A thought about strategy...

I've returned to a corporate recruiting leadership role. And you know what? I've been thinking a lot about strategy lately.

I've been helping companies with recruiting strategy for years...and even have an extensive recruiting manager/leader strategy training program put together. You know what's missing? Something simple. And obvious.

The most strategic decisions you make everyday as a recruiting leader has very little to do with how you organize your team, how you build your social media presence, or how you engage the business. The most strategic decisions you'll probably make today, this week, this month are simply the decisions you make about where you spend your time.

If you're in a corporate role, you can spend an entire day in meetings, in one-on-ones, on the phone with vendors, or - more likely - putting out fires.

Where you choose (yes, choose! you are in control!) to spend your time is your strategy.

As a recruiting leader in this economy, you probably don't have all of the resources and budget you need to do everything. How you prioritize your time - not what you say is important, but what you actually invest your time in - will likely predict your success (and your function's or company's success) more than almost any other type of decision you make.

• Where are you spending your time now?
• Are you declining enough meetings?
  
• Are you saying no to some short term fires to ensure you have a real plan in place?
  
• Are you investing enough time engaging the business to understand their needs, or are you in HR meetings all day?

I can speak from experience that it's easy to get sucked into too many meetings.

What are your ideas to stay focused on what matters most? What's your strategy for ensuring you get to what really moves the needle? How do you rise above the noise to ensure you're leading? I'd love to hear your thoughts.