3 simple tips to improve your day
When I talk to managers, I find that one of their biggest issues is time. Having the time to complete all their numerous duties as well as supporting their team effectively.
Sound familiar?
One manager of a small team told me he was keen to have an open door policy. He wanted his team to feel able to ask him questions whenever they needed to.
But, inevitably, this led to a constant stream of interruptions. He felt unable to focus on his other important tasks, such as report writing, marketing and business development.
Is the only solution to close the door?
It’s a dilemma many managers face. Perhaps you’re one of them.
It is, of course, only right that you should want your team to feel able to ask you questions and get help when they need it.
But it causes two key problems:
You’re no longer in control of your time. You’ve given that control to your employees.
Your team members will defer to you more often. They think you have all answers so they should check in with you before acting.
It’s a bit of a vicious circle. Plus you’re not helping your team to develop their own capabilities.
But never fear. The solution is simple.
- Manage expectations
The next time someone comes to you with a problem, don’t immediately try and solve it. Instead tell them to come back in 10 minutes when you’ll be able to give it your full attention.
This way, you get to finish what you’re doing and then in 10 minutes you can focus totally on them.
This helps them consider next time whether they may already know the solution or if they are prepared to wait 10 minutes for your thoughts on the matter.
- Ask them what they think they should so
Rather than telling them what to do, ask them what they think first before offering your solution. By doing this, they’ll start to come to you with both the problem and their solution. It will also help to build their confidence to deal with issues if you’re not around.
The knock-on effect of these two really easy techniques is fewer interruptions. Your team now know you won’t answer their question immediately and that you’ll probably ask them to come up with a solution. So maybe they can work out the answer on their own. Brilliant!
The same principle applies to emails
It’s so tempting to respond immediately to every request that comes into your inbox – it only takes a few seconds after all. But those few seconds of distraction can reduce your productivity by up to 40%.
- My advice is, even if you’ve got time to respond to an email straightaway, don’t
If you always respond immediately, people will come to expect an immediate answer. Again, it’s about managing expectations. By delaying your response, you show people that you respect your time – and that they need to too.
And the net result will be fewer emails. People are more likely to think – “well I’ll have to wait for an answer so maybe I’ll solve the problem myself.”
Studies show that people who are effective at time management do more to control how they use their time
So what are you going to do with all the extra time you have. Let me know how you get on.