Archives For Time Management

Three Ingredients to Effective Delegation – Pt 3

July 23, 2009 — Leave a comment

The first ingredient to effective delegation is Priority Assessment. Before you delegate responsibility, you must first know what you can’t delegate. The second ingredient is Team Empowerment. Team empowerment is all about identifying what you can delegate and who you can delegate it to. The final ingredient of effective delegation is Monkey Management. The basic idea of Monkey Management is that anytime you take on responsibility from another person, you are essentially letting the monkey jump from your co-workers back to your own back. The idea of Monkey Management is nothing new, but it still has great value today. The concept was made popular in a book by Ken Blanchard, Bill Oncken, and Hal Burrows titled, The One-Minute Manager Meets the Monkey. The book articulates The Four Rules of “Monkey Management.”


Rule #1: A boss and a staff member shall not part company until appropriate “next moves” have been described. The authors note, “The monkey is not a project or a problem; the monkey is whatever the ‘next move’ is on a project or problem.” How many times have you sat in a meeting where the next steps were never clarified. There may have been great discussion, but an executable plan was never determined. Monkey management begins by determining what should be done with the monkey (the area of responsibility).

Rule #2: The dialogue between boss and staff member must not end until ownership of each monkey is assigned to a person. The authors observe, “All monkeys must be handled at the lowest organizational level consistent with their welfare.” If you spend all of your time working on other people’s monkeys, you’ll have no time to work on your own. You must move from reacting to other people’s monkey’s to proactively keeping their monkeys off your back so you can focus on your own monkeys. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself simply coping.

Rule #3: The dialogue between boss and staff member shall not end until all monkeys have been insured.
The more freedom you give your people, the more risk there is that a mistake will be made. Monkey insurance is designed to make sure your team only makes affordable mistakes. There are two types of monkey insurance policies: Recommend, then act OR act, then advise. The level of risk determines which approach the leader should take.

Rule #4: The dialogue between boss and staff member shall not end until the monkey has a check-up appointment. There are two purposes of monkey checkups. The first is to catch people doing something right and then offer praise and encouragement. The second is to spot problems and then take necessary action to correct the problem before it turns into a crisis.

So here’s how the three ingredients of delegation work together.
  • Priority Assessment insures you are doing the right things with your time.
  • Team Empowerment insures you’re delegating the right things to the right people.
  • Monkey Management insures that what you delegated (the monkey) does not jump onto your back again. Delegation was never meant to be a boomerang. Once you let it go, somebody else should own it.

Question: Which “monkeys” keep jumping onto your back? What are you doing to allow this to happen? Which “monkey management rule” do you need to start practicing?
In Leadership Delegation, Leadership, leadership development, Mentoring, Time Management
permalink

Three Ingredients to Effective Delegation – Pt 2

July 22, 2009 — Leave a comment
Yesterday I began a 3-part series of posts on delegation outlining three ingredients to effective delegation. The first ingredient is Priority Assessment. Priority Assessment is the process of identifying your highest priorities using the sweet spot of three intersecting priority areas: Job requirements, personal strengths, and investment return. Delegation doesn’t start by giving away responsibility–it starts by understanding which responsibilities you can’t give away.

The second ingredient of effective delegation is Team Empowerment. Team empowerment involves a five-step process as it relates to delegation. Each step includes a question:

1. Assessment: Which responsibilities and opportunities should I delegate to others?
  • Anything that somebody can do 80% as well as me
  • Everything outside my core strengths and passions
  • Everything I enjoy doing but provides a poor return for my investment of time
  • Everything that a leader at my level should not be doing
  • Everything that a leader serving in the same role as me in an organization 20% bigger than mine is not doing

2. Assignment: Who should I delegate these responsibilities and opportunities to?
  • Paid staff – Your assistant and team members
  • Interns – College students/interns serving with your church or organization
  • Volunteers – This is particularly relevant in non-profits
  • Vendors – Sometimes the best way to delegate is by hiring an outside vendor or service

3. Authority: What authority do I need to release so that team members will excel?
  • Project Authority – This is the opportunity to “do” a project or task and includes the authority to make decisions about the execution of the project.
  • People Authority – This is the opportunity to lead people combined with the authority to make decisions about how best to lead others.

4. Accountability: What questions do I need to ask my team to hold them accountable for their responsibilities?

5. Affirmation: How can I best support and encourage my team members?

Captain Michael Abrashoff noted, “If all you give are orders, then all you will get are order takers.” Empowerment is about much more than telling people what to do. It’s giving them clear responsibilities and opportunities, the authority to make decisions, holding them accountable for their decisions, and affirming their efforts.

Questions: What responsibilities do you need to delegate? Who can you delegate them to? What authority do you need to provide?

In Leadership Delegation, Empowerment, leadership development, Mentoring, Time Management
permalink

Three Ingredients to Effective Delegation – Pt 1

July 20, 2009 — Leave a comment

Delegation is a critical part of the leadership journey. Not only does it free you to focus on your priorities, it enables you to intentionally release others to lead. In the next three posts, I want to address three essential ingredients to effective delegation. The first ingredient is Priority Assessment. Priority Assessment is the process of identifying your highest priorities using the sweet spot of three intersecting priority areas.

Priority Area #1:Job Requirements- There are certain aspects of a leader’s job that only the leader can do. In a local church context, these “requirements” might include clarifying and casting vision, serving as the primary communicator, and raising resources. This can vary from one situation to the next depending on different dynamics. When you are crystal clear about your non-negotiable job requirements, you can essentially give yourself permission to delegate everything else. Question: What is in my job description that nobody but me can do?

Priority Area #2: Personal Strengths – A leader is going to find the greatest fulfillment and make their greatest contribution through their strengths. When awareness of strengths increases, the clarity for greater impact also increases. The key is to align personal strengths with the right organizational opportunities. Effective leaders have learned to play to their strengths and delegate their weaknesses. It almost sounds heartless, unless of course, your weakness is a strength for the person you delegate it to. Question: Which of my gifts, abilities, skills, and passions maximize personal fulfillment and organizational impact?

Priority Area #3: Investment Return – The idea of “investment return” is sometimes the longest bridge for leaders to cross. Why? Because it requires leaders to admit that some things they enjoy doing may not actually generate the greatest return for the church or organization. For example, if you love designing websites–perhaps it’s even a strength–it may not the best use of your time as a leader. This doesn’t mean it’s not important, it’s just not important for YOU to do it. There are likely other areas that will generate a far greater return on your investment of time. Question: What gives the church or organization the greatest return on the investment of my time?

Your general priorities will be revealed by your answers to the questions above. But where your answers overlap and intersect reveals your major priorities. Delegation doesn’t start by giving away responsibility–it starts by understanding which responsibilities you can’t give away. That list will be shorter than you think.

Question: Based on your answers to the three questions above, what are the 3-5 major priorities that represent the best use of your time? Give yourself permission to place everything outside of these major priorities on your delegation list.

In Leadership Delegation, Leadership, Priorities, Time Management
permalink

Are You Drowning in Email?

April 25, 2009 — Leave a comment

Is your email inbox out of control?  One of the biggest time management challenges facing leaders today is knowing how to effectively and efficiently handle their daily flood of emails.  Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, offers some great insight on how he handles 100 emails per day in his post, “Yes, You Can Stay on Top of Email.”

In Personal Growth Email, Time Management
permalink

The Six Keys to Time Management – Part 3

April 6, 2009 — Leave a comment

My last two posts have examined four ingredients to time management: Purpose and Values followed by Roles and Priorities. Purpose and Values are the ultimate compass for how to invest your time. When you understand your purpose and values, you can strategically pursue the right roles that will help you best fulfill your purpose and live out your values. And as you clarify or acquire those roles, you must establish clear priorities for each role that focuses on your strengths. So what’s next? There are two final keys to effective time management: Planning and Boundaries.

Planning and Boundaries focus on the “how” of time management. Planning employs an effective system to help you strategically plan the use of your time. Boundaries are the parameters you establish to ensure your time is not abused and important values are not violated. So how do you establish Planning and Boundaries?

Here are several “PLANNING” considerations:

  • Secure an Effective Time Management Tool – Whether it’s Microsoft Outlook, iCal, or any number of tools or apps, find what works best for you. The only “right” tool is the one that works for you.
  • Enter Start Dates at the Beginning of the Year – Begin each year by entering start dates for your key goals and initiatives. This will allow you to forget your goals without forgetting to achieve them–because your calendar will remind you when to get started.
  • Have a Weekly Meeting with Yourself – Set aside 15-30 minutes at the beginning of the week to plan your week, schedule priorities, organize your workspace, and organize your inbox.
  • Understand Your Personal Rhythm – Everybody has peaks and valleys in the flow of their day. When you understand your most productive times, you can allocate your high energy moments to your most important tasks.
  • Maximize Downtime – It’s the loss of 10 minutes here and 15 minutes there that really adds up to major loss of time. Consider having a 10 minute stack for those in-between times when a meeting ends early and the next one doesn’t start for 15 minutes. Keep a book in your car for those times when you arrive early or find yourself waiting on somebody. Make quick calls during down times.
  • Schedule Appointments Back to Back – This will enable you to start and end appointments on time.
  • Avoid Time Wasters – Things like hallway conversations, unorganized workspace, and fruitless technology can consume large amounts of time.
  • Work Off-Site – Sometimes the best way to get things done is to work where you will be free of interruptions.
  • Delegate and Outsource – Delegate everything that falls outside your strengths, can be done by somebody else 80% as well as you, or is a waste of your time. Build a volunteer base who can assume various tasks. Furthermore, outsource when possible.

BOUNDARIES are the final key component in time management. Without boundaries, somebody else will determine how you spend your time. To help you establish clear parameters for the use of your time, consider the following:

  • Conduct a Time Management Audit to Identify Your Greatest Time Management Pitfalls – In what areas of life do you most often violate the use of your time? Is it at work, with your family, in your volunteer roles, or somewhere else? A 7-day time audit will help you discover exactly how you spend your time.
  • Determine the Root Cause of Your Pitfalls – What often drives imbalance with time is one word–FEAR. We allocate disproportionate amounts of time to certain areas because we’re afraid what will happen if we don’t. For example, we  work long hours because we’re afraid we’ll let the boss down or bring in lower results this quarter.
  • Identify Clear Boundaries – Determine what you must do in order to set a boundary that will help you get your time in balance.
  • Pursue Accountability – Chances are you won’t be able to maintain your boundaries without somebody else asking the hard questions. If you’re married, ask your spouse what your boundaries should be–and don’t blow up when he or she tells you.
  • Take a Regular Day Off and Use Your Vacation Time – God did not make you to work seven days a week. Violating this boundary will only deteriorate your health and sabotage your family life.

Time management minus planning and boundaries equals an unbalanced life. These are the practical day-to-day aspects of time management. But let me emphasize, planning and boundaries without purpose, values, roles, and priorities only leads to efficiently accomplishing the wrong things. But when all six ingredients are present, time is truly maximized.

In Leadership, Personal Growth Boundaries, Planning, Time Management
permalink

The Six Keys to Time Management – Part 2

April 2, 2009 — 1 Comment

In my last post I noted that Purpose and Values are the foundation of time management. Without them, people efficiently do the wrong things. However, understanding purpose and values is not enough. The next two ingredients to effective time management are Roles and Priorities.

The truth is that my life purpose and my core values will only be fully realized if I’m investing my time in roles that facilitate their fulfillment. In other words, WHERE I serve (my roles) and what I DO in those roles (my priorities) will determine how well I fulfill my life purpose. Knowing my purpose without have a major role through which I can fulfill it (regardless of whether its a volunteer or paid role), will only leave me frustrated. At some point my roles must be aligned with my purpose and values. Typically roles can fall into one of five areas–what I call C5 Roles:

  • Church – Any serving role that is connected with a local church fellowship and is aligned with its vision.
  • Community – Any serving role in the community, neighborhood, or home that makes a difference for others.
  • Campus – Any serving role on a local school or college campus that makes a difference for the teachers, students, administration, or campus.
  • Career – Using any career role or job intentionally to help others.
  • Cause – Any serving role that promotes a cause in the world you are passionate about.

Once you secure a role, you must ensure that you’re spending your time on the top 3-5 priorities that are most important in that role. Doing the wrong things in the right role doesn’t get you very far. To help you determine which priorities deserve your greatest amount of time, John Maxwell offers seven helpful questions:

  • What are you recognized for?  (those areas in your roles that others say you do well)
  • What is required of you?  (those things in your job description)
  • What are you requested for?  (those things in your roles that others request you to do because they are strengths for you)
  • What are you rewarded most highly for?  (those things in your roles others reward you for because you do them so well)
  • What produces the greatest results?  (those things in your roles that have the highest return on your investment of time)
  • What do you rejoice over?  (those things in your roles that bring you the greatest personal satisfaction)
  • What do you want to be remembered for?  (those things in your roles you want others to remember you for long into the future)

These questions will stimulate you to create a narrow list of priorities that should be the focus of how you invest your time in each of your roles. Time management minus roles and priorities equals an unfocused life.

So let’s review–first, identify your purpose and values. Second choose a role(s) that is aligned with your purpose and values. Third, settle on your most important priorities in each role that will help you fulfill your purpose and live out your values. Are you seeing a pattern here? Rather than asking, “how can I get more done in less time?”, you’re tackling the biggest issues first and then aligning everything around them.

In Leadership, Personal Growth Core Values, Life Purpose, Priorities, Roles, Time Management
permalink

The Six Keys to Time Management – Part 1

March 28, 2009 — 2 Comments

The time management maze usually leaves us asking, “How can I get more done in less time?” We’re always looking for the latest idea, the newest technologies, and the best strategies to maximize time. While I certainly believe efficiency is critical to maximizing time, I’ve discovered that many people efficiently do the wrong things. Why? Because they lack a clear understanding of two important ingredients that serve as the anchor for effective time management: purpose and values.

The use of your time will always be misaligned if you do not understand your life purpose, and if you’ve never identified your core values. Time management minus purpose and values equals an unfulfilled life. You spin your wheels but never get traction toward the things God created you to do.

So here are two questions to help you get started. First, how has God wired you? When you understand your strengths, passions, personality, and skills, it will give you a head start at clarifying the purpose God designed you to fulfill. Second, what are the small handful of people, principles, and practices that are more important to you than anything else? Your answer to this question will reveal your values. As your purpose and values become clear, write them down and then ask yourself a really scary question–”How much of what I currently do is helping me fulfill my purpose and live out my values?”

In my next two posts, I’ll examine the four additional ingredients to effective time management. Each plays an essential role in helping us find focus, fulfillment, and balance.

 

In Leadership, Personal Growth Core Values, Life Purpose, Time Management
permalink