It killed me to write that title as this goes against everything I naturally think, but stay with me for a minute.
I was taking advantage of the unseasonably warm December weather and removing the Christmas lights earlier than normal. I really did not want to pull out my adjustable ladder and set it up so I grabbed my quick folding three step ladder. 
In all the years of hanging the lights I had never used this ladder because I thought it would take longer. I was wrong! Not only could I move the ladder quickly, but with a little creative thinking I avoided needing my clunky adjustable ladder at all.
Midway through this process of taking down the lights I realized being lazy served me well in this instance. Before I go further let me clarify that nothing replaces hard work, persistence, and quality work, but maybe laziness aligned with high standards has a role in leadership. Additionally, if leaders proactively engage the “lazy” people on their team they may find the following hidden strengths.
Creativity
At times the lazy people around us may not be complete bums, but are more relational and creative. They value spending time with people and building relationships a little more than completing tasks. This could be a strength because assuming they still value high quality work, they will find creative ways to accomplish the work in as little time as possible.
Leaders value quality and want to be successful. Could there be someone on the team who appears lazy, but is very creative? They will create innovative ways to accomplish the work so they can also quickly engage in other available opportunities.
Efficiency
No leader wants to waste time on an initiative and those perceived as lazy want to get the work accomplished as quickly as possible. I didn’t want to spend a lot of time taking down the Christmas lights, so I chose the ladder that was quicker to set up and move, but still get the needed results.
As leaders if we provide clear expectations and a clear vision of what the final product should look like then we equip those who are “lazy” with the parameters to efficiently get results. The leader simply must get out of the way!
Teamwork
We have all experienced a project we must but did not want to do. We all want hard workers, but sometimes they try to do everything and fail to involve others. This is where laziness becomes a strength. If the lazy person focuses on what he or she does well and builds a supporting team to get the work done creatively and efficiently in all the other areas he or she does not excel in, then the results are better. Multiple minds working together create a better result.
As I said before I am not advocating laziness as a habit, but slowing down to what may feel like a lazy pace or tapping into those less driven individuals can potentially be beneficial. Who is a “lazy” person that may be a hidden leader on your team? How can being “lazy” occasionally help you become a better leader? Comment below.
Work hard, stay disciplined, allow a little intentional laziness and lead well.
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