There is so much going on these days.  We have many demands for our attention on top of being constantly bombarded by information (distractions and attractions) on a 24×7 basis.  And I really mean 24×7!  We are “bombarded” even when we are “sleeping” (or trying to).  Think about some of your recent dreams or the “thoughts” that wake us up in the middle of the night.  A lot of it comes from our many pending list items, problems we have or imagine having, etc.   When we can’t sleep, many of us turn on the TV or start reading email on a PDA, or do something else associated with “dumping” (more) information into our brain.

We are being pulled in so many directions by so many demands from people and by the things we should, have, and/or want to do!     At “home”, the family (parents, siblings, spouses, kids, partners, relatives, etc) needs your attention.   Your friends need your attention.  At work, your boss, your customers, your employees, etc., need your attention.  Sometimes, even YOU need your own attention. Your problems need attention.   Your opportunities need attention.   Your money (investments) needs attention.  Your health needs attention.  WOW!!!  That’s what I call the “Attention Tug-of-War”.

Imagine being in the middle and being pulled by not two but by many ropes tied to your waist in a 360 degree fashion.  Depending on what day or time it is, one of those ropes is pulling harder than the others.  Sometimes two or more are pulling with the same force.  That is when we feel that we are being torn apart.  OUCH!!!

So what can be done about this “challenge”?   How can IT Managers win these personal and organizational “tugs-of wars”?  How can they assist their teams/team members win their own “tug-of-wars”?

In my experience, the best approach to alleviate this tug-of-war feeling is through the development of what I call “Intention Clarity”.  I have found that when I become certain about what I want to accomplish, when I know what I want, I can easily adjust my focus and pay better attention to the people and things that matter most relative to my (clearest) intention.  I must tell you that the “tug-of war” does not necessarily end as a result, but it does become less “stressful” for lack of a better term.  It makes it much easier to choose what to attend to out of the many choices that we face.  It makes it easy to say “NO!” to the unrelated things and “YES!” to the things that align with our clear intention.  I have found there is nothing more powerful than clarity and conviction!  It helps us become more aligned and attentive. Less conflicted!  And that conflict is what produces most of the “tug-of-war” stress in the end.  When we are not sure of what we want to do or are supposed to do, we have a harder time.  We become torn between two, or sometimes several, choices.  However, when we know what we want to do or are supposed to do, it is a piece of cake.  We are comfortable and feel energized.  The stress we may feel under this situation is better stress, not bad as I talked about last month in my post “The Stress Paradox”.

In his book Secrets of Personal Mastery, L. Michael Hall, Ph.D. posed that many individuals diagnosed with “Attention Deficit Disorder” (ADD) really have what he calls “Intention Deficit Disorder” (IDD).  I believe Dr. Hall is right on!  He is not only right from an individual standpoint, but from an organizational one as well.  You could say many organizations operate as if they had some form of ADD, but I suspect that what they really have is IDD!

If you, your organization, or any of its members are involved in a “tug-of-war”, try to find some clarity — Intention clarity, or clarity of purpose.  Once you do, I promise the tugs-of-war that can end up killing some will subside. They will become less harmful to your health and to the quality of your life and to that of others.  I am clear of that!

The BEST is Yet to Come!

Epi Torres, CEO

Recently, I wrote several posts about time management and I suggested IT Managers consider a number of approaches to restructure how they spend their time.

Once in awhile I like to remind my team at Remote DBA Experts of the importance of taking time to think.  I send them an email with the words “stop” — “look” — “listen” as the subject line and then I give them a few questions to ponder in the body of the email.

Over the last ten years or so, I have found that there is nothing more valuable than taking time to think.  To help me accomplish this, I have set up two routines designed to force me to THINK.  Weekly I have what I call my “PowerWeek” time and then every day I have what I call my “PowerHour”.

During the PowerWeek timeframe I “STOP” to evaluate where I am relative to my personal and business goals.  The stop metaphor is powerful because it means that I get away from all of the day-to-day distractions that sometimes clutter my mind. Once I have a clear mind, it becomes easier to elevate my thoughts to higher value/leverage levels. Once I stop and focus on the more important matters, I can “LOOK” at things better and see where I am relative to where I want to be.  Also, by freeing my mental bandwidth from the “clutter” I can “LISTEN” to things and get some messages people may have given me when I was too busy to pay them attention.

Time to think is high leverage.  Paradoxically, by taking time to think, you actually open time for other things.  By taking time to think, we can determine if we are using our time on the right and most important things.

In my experience, time to think needs to become a routine.  This is easier to accomplish than you think.  Initially, you may need to force yourself to set a standard time and find a great place to think.  It also helps to set a “thinking agenda” so you make time to think valuable.

In my PowerDay time slot, I take time to make sure that my weekly plan that I developed during the PowerWeek routine does not get off schedule due to day-to-day distractions.

I hope this gives you a good sense of the power of taking time to think.

The BEST is Yet to Come!

Epi Torres, CEO

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

So what can you do to seek relief from the stress caused by this situation?  How can you find the time to accomplish what you are supposed to?

The first approach I suggest is to assess where your time is going.  If you keep good records, you can go back and study the patterns of your time spent over the last few weeks as long as it was reflective of your normal routines.  Otherwise start keeping a journal of time for the next few weeks (one or two of them).  Once collected, analyze the data for patterns.

The next step is to identify your top responsibilities, roles and associated goals and determine the amount of time you have been spending on them.   This exercise will allow you to see if you have been operating in alignment with your top priorities or not.  It will show you who and what has been dominating your time.

There is only one way to accomplish goals and key responsibilities and that is to spend time doing things that have an impact on them.  Without alignment there is no accomplishment!

Another approach I have found useful to help me rebalance my time is based on a theory I learned  a  few years ago from a book written by Dr. Ichak Adizes.  In his books he identified four “Management Style Prototypes” that I have found useful in helping me assess and rebalance tendencies in myself and others that cause time to be wasted.

Adizes fits his four styles into a 2×2 matrix as follows in the figure below.  Management styles are assigned according to four dimensions including a manager’s priority, focus, speed and process preferences.  For example, the “Integrator” style is a person who tends to follow an unstructured process, tends to pay more attention to “the process”, tends to have a global (big picture) focus, and tends to act slower.    According to Adizes, to be successful, businesses should build management teams with individuals representing all the styles.

I agree with Dr. Adizes that we all have tendencies (habits) that make us fit in one of the four quadrants.  However, I suggest that increasing our self-awareness of our tendencies can help us become more balanced.  Thus, we can apply the most appropriate style to each specific situation we face.   In my experience, when I rebalance these dimensions I become much more productive with the use of my time.

So what I recommend you do, in order to rebalance yourself, is to ask yourself the following questions:

• Where do I need to slow down?
• Where do I need to speed up?
• Where do I need to take a more global (look at the big picture) view?
• Where do I need to take a more local (look at the details) view?
• Where do I need to focus on the process?
• Where do I need to focus on the results?
• Where do I need less structure?
• Where do I need more structure?

Do this in context of your key roles, responsibilities and goals and you will see how you will be able to shift and align your time much better and accomplish more!

In order for this method to be successful, it is critical that you have a clear understanding of your role, responsibilities and goals before you assess anything.

The BEST is Yet to Come!

Epi Torres, CEO