5-28-10 Never Enough Time

No, I’m not going to give you yet another time management model to follow. There are plenty of good ones (and some not so good) available in the market and on the web today. I do, however, have an observation about time management to share.

While time management isn’t listed explicitly in the Executive Skills and Traits model (12-30-09 Morphing to a Model), it is implicit in several of the skills listed in the Execution Skills portion of the model (1-13-10 Execution Skills -- Now go DO something!). For example, it is implied in the Manage Change and Ambiguity; Manage Fragmentation and Rapid Pace skills.

One of my research participants had a very astute observation about the need for time management. He said, “spending the appropriate time and energy on the ‘right’ tasks is very difficult for a new executive. Some of these critical tasks for a program success will not be within his/her comfort zone. It is extremely easy to be busy on the wrong tasks at the exec level”.

Of course, a very basic step in effective time management is for the executive to determine the “right tasks” that he/she should be working on. Human nature is such that we all want to work on something that we are familiar or comfortable with. That makes it entirely likely that the new executive will tend towards those tasks -- rather than the ones he/she should be doing.

So let’s say that you are an accounting executive. The temptation would, of course, be for you to delve into the details and numbers of a balance sheet or its associated subsidiary ledgers -- checking and cross-footing like any good accountant would. But you have to ask yourself, is this really the best use of my time? Or would my time be better spent on strategic issues around the balance sheet? For example, wouldn’t it be better for you to spend some time on the more strategic thinking around how much leverage your company should be carrying on the balance sheet?

Or let’s say that you are a manufacturing executive, having come up through the ranks as a mechanic. The temptation would be for you to spend time pulling drawings and understanding the details of the parts your organization is producing. And while it IS important for you to understand your product, wouldn’t a better use of your time be strategic? For example, once you have a grasp of your product, wouldn’t your time be better spent in strategic thinking about what other products you could be producing and offering?

The time management point here is ---- spend your time on those tasks that are appropriate to your position. Sure, you oversee the details. But you are overseeing those that you have delegated to -- NOT doing the detail work yourself. Figure out the critical tasks that you should be doing for the success of your project, program, or company --- then get to it!

Cheers!