Ask the Geezers

An Overwhelmed Manager

Question It seems that there are issues all the time, and if I choose to deal with them all I will have no time and exhaustion will get the best of me. What do I do?

Mike One large difference between being an individual contributor and being a manager is that a manager's job is driven more by time and interruption. As a manager, I have spent a career with unfinished work. Senior management jobs usually have a lot more to do with the calendar than with project milestones. And the issues that come unexpectedly are often the most important at any moment.

The key is to delegate as much as you logically can, and then focus on the things that you *must* do. If you try to do everything yourself, you are doomed to exhaustion, failure or both.

Sin-Yaw It is a bit surprising to see this question. A person not knowing the concept of prioritization should not become a manager to begin with.

How to prioritize, on the other hand, is a question that frequently eludes even the most experienced managers. I offer you an algorithm that works for me:
1. Carve out time for family and personal life first. In the long run, they are the real engine for your success. Sacrificing them is suicidal, only slowly.
2. Align with your boss. Do not ask him/her to prioritize for you. Ask for his/her priority. Ask for their interpretations too.
3. Balance urgency and importance. Have a 2-by-2 matrix of high/low urgency/importance. Put things into the matrix. You won't believe the clarity you'll get by this process. While you are there, check the timing of each item.
4. March toward personal goals. Is this good for yourself? Do you know where you're going to?

Amiram This isn't a simple question. And in my mind, this is where management becomes more art and less science. Intuition is not scientific. Intuition is something that you have (or don't) and that develops over the course of your career and the collection of your experience, successes and failures.

To make it more complicated, let me use an analogy from wartime. Wars are not won by winning 100% of the battles. Wars are won by winning the important few battles. The question is, how do I know? And the answer is simple: you don't. Over the years, and as you gain experience, you develop a sense for the battles you want to win, the battles you don't mind losing, and the battles you simply don't show up to. Certainly, if you choose to fight all battles, you will lose the war. So, to answer your question: sift through the issues, find the ones that are really important to you, and take them as far as you possibly can. Don't hesitate. Don't look back. You would realize soon, that subset of battles you need to win in order to win the war, is much smaller than you imagine.

Posted at 10:29AM Jul 13, 2007 by Wen Michelle Lei in Management Style  |  Comments[1]