 Henry Ford said, “Successful people get ahead while others waste time.” Effective time management is a skill set with as much importance as technical proficiency or professional expertise. The manager or leader who can make effective use of time will quickly become a person of efficiency and excellence. It should be understood, however, that “Time Management” is a misnomer. No one can manage or control time. It’s more about managing yourself in relation to the limited time you have. We all have 168 hours in a week. How you position yourself with respect to your focus and priorities determines if your time is efficiently used.
The following are several general and specific issues for those of us trying to manage our time more effectively. Use a calendar Utilizing a calendar is the most fundamental step to managing your daily activities. If possible, use an app or a program that syncs one calendar to all your devices. It is especially helpful to use reminders and notifications to keep you informed of important meetings or deadlines. Know your deadlines Proactively identify when you need to finish important tasks. Mark the deadlines out clearly in your calendar and set some reminders so you know when these items need to be completed. Use Promotion Schedules A promotion schedule is a master calendar for special projects and events. It lays out a timeline of specific tasks required for completion. Items such as recruiting deadlines, team meetings, graphic design requirements, marketing and promotion dates and other crucial tasks can be laid out in a spreadsheet with corresponding dates, deadlines and assigned personnel. Have an Organized Work space If you have a messy work space, you will feel disorganized and sluggish. You won’t even feel like doing anything since it’s so disorganized. On the other hand, if you have a tidy and organized workspace, you’ll be inspired to get work done. Your frustration and aggravation will be reduced because you will find your things easily rather than waste precious minutes digging through piles of papers for something you saw just the other day. Create a Weekly Plan The most crucial part of your week is the first 30 minutes of the first day of the week. In that time it is helpful to review the week ahead and identify main priorities. Be sure to block out time during certain days for important tasks and determine the best time for meetings, planning exercises, professional study and other essential functions. Personally, I allocate Tuesdays for staff meetings, coaching sessions and certain counseling exercises. Wednesdays are for important phone or video conferences and meetings that happen out of the office and/or professional study. Thursdays are set for mentoring, evaluations, random meetings and administrative tasks. Fridays are for professional study, which for me is sermon preparation and happens at my home office where interruptions are eliminated. It is important to communicate your preferred weekly plan to any administrative assistants who can schedule appointments accordingly. Create a Daily Plan Once you have a weekly plan, it is important to stick to it. Of course there will be exceptions and incidental deviations, but try to follow the plan as much as possible. This means that you must plan each day before it unfolds. It is best to do this in the morning or even better, the night before you go to bed. Identify all the essential tasks and priorities of the day so you can enter your work space with specific work plans in mind. Know Your top 3 Priorities Every Day When planning your daily tasks, it is important to be reasonable. Don’t be overly ambitious and set a schedule so hectic that failure is likely. Identify three achievable goals for that day. This may include meetings to be had, people to call, problems to confront or tasks to complete. If you complete these three items early, then you can start on the next day’s items which will put you ahead going forward. Prioritize: Put First Things First Put the tasks you consider to be most important before anything else. Be mindful that there are a million different things we can pick to do. Some will be important things that make a difference while others will be unimportant things that actually don’t make any difference at all. Out of the millions of things, we must pick and choose, otherwise we’ll forever be drowning in work and never get anything done. Focus on the important and prioritize the latter. Focus on One Thing at a Time No matter how much you like to pride yourself on being a multi-tasker, human beings are actually not effective in doing more than one thing at a time. We may be able to work on multiple items, but chances are the work product will be low quality and full of mistakes. It’s better to focus on doing one thing with excellence at a time. Be Firm, But Be Flexible For pastors, we must be careful not to view people and their needs as interruptions to our ministry. The people are the ministry. For those who are not pastors, it is important to recognize the value in making time for people who have significant challenges and need our attention. Sometimes, allowing for such “interruptions” become meaningful investments in people’s lives and will engender a loyalty that cannot be obtained by mere financial compensation. When people know you care about them and their needs, generally, they will care about you and your needs as well. Having said that, it is crucial to discern if someone is in sincere need of your attention or is simply a distraction. This is what often differentiates the good leaders from the great leaders. Great leaders recognize those crucial opportunities to invest in people whereas good leaders see such relational moments as low value distractions. Eliminate Time Wasters There are things that will steal your time if you let them: Facebook, texts, email, phone calls, twitter feeds and other social networks. Block out these distractions unless you use these tools to generate business. Even then, it requires discipline to not get sucked into the need to update your status with pictures of your fresh, tasty doughnut and cute selfie. Delay Answering The Phone Just because the phone is buzzing doesn’t mean you have to answer it now. Of course there are certain people in our “up-line” that should always have access to us like supervisors or company owners, but there are many people ringing our phone who can wait. Managing time effectively means you do not become a slave to the phone. Set up your voicemail to indicate you’ll call back by a certain time of the day or schedule a time in the late morning or afternoon to return calls. That way, you’re in control of who you talk to and when. This also allows you to review their voicemail message and prepare yourself with the proper information before you call them back. Sometimes A Voice Is Better Than an Email Sometimes it’s better to use email because you want to memorialize directions or make sure things are properly communicated. However, many times it's better to pick up the phone or walk down the hall and talk directly to colleagues. You can give precise direction and clear up misunderstandings quickly. This also helps to avoid future wasted time because of miscommunication or offense. Cut Off Conversations When You Need To Learn how to end meetings and cut off conversations that are taking too much time. If not inappropriate or disrespectful, don’t be afraid to interrupt the person speaking with a comment such as, “I have to get going,” or “I’m going to let you go” or “I don’t want to take up any more of your time” and then insert a closing remark. Sometimes you have to preempt what you know will be a long meeting or belabored phone call by informing them, “I have a hard stop in 15 minutes or 2:30 and will have to go.” Guard your time. Don’t allow people to be in control of your coming and going, unless they sign your paycheck. Learn To Say “No” Remember, every time we say yes to one thing, we are saying no to something else. If the person requesting your help isn’t a boss or supervisor, you must show discretion before agreeing to commit. Learn how to decline respectfully and without feeling guilty. Some easy responses include: “That won’t work for me right now, but I’ll get back to you if anything changes,” or “I really appreciate you thinking of me, but I’ve just got too much on my plate right now.” Don’t feel like you have to give specific detail about why your declining and don’t feel like you owe that person an explanation. Simply state that you are unable, look the person in the eye and embrace the awkward silence. Remember, you have to guard your time and resist being everyone’s problem solver. Learn To Delegate To Others As you are organizing your weekly or daily plan, ask yourself the question, ”Is there someone else who can do this task?” Too often, we feel important or significant because we think we are uniquely qualified to complete the task. But there’s always someone else who can do it, and sometimes better. If you are a manager, resist those guilty feelings that come with assigning tasks to others. Remember, it’s the leader who delegates that makes himself effective. Let go and let others. Be Mindful of Manipulation There are actual persuasion techniques that people often use when making an “ask.” Common ones include “Reciprocity.” People often give you something before making an “ask” because they know about the psychological tendency to want to reciprocate. Then there is “Making Two Asks.” When people ask for something and you say no, they increase the odds that when they ask for something else (usually something smaller), you’ll say yes. “Well, if you can’t help out tomorrow, could you at least proof read this white page?” “Anchoring” is another ploy. They’ll say something like, “Most people donate $100,” or “Most other parents volunteer 5 hours,” and so on. Watch out for manipulative people who will try to steal your time to make themselves more effective. Remember, guard your time and stay focused on your essential tasks. The world is full of good leaders. But what makes a great leader? What are the qualities that cause certain men and women to lead their teams from merely doing a good job to achieving something great? What is it about them that not only attracts highly competent people, but inspires them to go above and beyond and achieve greatness?
1. An attractive attitude. People today are looking for hope. They have enough disappointment and negativity in their lives. If you are a gloomy, complaining, pessimistic person you will be regarded as another toxic influence to be avoided, especially by healthy, optimistic, high-achieving people. But if you demonstrate a can-do attitude of joyful optimism and confidence, you’ll inspire hope in others and be regarded as life-giving and empowering. High-achievers understand the importance of having such people in their lives and will be attracted to you. They will see you as a source of encouragement and strength in their life that will take them higher in their pursuit of greatness. 2. A compelling vision. People need a sense of purpose. Everyone is searching for significance and has a need to be a part of something greater than themselves. Nowhere is this truer than with high-achievers. They need to know their work matters and is making a difference. Leaders who want great team members must communicate their vision with clarity and passion. They must be compelling, not simply by describing what the future looks like, but by inspiring people to see the significant role they play in the vision—that, in fact, the vision cannot be accomplished without that person’s specific, individual abilities and presence. 3. A smart management style. People today are looking, not only for good leaders, they want capable managers. Unfortunately, not all leaders are good managers and not all managers are good leaders. But the best leaders are also capable managers. They understand, not only the long term vision, but the immediate goals that need to be achieved to reach that vision. As well, they are able to articulate those goals in an inspiring way, connect people to those goals and coach them through the process of successfully achieving them. These leader/managers are exciting. Because of their confident ability to identify goals and coach people toward successfully achieving those goals, they fill their team members’ lives with victories and a sense of personal fulfillment. 4. A motivating environment. People need to be inspired. Without inspiration, work becomes monotonous and mundane. It’s nothing more than a series of routines that one tolerates until the task is done. Great leaders are able to inspire people. In other words they understand what motivates people internally. They know what people need to hear, see and receive to keep them excited about their work and personally fulfilled. It can be as simple as a sincere compliment, a genuine thank you, a public recognition or a team award. Whatever it takes, the leader keeps the culture of his team lively and exciting by keeping his people motivated and inspired. 5. A high standard. Good people want to be challenged. They’re not looking for the easy way out or the path of least resistance. They work hard and want to know that their hard work is contributing to a worthy cause. If they are not given assignments that challenge them or cause them to achieve higher goals or better themselves, they will be left feeling insignificant and unfulfilled. While leaders should not be overly demanding, neither should they be apologetic for giving difficult assignments. Instead, leaders should convey the value of the task to the organization’s objectives. Raise the standard, but help workers to appreciate the importance of the assignment as a crucial to the mission of the team. |
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It was concerning King Saul that David said, “How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished.” His was a life that began with great promise and celebration, but ended in miserable failure and humiliation. His life is an example of how the mightiest of leaders fail.
Why do great men and women fall? How do leaders, quick to ascend with such promise of unparalleled success, find themselves awash in disastrous failure and disgrace? More importantly, can the path toward one’s downfall be discerned before it’s too late and be avoided? It is the premise of my newest book, How The Mighty Have Fallen that such a decline can be detected and reversed. The life and leadership career of King Saul, Israel's first king, provides us with a treasury of examples of "what not to do." The below blog post is the first in series of excerpts from the book to examine and avoid Saul's mistakes and find a successful path through leadership. READ AN EXCERPT |
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