Lock In, Lock Through, Leadership

0:00Hi, I am Jeannette Linfoot and welcome to Brave Bold Brilliant. This is the channel for leaders, entrepreneurs and anyone who's ready to have bolder conversations about business and growth. So each week I sit down with incredible guests and I also share my own experience from over 30 years of leading global businesses. and we talk about what it really takes to lead with courage, how to build high-performing teams and create real lasting impact in the business world. Now, we don't do fluff here. We talk about the real challenges of leadership and business, the decisions, the pressure, the growth, and how to come out the other side stronger.

0:46Now, if that sounds like your kind of conversation, hit subscribe so you never miss an episode. And if you're ready to go further with mentoring or one of our leadership development programmes or your business strategy, get in touch. The link's below. And remember, let's be brave, let's be bold, let's be brilliant together.

1:10Jeannette Linfoot:What I'm going to talk to you today about is lock-in, lock-through leadership. Now, you may have heard of this or it might be quite a new concept for you. But it was something that I read quite recently, and it was actually inspired by Brené Brown. Now, I'm a big believer that when we hear stuff, or we read an interesting book, or whatever it may be, that when something resonates with us, it's actually really worthwhile to then, you know, share that, but also to take that and say, oh, interesting, how can I apply that model to my own leadership? So lock in, lock through leadership is what we're going to talk about today.

1:49Jeannette Linfoot:And why is it important? Well, you know, why this stuff is important is really because as business leaders, whether you're an entrepreneur, whether you are in the corporate world running a team, whether you're leading a large organization or even, you know, a smaller or mid-sized business, leadership can be messy. Leadership often means that we have to juggle lots of different things at lots of different times. So the whole concept of lock in and lock through is really based on, you know, this adjustment that we need to make between different states during our day. And, you know, there are lots of distractions.

2:30Jeannette Linfoot:Let's be honest. we have a huge amount of incoming noise that actually comes into our world, whether it's social media, whether it's phone calls, emails, alerts on your phone, whatever it may be, we get lots of distractions coming in. So it can be quite hard, actually, to really lock in and focus on certain things. But then when we have busy days and we're in particularly feeling overwhelmed, how do you transition from one state to another state? Now, this may be throughout the course of the day, or it may also be at the end of a working day. All right. So I'm going to share with you the whole concept of where this really inspiration came from, and also how you can apply it to your own leadership, your own business, your own teams.

3:25Jeannette Linfoot:And again, this is really super simple but it was something that when I read it I thought that has really struck a chord with me and I really like to be able to you know pass things on when I actually read something oh that's really that's really great I'm going to apply that to the way that I lead and how I carry myself so you know if you are not following us on social media let's get connected please do You might be watching this on YouTube, our YouTube channel, Brave Bold Brilliant, or listening to it on audio with Spotify or Apple Podcasts. So whichever medium you're actually connecting with us, make sure you hit that subscribe button because it's so important.

4:07Jeannette Linfoot:One, it helps us reach more people and we're here to help as many leaders as possible unlock their brilliant. But it also means that you get notified every time we go live with an episode. And of course, social media is such a great forum for us to stay connected. If you have any challenges that you're working on or opportunities, you know, drop me a DM, send a message, send an email to the team. And don't forget, at our website, www.brave-bold-brilliant.com, there is a whole resource section there for you that is all available for free. so please do make sure you join the community because then we're going to be able to help and support you with your growth as much as possible so let's get into this so when we talk about locking what we're really talking about is having absolute laser-like focus and the word focus actually can stand for follow one course until success because there are a lot of distractions in our world so when you're locking in you really want to be removing those distractions around you so that you can fully concentrate.

5:13Jeannette Linfoot:And there's a couple of techniques I'm going to share with you now which will help you really make sure that you're using your time most effectively and you're getting stuff done in as efficient a way as possible. So one of those techniques is called the Pomodoro Technique. And the Pomodoro Technique is where you work in short, sharp bursts of activity. So, for example, it could be 25 minutes really concentrated work work and a five-minute break or it might be that you're really working on something that requires a longer attention span where you focus in for 50 minutes and then you take a 10-minute break.

5:51Jeannette Linfoot:Now you can get these little apps actually on your phone that sets a timer. It looks like a little tomato. Pomodoro stands for small tomato in Italian and this Pomodoro technique, it can really help keep you focused and achieve more in less time. So that's one little tip for you. I mean, the other thing I would just mention, so you're aware, the human brain is proven through science that the maximum concentration time is 90 minutes, right? And then you need to take a break because we can absolutely end up not being efficient because we stay at things too long. take a screen break get up move around i'm a big believer in energy as well right so when you're locking in lock in fully focus and then have a clear break to allow you to recharge refresh and kind of reset all right so when we lock in that's what we're talking about and when you do it properly you'll be amazed how productive you are when you don't do it properly you'll find that you're not efficient and it takes you a lot longer to get things done and actually the quality of the output isn't so great.

7:02Jeannette Linfoot:So that's the locking part. So what is the lock through? Well let me show you a bit of an analogy. Visualise a picture where we have a barge. Okay think of if you've ever been down to London the Teddington Lock for example and what happens when a barge goes through the through the lock. What a great conversation we're having with this episode. And if you're enjoying this or you feel there's someone in your network that would benefit from hearing this conversation, please make sure that you share the episode with those around you and hit the subscribe button. But most importantly, if you are ready for that next stage of growth in your business, with your teams or for your own leadership.

7:49We're here to help. And at Brave Bold Brilliant, we're building an incredible community of ambitious business leaders. So make sure you check out the website. Go to www.brave-bold-brilliant.com. Now, let's get back to the show.

8:08Jeannette Linfoot:Essentially, the gate's closed behind and the barge or the boat is locked in that area of water for a period of time. And then what happens is the water rises or falls, depending on which direction, to a level that then means the boat can exit onto the higher end or the lower end of the river, right? Now, that lock through part where the boat is in the middle of the lock, that's where the transition happens. so think about a very busy day at work where you've been you know bombarded but you've been locked in you've been achieved a lot but your brain is like frazzled when you get home if you don't lock through properly and decompress before you get there you're bringing that baggage from work with you so i don't know if you've ever felt like that where you know maybe you walk into the house and you know you're just feeling still very much like your head is in work or with whatever you're worrying about at that point of time and then all of a sudden you know you're thrown into the home environment maybe the kids are demanding attention you've got to start cooking dinner whatever it may be and you don't actually feel you've had the chance to transition and so the lock through concept is imagine yourself as that that boat in the lock the waters rising to take you through to the next part of your day or the next tasks that you need to do that takes certain amount of time so um where i actually find this super helpful is having a commute back from from work so you know you literally you close your laptop at the end of the day say right work is done and that for me that drive home allows me to lock through i can process what's gone on with the day.

10:02Jeannette Linfoot:I can mentally make a note as to what I want to focus on the next day. And that means that when I walk in the home, I can be fully present because I've left work behind. So as a leader, both of these concepts are really important. We have to have the ability to lock in, concentrate, focus and get stuff done. And then we have to have the ability to lock through, to leave our work and our business life behind us so we can be fully present in the moment with our loved ones, with our friends, whatever it may be. And the same concept actually works if you're switching between different, very different types of tasks.

10:44Jeannette Linfoot:You might need that decompression space in between. So I love this concept. I think it's super helpful. And actually, it also helped identify for me where I in the past have not allowed enough lock through time and if you're working from home this is even more difficult to do because you're in the same environment so you need to create the space for you to lock through so that might be go for get some fresh air for five minutes it could be change your clothes it could be you know just sit outside with your headphones on for 10-15 minutes, whatever it may be, to create that separation between the two parts of your day.

11:28Jeannette Linfoot:That is when you'll be more effective as a leader. That is when you will have a happy and more content life and most likely relationships as well. Because there's nothing worse than bringing all of that baggage from work and from your business into your home environment, because then you never have the chance to recuperate. And therefore, that makes it much harder for you to be effective the next day as well. So that is the concept. I hope you've enjoyed it. It's something that I've really focused on actually over the last few weeks in particular. And yeah, whatever you're doing today, remember, in order to be your best, you have to be able to lock in and lock through.

12:06Jeannette Linfoot:So apply that concept to your day-to-day work, business, whatever it may be, and I'm sure you'll find it be super effective. So as a gentle reminder Again, if you're not subscribed to our YouTube channel or following us on social media, please let's get connected. Hit the subscribe button. Remember, if you prefer audio, we are on Spotify and also on Apple and Apple podcasts as well. So please do hit subscribe there. And just remember, it is by being brave and bold that you're going to be able to lock in, lock through and therefore unlock your brilliant. Well, that's it for this episode of Brave Bold Brilliant.

12:46Thank you so much for spending this time with me. Now, if today's conversation gave you something to think about, made you think about your own growth and what you can do with your business life, do me a favor, hit subscribe, because then you are going to be notified the moment the next episode drops, and it genuinely helps the show. And it means that you're never going to miss out on conversations that could really change how you lead. And remember, Brave Bold Brilliant, it isn't just a podcast. You know, through our Align 360, Rise Academy, our Leadership Masterminds, Executive Edge programs, and one-to-one business mentoring, we are here to help leaders and businesses, just like you, turn bold ideas into real, measurable growth.

13:37So if you're ready to take the next step, get in touch. The link's below. I'd love to hear from you. So until next time, stay brave, stay bold, and most of all, stay brilliant.