Coaching A Quadrant Two Experience
Successful people are not always busy, and busy people are not always successful. But people who spend time reflecting, planning, clarifying values and spiritually renewing, know the difference between success and busyness.
It was Stephen Covey of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People fame who made famous the concept of Quadrant II behaviour. He taught that quadrant II activities are those important, but not urgent things – like planning, relationship building, values clarification, personal recreation, professional development, spiritual renewal etc.- that lead to success in life. Successful leaders typically spend more time in quadrant II activities than other leaders.
We see the quadrant II principle at work in the prayer life of great spiritual leaders of history. Martin Luther once said, “I have so much to do that I cannot possibly get by on less than three hours of prayer a day.” Mother Teresa ordered her nuns to pray for several hours every day — otherwise, she said, “..they wouldn’t have the strength to do their work.” Spending good amounts of time in Quadrant II enables us to work more effectively and with greater purpose.
Unlike quadrant 1 – the urgent and important, quadrant II requires a choice. Quadrant II does not act on us like quadrant 1 does; we must act on it. It requires discipline and planning if one is going to preserve this important activity of their life.
How easy is it for ministry to overwhelm us, to consume us and to exhaust us! Too much quadrant I and III can burn us out. Often we deceive ourselves into thinking that quadrant III, urgent-not important, is quadrant I activity. This deception can lead to ineffectiveness and burnout. Quadrant II activity helps to sort out quadrant III confusion.
Committing to a coaching relationship is one of the most effective ways by which to increase the amount of ‘Quadrant II’ time in your life. Every time a client meets with their coach they will spend some time discussing quadrant II issues no matter how busy they may be. The discipline of meeting on a regular basis with a coach helps maintain or increase quadrant II activity.
Increase Your Quadrant II
The following ideas are designed to increase the amount of quadrant II time in your life.
- Start the day with a walk with God. (Do it for six weeks and it will become a habit.)
- Spend the first hour each Monday morning planning your week.
- Turn the radio off and play a spiritual music CD as you drive to work.
- Spend one lunchtime a week with a colleague catching up on their life.
- Send an email at the end of each day to one person you have not communicated with for at least a month.
- Spend half an hour each day talking with your partner.
- Once a month talk with a friend or a coach about your ministry etc.
- Spend a day, with your coach or friend, at the start of the year reviewing your personal mission statement.