Every manager seems to struggle with time issues. In most instances, there is the feeling that there is never enough time to get everything done – even by coming in early, staying late, and answering emails at all hours of the day. Many wind up feeling chained to the office, which often times translates into serious challenges with work/life balance.

Part of the problem is that managers often fail to develop the capacity of their employees. If this is the case, when they have to (or choose to) solve every problem or be involved in every decision or issue, they inevitably become a bottleneck in the team’s performance. Unfortunately, the amount of stress this places on managers is enormous.

Here is a portion of an email I received recently from one of the participants in a client training class:

“It has been a learning process since I became a manager, but I know that sometimes
I concentrate more in trying to fix every issue out there rather than taking the time to
develop my people. I know they’re capable – it’s just lack of training.”

This is fairly typical of most managers, not just new ones. Managers are routinely hired because of their technical capabilities or performance history, so, in the absence of training or a good role model, they tend to view management as solving problems, making decisions, and telling people what needs to be done. As a result, they often fail to comprehend the value of working to develop the performance capacity of their employees. However, if they don’t figure it out in a hurry, they wind up stressed out of their mind and complaining about the lack of time to get anything done.

On the other hand, when employees are trained well, and effectively empowered to solve many of the problems and issues that were previously left to the manager to handle, the “bottleneck” problem lessens dramatically. As a result, the manager discovers they have much more of what they need the most – time.

In a recent training class, I was discussing with a group of executive managers the need to create a workplace environment of trust. It was a topic that immediately resonated with the group; their own experiences as employees had helped them to understand the need to develop habits that build trust with their employees, but they admitted their failures in doing so. The problem is that busy managers are usually convinced that they simply don’t have the time to practice those habits.

And they would be right. First of all, typical management practices tend to be reactive, and managers are often consumed with addressing critical “fires” each day. Second, managers often feel compelled to be the center of the universe – making all the decisions, solving all the problems, and monitoring the details of multiple projects, in an attempt to control things. This invariably translates into a time problem; there is never enough time in the day for one overriding reason: the manager is doing the work instead of leading the work.

Here are some indicators that you may be “doing” too much and “leading” too little:

1. Your office feels like Grand Central Station.

2. You can’t go five minutes without answering a question from an employee.
3. You routinely find yourself facing critical deadlines and wondering why your employees aren’t getting things done.
4. You frequently ask why your employees aren’t more accountable or committed.
5. You never seem to have time to plan ahead.
6. You never seem to have time to work on personal development.
7. You find it very difficult to take a vacation.
8. You feel chained to your Blackberry.

The complaint I hear most often from managers is that they never have enough time. Some indicate that the stress they experience is overwhelming them; others complain that they are approaching “burn out.” Fortunately, while this is not a problem that can be addressed overnight, it can be fixed!

The first step is to admit the problem. If you agreed with more than four of the statements above, you have a problem.

“Hi, my name is _____________, and I don’t trust my employees.”

Patch Adams is a one-of-a-kind. A guy who approaches life much, much differently than most us.

On the other hand, his enthusiasm and love for people would be a welcome addition to almost any company…well, at least he would be welcomed by the employees.

A good friend recently wrote a Blog post regarding a scene from the movie Patch Adams (click here to read Steve Laswell’s excellent article). In this particular scene, Patch learns a profound lesson that would forever impact his perspectives on being a doctor. The lesson? See the people.

A pretty good lesson for managers, too, I think.

See the people. Don’t see “resources” to be manipulated. Don’t see “employees” that create problems. Don’t see “HR issues”. Or “interruptions.” See the people.

Late in the movie, Patch addresses a board that has been convened to determine whether or not he will be allowed to graduate from medical school. In this scene he says, “If you treat a disease – you win, you lose. If you treat a person, I guarantee you win.” This would be great advice for managers as well. High performance is a function of many things, but one of those things is a desire to perform at a high level. That desire will rarely be manifest for a manager that doesn’t see the person.

Click the play button to view the movie trailer starring Robin Williams.

What can managers do to “see the person?” Steve provides four excellent ideas in his Blog article, and I want to reiterate one of those ideas here; an idea that is foundational to 1-on-1 Management™. Invest in each employee one-on-one. As Steve asks in his article, do you spend “Real – uninterrupted – dedicated – “you’re important in my world” time with your employees? [Or...are you an accomplished multi-tasker? You might want to re-read the 1-on-1 Management™ Blog post on multi-tasking...]

The secret to great management is to develop the talent and potential of the people that work for you. Only then will you alleviate some of the stress and time pressure that you constantly experience at work.

To develop their talent you will first have to see the people.

“A meeting is an event where minutes are taken and hours are wasted.” Milton Berle

We have all been required to attend meetings at work. Some of them are even necessary. Occasionally, one is actually productive! Most, however, are only marginally beneficial, and many are a complete waste of time. They start late. They are poorly led. They are long on ideas and short on execution. There is no follow-up or accountability. Good ideas are labeled “risky” while bad ideas are pondered for hours on end. Then everyone retreats back to their offices and races to catch up on their work before the next meeting is called. Then, the cycle starts all over again.

Many of the same bad ideas are debated all over again. While others argue, you wonder about the work you could be getting done. You doodle. You fume. You wonder why the leader doesn’t see how much valuable time is being wasted.

Sound familiar?

There are some people who just LOVE to have meetings. In some instances, it is a great replacement for actually getting some real work done. In many cases, however, a manager simply hasn’t learned how to lead a productive meeting.

Here are eight steps to follow that will produce shorter, more effective meetings:

1. Create an objective for the meeting

2. Create a specific agenda for the meeting
3. Ensure that any contributor to the meeting is fully aware of his/her individual role in the meeting
4. Establish a firm time frame for the meeting and stick to it
5. Assign a note-taker for the meeting
6. Record all decisions, action items, and critical information
7. Assign process owners to all action items
8. Distribute notes immediately following the meeting

If you follow these guidelines, you will definitely have more productive meetings, but, there is one last thing you need to do to have the best opportunity to have a productive meeting. In the old west, people were often required to check their guns at the door – too many chances of someone drinking a little too much and shooting up the place. Because of the chance of ruining an otherwise productive meeting, might I suggest that you have meeting participants check their cell phones at the door?

OK, you don’t have to actually collect them (lots of luck with that), but before you start the meeting, insist that all participants turn off their electronic devices. In the past, meeting participants may have needed them just to stay awake, but now they will serve as a constant meeting interruption if you don’t shut them down.

A college textbook on management teaches that management encompasses the following functions: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Typically, the aspects of management that creates the majority of problems for managers – and, coincidentally, are the areas in which managers have little or no training – is leading and controlling.

Dealing with people.

I doubt that anyone would argue the assertion that developing employees is a sure way to improve the performance of any team, department, or company. Capitalizing on each employee’s strengths, improving their skills, and empowering them to use their abilities, creates more potential for the organization.

Of course, a second critical part of leadership is ensuring that those individuals are working together as a team and are focused on doing the right things. As has been said, management is about making sure people are “doing things right”, while leadership is about making sure that the people are “doing the right things”.

As a dear friend of mine likes to say, “I’m telling you something important here.” Your employees can be incredibly busy and still be doing very little to improve the performance of the organization. Managers MUST ensure that employee energies and creativity are being directed towards the activities that will produce results consistent with the company’s mission and objectives. Being busy is not the goal – reaching critical objectives is the goal.

“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”
Peter Drucker

With Drucker’s quote in mind, what exactly is most important thing a manager should be doing at any given time? Usually, it is the URGENT things that become “critically important”. However, further examination should reveal that the vitally important items for a manager are 1) strategic planning, and 2) developing people. However, since these functions do not hit the radar screen as “urgent” – i.e., MUST be done today or the planet will implode – they are consistently delayed and/or ignored.

Customer problems, project deadlines, meetings, budgets…our days are filled with emergencies, and our time becomes occupied with putting out fires. Ironically, a manager will complain of a lack of time to get anything done when more effective planning and more capable people would make a real difference – in both performance AND time availability.

Is it time to reassess priorities?

Without question, one of the significant challenges that managers face is the task of managing their own time effectively. All too often, a typical day finds us reacting to one crisis after another – and before long we notice that we’re working 12-hour days and wondering why we can’t get anything done.

Sound familiar?

I joined a friend for lunch recently and we discussed her time management woes. Her department is not producing up to corporate expectations and there is pressure to show immediate improvements. Unfortunately, she lost valuable knowledge and experience when an assistant manager left the company. As a result, she had to hire a new, inexperienced assistant manager who must be trained – and quickly. Compounding these problems is a health issue that forced her to miss time at work. Just to make things particularly challenging, she is short-staffed and it is very difficult to find qualified and capable talent for the positions she has open.

Look at all the fires that need to be put out, and this doesn’t even include the inevitable problems that pop up every day and demand to be addressed – reports, budgets, paperwork, performance reviews, scheduling, customer complaints. It is not too difficult to get overwhelmed…

Unless you have a plan and your employees are prepared.

In my experience, many managers either don’t have a plan or they’re not following the one they have. It is very difficult to focus and stay on point if you’re not following a well-defined plan.
“Hope is not a strategy” Certainly, we have to stop on occasion and deal with a crisis – my friend has a few fires to put out before continuing with her plan – but “crisis management” on a consistent basis is a recipe for disaster.

Another reality is that most “crisis managers” don’t have employees that have been developed and prepared to handle challenges themselves. Frankly, many managers don’t know how to empower employees effectively. Have you developed your people to be able to deal with issues, or have you trained them to bring YOU every problem that arises? The reality is that many managers believe that their role is to fix every problem, make every decision, and deal with every issue. Then, they complain about the 12-hour days and employees who aren’t accountable.

Go figure.

If you are struggling with time management, there is no quick fix and no magic bullet. However, you can make significant strides by developing a plan – a set of primary objectives – and communicating it effectively to your employees. The second critical step is to develop the skills that allow you to teach your employees how to fight fires.

If they are ever going to be managers, they need to learn how, don’t they?

(Download the “Hope is Not a Strategy” brochure)