5 THINGS TO TURN YOUR BAD BUSYNESS INTO GOOD BUSINESS

It’s become customary that when someone is asked how they are, the answer comes back something like, “flat out, busy as, out of control” or, as a client recently said to me “I’m as busy as a one legged man in an butt kicking competition”! It seems like it’s a badge of honour to admit that you are really, really busy.

My issue is, that just being busy does not cut it. Being productive, efficient and making progress towards your vision or purpose should be the name of the game, but I see too many people floundering despite being ‘busy’. It’s simply not good business.

Here are five things that will make a difference.

1. Get a system for your time management. Be disciplined and systematic about how you allocate your time to your tasks.

2. Slow down. I see too many people in chaos and they are running really hard and basically getting no where. Slow down or STOP! Get in control, and go again.

3. Prioritise. We simply cannot have it all and do it all. Work out what are the most important things and work on those first.

4. Delegate. Every senior executive I have worked with was doing tasks that someone else in the organisation could and should be doing. Focus on your highest value contribution to you business. Delegate the rest.

5. Say No! We all like to be liked and sometimes we say yes just so we can please or not offend others, when we really should be saying no. Be honest and say no, so you don’t set yourself up for failure.

THIS IS WHAT IS HOLDING BACK YOUR LEADERSHIP: TIME.

"I'd be a better leader if I just had more time".

I have worked with thousands of aspiring leaders; managers that want to be more influential, but don't have the time to be.

It's not as if it's not important to them, it's just that everything else is getting in the way and they simply don't have time to do the 'non urgent leadership stuff'.

The answer is simple. Become more organised, more productive and manage time better. That way, you will be able to do all of your operational stuff in less time, creating time for you to focus on leading.

Better time management requires two things - a system, and discipline. Here is a proven system that I have taught to thousands. It works. The discipline? That's up to you!

BOPAD - funny name, big results.

1. Brain Dump: Take a clean sheet of paper. Write down every detail, deadline, task, commitment that you can think of. Don't stop until there's nothing more coming.

2. Organise: Rewrite the items under logical headings eg Clients, Admin, Follow Up etc. 

3. Prioritise: All things are not equal. Identify the highest priority items.

4: Allocate: Open your diary or calendar. Allocate time for you to complete the highest priority tasks.

5: Do: There should be no doubt about what you need to do - you have identified the most important tasks and made time to do them. Just do it!

2 THINGS MORE IMPORTANT THAN SEX AND CHOCOLATE

Praise and recognition cost nothing, but are the keys to productive relationships and good leading.

There is strong research that shows that heartfelt praise and recognition for good work are far more powerful motivating factors than money!

If you don't believe me, imagine working in an environment where nothing you did was recognised and you received no thanks or acknowledgment for your contribution.

It is not always possible to increase financial rewards for your team, but what is stopping you taking the time and effort to recognise their efforts?

Without praise and recognition people can feel taken for granted and undervalued. You can greatly increase the level of engagement of your people by providing them with regular and genuine feedback on their progress as well as providing opportunities for them to tell you what’s going on for them.

Invest a little time and effort and reap the returns.

Praising and recognising your people costs nothing, but leads them to care more about their work.

How many of your people, on average, REALLY care?

How many employees do you have?

How many of them care, REALLY care, about your organisation?

Write down the % that you think are motivated, passionate and enthusiastic about working at your place.

Global gurus in employee engagement, Gallup Consulting, have research that shows that in Australia, on average, only 24% really care. That's less than one in four. I don't know about you, but I reckon that is SCARY!

Why does it matter? Well, Gallup's research shows a direct link between high levels of engagement and organisational outcomes like higher productivity, profitability, growth, quality and safety. If you want your organisation to be successful, you should care about the level of engagement (or Care Factor) of your people.

It is the leader's job to create an environment where people feel connected to the organisation, that they care about it succeeding and, as a result, they give their best.

We are helping organisations improve the 'Care Factor' of their employees by encouraging them to do the following

• making the expectations of their employees crystal clear
• giving regular and honest feedback on performance
• sharing the vision, key result areas and actions plans with employees
• giving opportunities for growth and development
• creating an environment where people feel valued and a part of a team.

I'll come to your place to SPEAK FOR FREE about how to increase the 'Care Factor' of your employees. Click here for us to connect.

WHY YOU SHOULD SAY "NO" MORE OFTEN

In his book Essentialism, Greg McKeown encourages us to discern 'the essential few from the trivial many'. He recommends focusing only on essential tasks, those things that make the highest value contribution to achieving our vision or purpose. (By the way, its a great read / listen. I highly recommend it).

In order to make your highest value contribution, you need to say "No" more often.

You should say 'No" when ... you are saying "Yes" just to be nice or please someone else. We all want to be liked, but we will create a difficult situation if we become a "Yes person". Leaders need to get comfortable with not being liked.

You should say 'No" when ... you know that saying "Yes" will set you up for failure. When you know you can't deliver on what is being asked, you have to either decline or negotiate a different time frame. This isn't being rude, just assertive.

You should say 'No" when ... you know that the task is not your highest value contribution to your vision or purpose. You have a responsibility to be as productive and efficient as possible and being caught up with tasks that someone else could do defeats this purpose. Delegation is the key here.

You should say 'No" when ... being authentic is important to you (and it should be). Saying "Yes" when you know you should be saying "No" means that you are compromising your values. Being authentic sometimes means pushing back.

You should say 'No" when ... you need time to think, create, plan, recharge. We can't be at our best when we are too busy. We need to eliminate non essential activity and focus on 'protecting the asset', as Greg McKeown puts it. Don't feel guilty about looking after yourself.

Saying "No" to a lot of things means that you are saying "Yes" to just a few, but it is the laser sharp focus on the most important stuff that the best leaders apart.