How do I get everyone focused and rowing in the same direction?
As we look to conclude our series on what makes a company truly great and people feel like they are having a positive impact, I would like to spend some time talking about what it takes to get insanely productive.
Last month we provided a tool to help you understand what you spend your time on in order to give insight into your effectiveness. If you spent the time filling this out, I assume you might have been surprised with what you found.
This month I would like to give you some insight and tools to help you improve your effectiveness. When I first used the four quadrants tool, I was amazed how much time I was spending in Quadrant 4: Not Urgent Not Important and how little time I was actually spending in Quadrant 2: Not Urgent Important.
After getting over the shock of how much nonproductive “work” I was doing, I took a hard look in the mirror and made the commitment to change my behavior. And it has changed, but it has not been easy and is a continual daily journey. I have days that I do really well and think I have figured this out. That is often followed by a day when I fail miserably. The key, for me, is to draw the line in the sand, commit to changing my behavior, and spend time necessary to build new habits.
I realized I was not using my talents and abilities effectively, needed to increase my focus and discipline, and step up my game if I was to positively impact those around me.
This also applies to your team. It is the reason we talk about your entire organization participating in defining the most important goal you need to focus on. It is why we challenge you to become a leader coach, ask questions, and listen more than you talk. Doing this gains trust and respect of the people on your team. When you ask for your teams input and involve them in the process, they have a vested interest in achieving the goals you agree on. When they have a shared goal (Success Number) that they agree is critically important, it gives them a compelling reason not to waste time on the trivial and unimportant. They become focused on becoming more productive and effective in their work as they are committed to achieving the Success Number.
For further tips and ideas to improve your effectiveness, read our article on, Are you focused on what is most important?
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