Quint Column: Your calendar shows your priorities
- July 4, 2018
- / Quint Studer
- / training-development,quint-studer
When you’re a leader,
the way you spend your day matters. You have a lot of complex responsibilities.
You oversee the performance of a variety of employees. You must answer to
customers, partners, board members, and other stakeholders. You must
respond—and quickly—to issues that arise.
Even on your best
day, you can’t possibly get it all done. There isn’t enough time. With emails
pinging and the phone ringing, it’s easy to confuse what is urgent with what is
important. Before you know it, the day has ended and you haven’t completed one
single thing on your to-do list.
Not only is this a
problem from a goal-reaching standpoint, but also it takes on great importance
to those watching you. In fact, it tells everyone else in your company what
matters to you—which in turn impacts the decisions they make and ultimately
shapes your culture.
This is why it’s so
important to be aware of where and how you spend your time. And if you’re like
many leaders (and most people in general), you may not realize where it’s all
going. You need to get very deliberate to figure this out.
I just read an article
in Harvard Business Review called “The
Leader’s Calendar: How CEOs Manage Time.” Written by Michael E. Porter, a
Harvard strategist, and colleague Nitin Nohria, it reports the results of their
12-year study of how 27 CEOs spend their time at work and at leisure. It’s a
really interesting read.
One big takeaway is
that (for reasons I’ve already noted) CEOs need to align their daily activities
to their long-term goals and priorities. Porter and Nohria found that most of
the CEOs they studied had a “clear and effective agenda” to help them make
sense of their multiple tasks and responsibilities.
Most of the CEOs
studied spent an average of 43 percent of their time doing things that advanced
their agenda. However, some were far better than others at staying on task
here. The authors noted that “time devoted to the core agenda varied widely,
ranging from 14 percent to 80 percent of leaders’ work hours.”
Another highlight: CEOs
are constantly in meetings. The study found that, on average, they attend 37
meetings a week, taking up 72 percent of their total work time. That’s a lot of
meetings, and much of this time is likely not time well spent.
Finally, one of the
most interesting points (to me, anyway) was that the CEOs were spending only 3
percent of their time with customers. The CEOs were shocked to learn this, especially
given how important customer contact is to staying informed on industry trends,
competitors, and, of course, how the company is doing.
Now, everyone
reading this column probably isn’t the CEO of a large, complex organization.
You may be a leader inside a mid-sized company or an entrepreneur who has
opened a restaurant or store. But I always like to relate, not compare. The
results of this study are relevant to all leaders.
Based on my reading of
the article—and on what I’ve learned about time management over the years—here
are a few tips to consider.
Record your schedule for a month. Get one of those appointment books that breaks up
the day into 15-minute increments. At the end of each day, write down how you
spent your time. (If July is a big vacation month for you, you might want to
wait till August to do this. You want it to be a fairly typical month.)
Carefully dissect the results. Are you spending your time on things that truly
matter to you and your company? You might be surprised to find that what you say you stand for is not reflected in how
you actually spend your time. This is very common. The good news is that now
you know what needs to change.
Start scheduling in the things that do matter. If developing employees matters to you, get it
on the calendar. If you say you value
customers, but like the CEOs in the study you spend almost no time talking to
them, then schedule some meetings to do so. Face to face is best, but a phone
call is better than nothing. The point is, if you don’t plan for it, it won’t happen.
Life gets busy, and emergencies take over, and the most meaningful and
important things don’t happen.
Don’t forget your personal priorities. Pencil in time to exercise, sleep, and build
your relationships with family and friends. If you don’t, these crucial activities
can easily get shortchanged. The HBR article addresses this aspect of
leadership as well. The authors write: “The
CEO’s job is mentally and physically demanding. Activities that preserve
elements of normal life keep CEOs grounded and better able to engage with
colleagues and workers—as opposed to distant, detached, and disconnected.”
Figure out how to minimize time wasters. Remember all the time those CEOs in the study
spent in meetings? Porter and Nohria point out that many of them admitted that
quite often one-hour meetings could easily be cut in half—at least. Technology
can be a big time drain as well. The HBR
article touched on this issue, but you might also want to read a column I wrote last year that discusses technology
and time management.
Here’s the bottom
line: Managing your time more consciously makes you a better leader, and better
leaders make for better companies. It also makes you a better partner, parent, son
or daughter, and friend.
What you say is
important to you doesn’t matter. What matters is what you actually do. Show me
your calendar, and I’ll tell you your priorities.