Working On What Really Matters to You

As a leader, how do you know if you are truly working on what matters most?

Do you truly understand how you spend your time? Most people assume they dedicate more hours to strategic work than they actually do. Look back on the past month in your calendar. Add up the time you spent on your strategic priorities. Was it enough? It's likely less than you thought. That's because most people tend to do the most urgent things instead of the most meaningful things. Identify your top five priorities for the coming year, and each month make sure you spend enough time on those priorities. If you don't, it's time to cancel some meetings and build in time for the things that matter.



Adapted from "Make Time for Time" by Anthony K. Tjan.

Prioritize before you begin

As a leader, do you prioritize your work before jumping into it?

Launching a project before you have a good sense of all its components will likely slow down your work and its successful completion. Make sure you get your priorities right - including input from colleagues - before setting your project in motion:

• Clarify the assignment. Don't start until stakeholders and colleagues agree on the goals and the general timetable.
• Organize your staff. Get team members involved at the get-go so they feel ownership. Agree on a way of working – how often you'll meet, how you'll communicate, etc.
• Create a project plan. Ask your team to help you identify project activities and how long they will take. Put them in sequence and identify which are interdependent and which can run at the same time.
• Determine check-in points. Set some specific dates to do check-ins on progress.  Catching gaps and mistakes early can them corrected quickly.

Adapted from Guide to Project Management from Harvard Business Review

Don't Stay Late - Go Home!

As a leader, how are you looking after your own well-being?

Do you control your work hours or are they starting to control you? More people are staying late at work and suffering because of it.  Are you one of them?  Before you have dinner at your desk (Yet again!), try these three things:

• Know your priorities. When deciding whether to stay and finish a task or put it aside until the next day, remember what your priorities are. If the task furthers your professional and personal goals, then it may be worth putting in the extra time.  And be honest.  Not all tasks further your goals.
• Agree on expectations at home. Discuss your work hours with the people closest to you—your partner, spouse, or friends—to be sure your expectations are aligned.  Disappointments and resentments can be growing at home and you're not there to 'nip them in the bud'.
• Talk about it at work. Make it clear that you are willing to stay late if there is a legitimate reason, such as a specific deadline. But emphasize that this should be the exception, not the rule.  The same is true of your staff.  You need to attend to their well-being as much as your own.

Adapted from "Should You Stay Late or Go Home?" by Ron Ashkenas.