“Time once lost, can never be recovered.”    Geoffrey Chaucer en-route to Canterbury

Time is a resource. According to Peter Drucker “Time is the scarcest resource. Unless it is managed, nothing can be managed.” An effective manager make decisions everyday on how to use their time to achieve results that matter.   This involves goal setting, planning, prioritisation, saying “no”, effective communication and delegation and managing time wasting activities.

Goal Setting and Planning

Follow Stephen Covey’s advice and “Begin with the end in mind” (Covey, 1999).   If you don’t know where you are going, you may be busy all day however you won’t achieve very much.   Determine what you want to achieve by the end of the year, quarter, month and why.   This will give you direction and focus your attention on the important things rather than reacting to what lands on your desk and other people’s request.   If you fail to plan your time, then expect that someone else will plan and fill it for you.

• Know what you must achieve by the end of every month and why it is important to achieve it.
• Plan steps to get you there.   For example, what must be completed/in place by end of week 3, end of week 2, end of week 1 to deliver the desired results?
• Schedule in the tasks and activities into your diary system and allocate a time. Mark it as a MUST Do task for that day. Build in contingency time as tasks may take longer to complete than expected.
• Identify tasks that you can delegate and to whom.   Plan time to delegate the task effectively.

Create and follow a prioritised To-Do-List

To-do-lists are an essential time management tool, if they are used well.   Write a prioritised to-do-list at the end of every day.   This way you get to review what you have achieved during the day and can go home with a free mind i.e. not trying to remember things you need to do the following day.   Prioritise your list. I like using MUST DO’s, SHOULD DO’s and MAYBE’s. The Must Do items are those tasks that no matter what other unplanned or unexpected items crop up you MUST DO.   The next items on the list to be completed are the Should’s and then the Maybe’s, if time allows. If you can’t get them completed due to unplanned, unexpected tasks that must be done then they will move to the next day – and moved up a priority level.

• Review where you are against your goals for the month/quarter end
• Determine what Must be done the next day and write it in your prioritised list as a MUST DO task.   Failure to do this will mean that other people’s priorities will fill up your time.
• Complete your MUST DO’S first.
• Group similar items together, including reviewing and replying to emails, calls, certain queries, admin tasks.
• Some tasks may not be urgent but are important. For example, one-to-one meeting with your team members, team briefings, planning and thinking time, training/coaching time for yourself or with a team member.   Schedule these tasks in. If they are never completed you will possibly create a crisis or emergency for yourself or someone else.
• Your prioritised To-Do-List will help you a) say no to certain requests and b) reduce some time wasting activities e.g. manage interruptions and procrastination.

Communication and Delegation

Communication and delegation are two essential skills of managers and effective time management.   Delegation empowers your team, giving them opportunities to learn and develop their skills and knowledge.   Poor communication and delegation skills wastes your time and that of others and steals our energy.   Take the time to plan your communications effectively to clarify your message, listen and understand feedback received and you will reap the rewards.

Review

At the end of every day, week, month, quarter review what you have achieved, look ahead to the following day, weeks, months, quarter and refine your plans as needed.

Time manage is about self-management: In the words of Gandalf, Lord of the Rings “All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us.”

Covey, S. D. (1999). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Simon & Schuster UK Ltd.

A common question I am asked is “How do I motivate my team?”   I usually respond, “You don’t.   However what you can do is to create the right environment, the right factors and opportunities that will motivate each of your team members to give their best.”

Each person in your team is different. They have different interests, strengths, skills, needs, desires, behavioural characteristics.   Different work will energise different people.   By building a relationship that is based on trust, respect and a belief in each person you will be able to gather information to help you answer the above question. The information you learn will help you to:

• Agree objectives that will give each person a sense of achievement from their work and opportunities to learn and further develop their strengths. Studies from Gallup (Rath, 2007) indicate that people who do have the opportunity to focus on their strengths everyday are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs.     Their studies also suggests that when a manager focuses on an individual’s strengths the chances of them being disengaged is 1%.
• Delegate interesting, meaningful and challenging work appropriately to your team members.   The work you delegate should create the right opportunities for growth, learning and development and advancement.   Be there to support, encourage and coach your team member. People want to feel that they are making a contribution that there is a purpose behind what they are doing.
• Take a genuine interest in them as a person, their career aspirations/path and work-life balance. Work with them to identify steps and actions that they can take to move them along their desired career path while achieving their desired work-life balance.
• Give recognition and feedback in a way that acknowledges their strengths, skills and that they are valued.   Help them to feel that they are making progress. Too many manages focus on weakness’s rather than strengths. Gallup research (Rath, 2007) has shown that when a manager focuses on an individual’s weakness’s the chances of them being disengaged is 22%.   However this is better than when a manager primarily ignores a team members when the chances of that person being disengaged is 40%. Therefore, do not ignore your good or high performing team members.
• Empower your team members. Share your vision for the team and what is expected of each person clearly and precisely and ask them for their ideas, input, feed-back. Genuinely listen to them.   If your team know, are bought into your vision and know clearly what is expected of them i.e. a detailed understanding of what they are supposed to do, how that fits in with what everyone else is supposed to do and how those expectations change when circumstances change (Wagner & Harter, 2006) they will be more creative.   Help each team member to feel that their opinions count. Explore their input with them openly, act on it and implement where appropriate.

What about pay?   In Dan Pink’s YouTube video “The surprising truth about what motivates” he says that you need to pay people enough to take the issue of money off the table and that for complex tasks we are more motivated by mastery, autonomy and purpose.

Have the right conversations with each person in your team. It will provide you with the information and answers to create an engaging and motivating work place for each person. Challenge yourself to build these relationships, to have a genuine interest in each person and their growth and development, set yourself objectives to create a motivating environment and measure your progress through your team’s engagement and results, look for feedback and ideas from your team to help you with this.

References

Rath, T. (2007). Strengths Finder 2.0. New York: Gallup Press.

Wagner, R., & Harter, J. K. (2006). 12 The Elements of Great Managing. New York: Gallup Press.

Great and impactful feedback is essential for everyone’s performance and development.  However giving feedback that inspires and supports behaviour change is difficult.   Creating action is not always easy.

Changing someone’s behaviour is one of the most difficult tasks to accomplish.  It is even more difficult than changing our own behaviour – no matter how much feedback we might give ourselves.  Behaviour change and sustaining that change is really hard.

Sometimes just the word “Feedback” can create resistance.   Re-frame feedback as guidance.  Feedback looks back at what did or did not go well whereas guidance looks to the future and explores ideas on how to modify behaviour to achieve desired results.    Preparation is crucial.

Prepare

• What is the real issue you need to discuss?
• What is your intention? To point our errors and faults or to create a trusting and safe open conversation?
• What outcome do you want? To win and prove the other person wrong or at fault?  Or to agree on what can be done to aid performance and results in a certain area?
• Frame the feedback. It should be a learning opportunity, future focused, guidance and supportive.
• How can you involve the person and listen to their world, their views and experience and learn from them (this is feedback to you and may make some invisible things visible to you).
• How will you involve the person in creating an action plan and support structures that will enable them to move forward. Ask them what they need.   Don’t tell.

Determine the real issue

• Determine what the real issue is that you want to bring up.
• Describe it.
• What is the impact of the issue on (a) you (b) others (c) results (d) the relationship

What is your intention?

Your intention is what you really want to achieve from having the conversation.   Stand back from the situation and look in.   If your intention is not positive then a positive outcome will not be achieved.  Suspend judgement.

What outcome do you want?

Think about the outcome that you want from the discussion and consider both tangible and in-tangible.    For example:

• An action plan that has been created and owned by the individual with necessary support structures to faciliate the implementation of the plan.
• A relationship that is strong based on mutual respect.
• A motivated and supported person who feels confident about the action plan and ability to implement it.

Consider the receiver

How will you frame the conversation and put the information in context for them?   How can you create a safe and trusting environment?   When will be the best time and the best place that will help to create safety and so that they person has the space to listen and discuss the situation with you?   What examples will you use?  How will you ensure the person feels respected and valued?

Involve them

Explore the area further with the person by using open, probing questions.   Listen to their story, non-judgementally.   Reflect back and/or paraphrase your understanding.  Make sure that your tone of voice and body language match the message you want to give them (i.e. that you’re interested, want to learn more, want to encourage, support, help them etc.).  Listen with your eyes and ears.  Many times the team member is not saying what they really feel.

Encourage the person to explore changes in how they may do things to help them address any challenges or difficulties they have experienced.  Offer suggestions.  Constructively challenge ideas that you know are not feasible or practical.   This provides further guidance and learning for the person.

Control your emotions

Our emotions don’t prepare us to converse effectively.  Keep your focus on your positive intention and positive desired outcome.

Push back is normal.  Feedback can seem just “wrong”, “unfair”, “out of context”.   This can be frustrating for the receiver, even hurtful or painful.    You need to create the right safe environment and space that the person can receive the feedback.   To receive the feedback well they need time to ask questions, understand it, share their perspective.   If the person is not given the space and safety to do this the conversation will not open up and no new insights, understanding (for both parties) and guidance will come from the discussion.

The action plan

Support the person in coming up with their action plan.  Ask, don’t tell.   Offer suggestions.  Ask them what they can do to implement the steps, how they will measure their progress, how you can support them in the implementation and learning.   Offer encouragement and acknowledgement of steps and efforts the person is taking to move forward (even if they are not a 10/10 yet).   If our efforts are not acknowledged it is very easy for a person to fall back to the old way.

Simple rules for giving feedback

1. Be specific versus general
2. Describe versus evaluate
3. Focus on behaviour versus the person
4. Maintain the relationship versus indulge in self-serving behaviour: The reason for the feedback is to help the other person get better
5. Ask permission to give feedback or share an observation with the person
6. Share your observation without judgement

People are an organisation’s greatest asset.   All results are achieved through people.  However, many managers and leaders lack the skills, knowledge, confidence, and awareness of how to do this.   Leading and empowering others requires developing the right skills and mindsets and should not be overlooked; they need to be learnt, practiced, developed, supported and encouraged.

Training offers the time and safe space for managers to stretch their comfort zone and to get answers to their questions, for example:

• How do I create an environment that is motivating for each of my team members?
• How do I let go of tasks that I am used to doing and delegate them to others and who should I delegate them to?
• How should I alter my style of communication in work so that I can connect with others in my team?
• What are the different approaches to influencing; which is the best approach for different stakeholders?
• What about planning. I know it is important but how do I balance long-term planning with day-to-day planning and align with the business goals and vision?
• What about managing interpersonal relationships, conflict and building trust within the team, organisation and with all stakeholders?
• How do I manage or lead change within my team, the organisation?

Some reasons people find it difficult to change behaviours include not knowing what they don’t know, not realising the importance, thinking that they are doing it, fear of failure, feeling overwhelmed, not aware of options, not feeling safe, no-one to bounce their ideas, fears, and concerns off.

Staff need the opportunity to learn in a safe space which will enable them to reflect, explore, ask and to create their goals to support them to lead and manage themselves and their team to achieve the results that matter.   They need the space to explore new mindsets, behaviours, approaches and how these will positively impact their ability to perform in their role.

The benefits of training

• Team members working in alignment with the team and organisations goals, mission and vision
• More achieved with less (less time, less conflict, fewer errors, fewer complaints)
• Team members working to their strengths and complementing, empowering and supporting each other – delivering high-quality results
• Stronger working relationships built on trust and where healthy debate is encouraged
• Better decisions
• A happy workforce that takes pride in their work
• A competitive advantage

Training provides the space and challenge so that each participant can identify their priority focus and steps to action their learning in the workplace.  Managers who are not offered this opportunity may struggle to deliver key results through people consistently.

The cost of no training

People will struggle on with no training.  However, at what cost?  The list below captures some of the costs.

• Loss of focus, energy and commitment
• A conflict that takes a lot of energy and time to resolve
• Loss of motivation, support, direction
• Loss of confidence, trust, goodwill
• Low engagement and productivity
• Time spent trying to ‘fix’ all the above and more.

In my experience of designing and delivering training programs to managers and leaders, I have heard so many positive stories of how “the small things” that they hadn’t considered before have made such a big difference in how they lead their team and achieve results.   It is the time invested in the training that has brought this to their attention, given them the space to discuss and explore it and then to practice it between modules.  These are behaviours that do not require extra time to do however, save much time by doing them.

We make choices every day on how to use our time.

Learning is not compulsory, neither is survival

1. Edwards Demming (1900 – 1993)

Are you willing to count the cost of not training your people?

You’re there.  You got the promotion that you wanted.  You are now a manager, team leader or supervisor.  Congratulations.   You enter your new role full of excitement, maybe a bit apprehensive and full of ideas of what you will do.   However, as you settle into the role and your comfort zone is stretched fears and doubts start to creep in.  This is normal.  You are expected to perform at a different level and to use skills that you have limited experience and comfort of using. You need to work differently.  This is a new beginning.      Accept the challenge and follow these steps to help you manage the transition.

Steps to Manage the Transition

• Clarify your role, responsibilities and priorities
• Develop your personal development plan
• Meet with the team as a team and individually
• Communicate and build rapport
• Be ready, open and willing to learn

1. Clarify your role, responsibilities and priorities

You are in a new role and it is important that you have clarity of what is expected of you in this role.   Organise a time when you can sit down with your manager and invest in a focused discussion to:

• Get a clear understanding of what is expected and not expected of you
• Know what success looks like and what you will be measured against
• Agree on what you need to do and what you need to let go off
• Agree on your priorities, tasks you must do and those to delegate to others
• Determine who you need to build relationships with, both inside and outside of the organisation
• Develop a clear map of the landscape you will be working in
• Create a plan for your next 100 days

A common mistake that new managers make is wanting to hold on to what they know, are comfortable with and good at (i.e. their previous job).

2.  Develop your personal development plan

Determine the skills, behaviours, knowledge and approach you need to increase your effectiveness in the role.   A development plan will give you direction, focus and confidence to navigate this new landscape.

• Create a list of skills, behaviours, knowledge that you need
• Describe what effective means for each one
• Determine where you are on the effectiveness scale, get feedback from your manager and from others who know you; complete a profiling tool that will provide you with information and be honest with yourself
• Ask yourself how can I deliver at this required level consistently?
• Prioritise areas to develop
• Agree on different learning approaches, examples include attending a training programme for new managers, coaching, mentoring, regular feedback
• Action it and do

All true managers and leaders are committed to a process of self-discovery and continual learning throughout their lives.

3.  Meet with your team and each team member individually

This is new and different for your team members too.  They have their questions, concerns, fears.    Organise a meeting with your team to share and discuss how you will work together as a team:

• Listen to them to understand and acknowledge their concerns and needs
• Listen to learn what will help support them and create the right conditions to enhance their engagement
• Listen to their ideas, thoughts and challenges.

Don’t make the mistake of coming in and trying to change the way things have been done immediately.  This may lead to resentment.

Organise one-to-one meetings with each team member.

• Establish boundaries (this is important particularly if you were previously peers/friends and now you are the manager)
• Find out what each person likes and dislikes, their strengths, their needs, their challenges
• Ask what they need from you as their manager
• Be fair and consistent

4. Communicate and Build Rapport

Communicate and build rapport with people at all levels within the organisation.   Treat each conversation as a learning opportunity:

• What can I learn from them today?
• What hadn’t I seen or considered?
• What do I know that I can share that will benefit or support them in their role?

Build networks at all levels.  This will help you build trust and respect.

5. Be open to learn

Mishaps will happen, errors will be made, you will get stuck and not know the answers, you will be outside of your comfort zone.  Reframe all of these as learning opportunities.   Do not make the mistake of going back into your comfort zone and do the jobs that you know how to do and are comfortable doing.  If you do, the learning opportunity will have passed you by.   The most effective leader is the one who is able to be vulnerable and swallow their pride:

• Acknowledge what you don’t know
• Acknowledge your discomfort and that this is a learning opportunity for you
• Allow yourself to be vulnerable and ask for help and support
• Update your development regularly so that you can see, feel and measure the progress you are making each step along the way

As Wayne Gretzky (hockey player) said: “You miss 100% of shots you don’t take”.  Have the courage to take the risk and ask yourself what can I learn from this?