Stop being busy doing nothing!?
But how, you wonder ...
It's simple, TRUST YOUR TEAM ...
Well, it’s not quite that simple, of course …
Hi, my name is Marko van Gaans and as the self-assigned Philosopher-in-Residence here at Wu-Wei XP, I spend my days pondering that question:
How to stop being busy doing nothing?
You know what it’s like, you’re always in a hurry, running after the facts, as nobody seems to be able to communicate effectively anymore. And you’re always explaining the same things over and over again… but you never seem to get people to do things the way you want them done. To get things done properly, you just gonna have to do them yourself!
But why is that? And should you really?
To be honest, you know how it’s really hard to trust your staff enough to delegate your responsibilities and so you often end up micro-managing them? Well, that’s why… and that’s also why the ‘simple’ answer is to trust your team.
But how then, I can hear you think. How do you find that trust and
how do you delegate your work responsibly?
Those are good questions, let me see if I can give you an answer which might satisfy you. First trust, the way I see it, we trust people we know and like so the real question here is do you really know your staff? (Liking them is quite a different concept all together )
Do you know your staff beyond their CV-levels? Do you know what makes them tick and intrinsically motivates them to think beyond their paycheck? And do they know you? This is essential because trust is really nothing more than a narrow two-way alley.
Then delegation. When it comes to delegating your responsibilities, you probably fear your staff won’t do things the way you would have done them and, in the same way, your staff worry that they don’t really know how to do what you want them to do. But unless you empower your team, you’ll end up doing all the work yourself. That’s being busy, even if it’s not quite being busy doing nothing. The real issue here is that both managers and their subordinates tend to see delegation as a binary option, either you delegate or you don’t. This is not true though, there’s a whole array of options in between.
All this sounds complex to you? Well, that’s because it is. As a manager today, you are expected to be a servant leader and complexity thinker but, even if you obtained an MBA from a prestigious business school, you were probably never really taught how to actually be one.
So now what?
One of the most famous quotes from the Daodejing, the venerable text from which the ancient concept of wu-wei stems, is that: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with just a single step.”
However, assuming you won’t have the time for such a long journey, I’ve simplified to process to three easy steps:

Schedule a Discovery Call

Let me do my thing!

Experience the results
As you can see, the first step is to schedule a free video discovery call. You can do this by simply clicking the “Let’s Get Started” button below. This initial call will take about half an hour. I will provide you with a short questionnaire once you’ve scheduled your booking so you can prepare for the call ahead of time. The questions are basic, but it’s important that I’m able to clearly identify your current situation and vision for the future before committing to a coaching or consulting relationship and helping you (and/or your team) steam ahead.
Upcoming Executive Retreat
Executive Coaching
On a case-to-case basis, I select senior business leaders for my one-on-one exclusive Executive Coaching Service. Please be aware that my coaching style is bold and disruptive as the ancient Chinese concept of wu-wei (non-action)Â will permeate all of my advice and recommendations.
"Nothing looks the same anymore..."
In-House Staff Training
To help corporate executives and managers of all pay grades lead their teams into the Creative Economy of today, I facilitate a variety of intense, engaging and experiential workshops created around strategic, creative, design and complexity thinking skills.
"Take it from me, book Marko ... TODAY!"
Executive Retreats
My exclusive executive retreats act as a temporary exotic and action-packed getaway for members of the C-Suite to leave the daily grind and clear their heads. After attending an executive retreat, participants will return to the office, armed with an arsenal of valuable tools and techniques; ready to take on the world with a renewed sense of vigour and vision.