Breakthrough Performance Time Balance

In my recent post, Making Better Use of Your Time, I wrote about regaining control of your time.  This post is a follow-up with a slightly different spin.  This time I’m suggesting that IT Managers think a little differently about where they spend their time.  In a book I read a while ago, The Breakthrough Company, Keith McFarland identifies strategies and skills that enable everyday companies to become extraordinary performers. According to his research, key managers in “breakthrough” companies have the ability to move away from spending time “doing” tasks and focus on spending time in three critical areas:  Strategy, people and execution.

The premise is that management effectiveness and business results are best obtained when key managers spend their time balanced around these three areas.  We all bring some expertise and passion to our current position.  These talents and passion tend to make us gravitate towards those areas.  And while this can be productive, our biggest leverage may not be in those areas.

As an IT Manager, you should evaluate if your time is being consumed by tasks that relate to your talent and passion as opposed to strategy, people and execution.

In the strategy area, the idea is to spend more time devising, modifying, and communicating relevant IT strategy on a daily basis.

In the people area, the idea is to spend more time on activities that ensure you are getting the most out of your people.  This does not mean “slave driving” or “watching over shoulders”. It means spend time finding what makes people tick, challenging them, catching them doing good things and bad, and providing productive feedback to make sure they are engaged and aligned with your company’s mission.

Finally, in the execution area, the idea is to spend more time ensuring execution.  You must ensure that the strategic and tactical tasks that need to be done are accomplished and that your team is following though and not getting distracted with other misaligned tasks.

The key to success is balance of these three areas.  As with everything else, too much time in one area may not produce the same results as if you carefully spread time in all three.  It is possible that for a short span of time you need to concentrate on developing a strategy to accomplish a goal, but if that is all your doing, you may get in trouble.

So in addition to the questions I provided in Making Better Use of Your Time, you may want to add three more questions to ponder:

• Do I need to spend more or less time devising, modifying, and communicating strategy this week?
• Do I need to spend more or less on time getting the most out of my people this week?
• Do I need to spend more or less time on ensuring execution this week?

One of the lessons I have learned as CEO of Remote DBA Experts is that old habits are hard to break.  We tend to do the same things until we are not even aware we do them.  By becoming aware of where we spend time, we can help surface our less productive habits and shift our attention and efforts towards higher leverage activities like strategy, people and execution.  Try it!

The BEST is Yet to Come!

Epi Torres, CEO