cancel what may seem discretionary. Unlike other things in life, meetings can usually be rescheduled.
• Plan religiously.
Protecting your time doesn’t just mean safeguarding it from external sources—it means protecting it from you, too. At the very least, start every day with a clear goal of what you want to accomplish, as well as when, why and how. This should help you minimize non-emergent distractions and time waste.
• Set boundaries.
The CEO of a 200-person company doesn’t just answer to the board, investors, customers and partners—they also answer to the 200 people who depend on their contributions to the business for their livelihood.
The demands on your time are far-reaching—they span across numerous time zones, priorities, motivations and more. Your business will consume you 24/7 if you let it. That’s why it’s important to set boundaries. Block time on your calendar that you want to reserve for getting away from your business for whatever reason (e.g., family time, exercise, meditation, etc.).
Also, encourage your team to do the same. From the top down, preach the importance of protecting your time away from work and not letting the two overlap.
#2: Let your questions do the talking.
Leadership is a discipline centered on absorbing information and applying it intelligently. We ingest data from various sources, process it quickly and act decisively. When interacting with entrepreneurs as an investor, I’m most impressed not by the practiced pitch of a founder but by the quality and quantity of questions they ask.
Listening is an invaluable skill. Even more impressive is the ability to use that information to ask the right questions. To me, asking the “right questions” means finding answers that offer the shortest path to value creation. After nearly three decades as an entrepreneur and investor, I’ve found this capability separates the good leaders from the great—and almost always foreshadows a success story.
Here are a few ways you can prioritize asking the right questions in 2025:
• Coach your team to come prepared for every meeting.
As referenced earlier, we spend more than a third of our time in meetings. In my experience, a large portion of this time is lost due to participants not being fully prepared to contribute.
As the leader, you should set the expectation that your team comes prepared to every meeting. Part of this involves ensuring that each meeting gets assigned a purpose and agenda that is shared with your team beforehand. Another part is ensuring that you enforce this expectation during the meeting itself and call out anyone unprepared.
• Set the agenda and expectations, then speak in questions.
Following the previous tip, start the meeting by reminding everyone about the agenda and expectations—with the latter establishing the realistic aim of achieving a specific outcome. Then, make an effort to speak only in questions. Ask participants to share their thoughts, experiences and ideas. Dig deeper with follow-up questions. Avoid asking questions that lead or confirm bias. You may be surprised at what you learn.
• Redesign recurring meetings for problem-solving and ideation.
Too often, recurring meetings lose value as they become repetitious and inflexible. When they do, they lose the power to encourage critical thought and creativity—the fuel for unlocking new product innovations, process improvements and so on.
Make it a habit to regularly evaluate your recurring meetings and question whether they create the conditions for effective problem-solving and ideation. When they do, redesign their focus, agenda and structure to encourage better engagement and participation. I regularly redesign meetings to incorporate different exercises (e.g., affinity mapping, brainstorming, etc.) to keep my team mentally engaged and present in the moment. This can help create the conditions to ask the right questions.
Take a new approach in the new year.
Effective leadership is as diverse as the individuals who practice it. While no universal formula exists, I’ve found that two behaviors—protecting your time and asking the right questions—consistently drive success.
The best news? They don’t require a major overhaul or drastic change. You can apply them immediately for a successful 2025 and beyond.
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