Having trouble picking up the phone?

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Most human beings (except for a few superpeople) experience moments where it's tough to make a phone call. Or perhaps a whole set of calls.

Each of us faces the call that no one else should make. Hiring someone. Firing someone. Delivering bad news to a key stakeholder. A crucial conversation in a negotiation. Saying thank you. Strong leaders earn their keep on these calls.

And then there's the calls I *should* make... but which aren't time sensitive, aren't on any critical path, and require more time and/or emotion than I can find in my schedule.

Here's what trusted friend/consultant and I did a few years ago to get past this internal resistance.

We swapped lists of people we knew we should call but hadn't. She called a client of mine and asked for feedback about a project I’d done for them, what they’d thought of me and my work. I called a connection she’d made at a conference to take his temperature about a potential alliance.

It was surprisingly freeing.

Why I think this worked:

... The accountability ("If she's going to make her calls, I'd better make mine!"),
... Our relationship ("I can't let her down; she needs my help"),
... Our passionate belief in each others’ work,
... Our emotional distance from the people we were calling (and whatever they might say)

We each got what we needed, too.

Successful leaders work with a community or coalition of other professionals. Developed within companies (informal personal networks determine survival, stagnation, or failure for many corporate careers). Nurtured across industries (ex: professional associations). Gathered around communities of interest. Rallied around specific issues or even charismatic personalities. Whatever the glue may be, it takes relationships to get things done. Because most of us really don't want to do everything.

Look at your to-do list. Can you arrange a swap with a trusted colleague to do things you've been avoiding?