The Productivity Pro Weekly Newsletter

The Productivity Pro Weekly Newsletter - November 14, 2012

Published: Wed, 11/21/12

"Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes." -- Peter Drucker

Finding More Time to "Do" Leadership

As a leader, you know how valuable it can be when you consistently, thoughtfully apply good, old-fashioned "leadership." And yet at one time or another, nearly all of us have looked up to discover that we've let true leadership go by the wayside in the workaday hustle of just getting by. It's far too easy to get bogged down in the minutiae of the operational piece of your job; in fact, your greatest occupational hazard as a leader is forgetting you manage people, not paperwork.

If you find yourself too busy to do your "real" job--or at least inexorably drawn in that direction--then something's askew with your personal productivity. Perhaps it's time for a tune-up...or possibly a major overhaul. So pull into your metaphorical productivity garage, lift the hood, and start making repairs. Implementing some combination of the seven tips listed below will hone your efficiency and effectiveness as a leader, soon putting you back on the righteous path.

Finding More Time to "Do" Leadership by Laura Stack

1. Weed Your Meetings. Nothing can gnaw away at prime work time like meetings, and they seem to proliferate like bunnies in a lettuce patch. While you can't avoid some meetings, take a careful look at the rest and give them the boot if they do nothing to advance your team's goals. Rather than attend meetings just to show the flag, either assign someone on your team to represent you and report back or simply read the minutes. You can even have someone record the meetings, so you can listen to them during your otherwise unproductive downtime--for example, during your commute. Some people invite excessive attendees to avoid hurt feelings; reassure the organizer you're confident they'll do great work without you.

2. Limit You Accessibility. An open-door policy sounds great, doesn't it? And sure, it can foster a sense of teamwork if you make yourself available to anyone at any time. However, getting an interruption every eleven minutes will also shatter your concentration. Even a brief disturbance can put you off your game for a good 15 minutes before you can recapture your focus. So close your door and post a "Do Not Disturb" sign on it. Better yet, install a "dragon at the gate"--a personal assistant who makes sure no one bothers you. Proactively schedule regular face-to-face meetings with your team members by appointment, and set aside time every week for management by walking around.

3. Stop Multitasking! Ironically, today's office technology may be too easy to use. Not so many years ago, desktop computers could only open one program at a time, which resulted in focused "single-tasking." Now they can handle numerous programs simultaneously--and worse--multiple iterations of the same program, which encourages "multi-tasking." You can check Twitter, write a report, work on your latest budget spreadsheet, and respond to email all at once...theoretically. But whenever you flip from one task to another, you waste precious time shifting gears and regrouping. Collectively, it takes longer to get it all done than if you just plowed through one task at a time, finishing each completely before starting the next.

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"ENLIGHTENED LEADERSHIP" iPad Magazine

I am honored to have a featured article in an exciting new publication, "ENLIGHTENED LEADERSHIP" iPad magazine. This month's issue contains these fantastic features:

Menu Driven Thinking: Managing Technology -Dependent Employees by Robert W. Wendover

Video: 10 Ways to Bring Flow to Your Team by Vishen Lakhiani

7 Leadership Lessons from Riding The Paddle Board by Julie Winkle Giulioni

How do you Know You're A Good Leader? Part II by Alan Zimmerman

There's a Mismatch Between What Science Knows and What Business Does...And You Can Profit From Knowing the Difference by Ed Oakley

Video: How to Influence Without Authority and Get Breakthrough Results by Ed Oakley and Ed Tate

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