We know a lot of employees say they’re busy. But are they actually productive?
That’s the question Harvard Business Review asks in a recent article while outlining a typical work scenario people go through involving ‘urgent’ requests, numerous emails, and personal commitments. The outcome – almost always – is employees feeling overwhelmed, stressed, disappointed and inefficient. The onus though is placed on leaders to turn the tide and help teams improve their focus and deliver stronger results.
Below are some tips taken from the article, written by coaching expert David Allen, and training designer Justin Hale.
Seven tips leaders can implement to get your team focused on results:
1) Taking an inventory of tasks and projects – while it may seem like common sense to do this, many leaders and teams do not. This is your reminder to do it. Do it now.
2) Clarifying communication channels – using too many communication channels causes confusion. Identify which platforms are most appropriate for your team and ditch the rest.
3) Normalize saying ‘no’ – leaders can create an environment of safety by encouraging employees to speak up and accepting their response when they say that they don’t have capacity to take on more work.
4) Make meetings meaningful – is there anything worse than meetings that could have been summarized in an email? Tying back into creating an environment of safety, leaders should allow employees to decline meetings when they don’t feel they’ll bring any value.
5) Enable purposeful productivity – seek out information from employees about their day-to-day activity. Find out what can be done to support them in achieving results – be it by adjusting their schedules or prioritizing their to-do lists.
6) Schedule time to focus – encourage teams to block out time in their calendars just to focus and complete one task. Typically, multitasking isn’t effective nor efficient.
7) Respect boundaries – if employees say that they’re in ‘focused work mode,’ leaders should respect this and not ambush, override, or interrupt them with other requests.
“Support your team’s ability to focus,” say Allen and Hale. “It’s vital that leaders understand these principles because they’re what will keep your team efficiently engaged in a world designed to keep them distracted.”
EU consulting firm Weekdone provides a useful slideshow and infographic on extra ways leaders can prompt teams to deliver results. The firm states that 61% of employees are more engaged when managers celebrate their success; and that companies see an 18% increase in revenue due to an engaged and focused culture.
It’s obvious that employees who are appreciated and given time to focus on their work, produce quality results and have the brain space to think more clearly than those who are bombarded and constantly switching from task to task. The goal for every business and industry is to garner a workforce that produces optimal results. There is a way to get there collaboratively and by building trust – a topic we explore more of in this blog.
