Heather Eldred » leadership

4 ways to get more done each day

Heather — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 16:45:04 +0000

Let’s face it, no matter how much we get done each day, burning the candle at both ends, the longer our to-do list gets. I personally run to the side of overly ambitious in all the things that I want to pursue and accomplish. In any given day, I might decide to get a lot of work done for a client, work out an hour or two, make a great meal, clean my house, write some pages in my book-in-progress and spend quality time with my kidos. Some days I accomplish all of this and some days not so much. Because I’m always trying to do so much, I’ve had to find effective and simple strategies to get more done- without killing myself. The key? Quit trying to do so much! Here are four tips to help you get more of the right stuff done each day. 1) Prioritize – what do you really want to do and what really has to get done? Once a week (and usually every day), I make a list of the FEW things that absolutely must get done this week. For me, mowing the lawn isn’t on the MUST do list while cleaning the clothes is, folding them isn’t. Paying the utility bill that is past due so the electricity doesn’t get turned off is. At work, I really focus on the 80/20 – the 20% of things that have the ability to move the needle. So the few things might be meeting with my staff to develop next quarter’s strategic plan (helping them find their 80/20) but not cleaning out my inbox. For a busy executive – this list might only be 3-5 items long. 2) Quit multi-tasking – believe it or not multi-tasking is the worst thing that you can do. It used to come with bragging rights but now I think most people realize this is not the way to get more done. You end up working on a lot of things but getting nothing done well. Don’t believe me? Try it for a week. Only work on one thing at a time. You’ll get more done, you’ll feel less stressed and what you do get done will be done well. 3) Make your Mornings Count – Do the most important (and hardest) tasks when your brain is at its peak. For most of us, that is first thing in the morning. I realized a long time ago, that if I don’t get the hard stuff done by 11, I’m pretty much screwed for the day. And what we do the first thing in the morning sets the tone. If you start your day saturating your brain with email or worse yet last night’s Facebook posts, you’ll set yourself up for a very unproductive day. So don’t use those precious fertile moments to read email or pay bills! That time is precious and should be used for things that require great creativity and or great thought. If you are working on a new business idea, writing a book or […]

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Learn to say “no” to achieve your dreams

Heather — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 15:59:13 +0000

I had a great conversation with a friend yesterday that inspired me to share her story and great tips. Barbara (all names have been changed to protect the innocent) is a young professional that would like to get involved in management and be a leader in her company. She’s felt frustrated in the past because while her co-workers genuinely value her “get it done attitude”, teamwork and appreciate that she’ll jump in and help with anything – she doesn’t think they see her as a leader. At first she was upset that no one really took her seriously, but now she has taken her career growth into her own hands. One of the hardest (and maybe not intuitive) things she had to do was to quit saying “yes” all the time. In my experience most of us are either “yes” or “no” people. By this I mean our first impulse when asked to do something is to either say yes or no. This instant answer (regardless of if you are the yes guy or the no guy) should be tempered. If you generally say “no” (particularly if it “isn’t my job”) to requests, you will rarely have an opportunity to try new things, grow or work with new people. You won’t have the opportunity to discover some of your own hidden talents and passions. And from your peer’s and supervisor’s perspective, at a minimum you’ll get pigeon holed – people won’t even consider you for new assignments. But even worse, they’ll feel you aren’t a team player. You aren’t someone they can depend on. I think most of us understand the pitfalls in being the “no” guy. And probably if you are a “no” guy, you already recognize it and are working on it. But I bet most of us don’t get and maybe some of you won’t even buy into the fact that being the “yes” guy can have pitfalls as well. Barbara realized that while she was well liked and everyone wanted her on their team, she wasn’t standing out as a leader or a real expert. But instead of blaming others for not giving her opportunities, she took it on herself to develop the skills and experience that is needed to become a leader – and this started with knowing when to say NO. Barbara knew that she needed to work hard to become a leader – she needed to gain skills but also needed opportunities where her co-workers could see her in a leadership role. But she knows that just adding more hours in her workday wasn’t the answer either. Barbara has already seen the benefits of work-life balance. She needed to find ways to spend more of her time on the tasks that will get her to her goals without adding hours to her day. These are the tips she shared with me: 1) Track and review where you spend your time. If you don’t know what you are spending time on now, you can’t make […]

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Is Your Boss Smothering You? (Or are you the Bossy Micro-Manager?)

Heather — Sat, 26 Apr 2014 16:26:35 +0000

Is your boss someone that although well meaning, is a bit of a control freak? Having a positive relationship with your boss is one the key variables in enjoying our jobs. But for most folks, micro-managers make work life challenging because they feel they lack the creative freedom to get the job done. “Micromanaging can show up in many forms, but most typically in bosses who dictate how employees complete tasks, question employees’ judgments, frequently ask for updates, and check in incessantly. While the line between effective involved leadership and micromanaging can be thin—detail-oriented or obsessive? Constructive or controlling?—many employees have felt the effects of a manager whose management style is more overbearing than hands-on and collaborative. In his book My Way or the Highway: The Micromanagement Survival Guide, author Harry Chambers reports that 79 percent of those surveyed said they’d been micromanaged at one time or another. A 2003 survey by office products manufacturers Franklin Covey, meanwhile, found that employees singled out micromanagement as the most significant barrier to productivity they faced, confirmed by a 2011 study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology that showed people who believe they are being watched perform at a lower level.” ~ “Managing up when your boss is an obsessive micromanager” by Peggy Dexler. http://www.forbes.com/sites/peggydrexler/2013/06/13/managing-up-when-your-boss-is-an-obsessive-micromanager/ The first step is to understand if you (or your boss) are really a micromanager. This great article by Terry Arndt lays out the different “types” of bosses and how to recognize them: http://www.jobdig.com/articles/1107/Types_of_Bosses.html How to recognize a Micromanager: “He maintains tight control over information and resources, requires constant feedback on progress, seldom gives decision-making power to others, can be closed to input from subordinates, and tends to question employees about their decisions, methods and results.” “Bright side: Provides detailed instructions.” “Dark side: Bottlenecks progress, causes employees to question their own abilities, makes work tedious and more time-consuming than necessary.” This management style also impedes our creative energies and gets us out of the mode of thinking for ourselves. Without experience (and failure) in managing your own time, finding your own solutions and making decisions; the employee will never grow personally or within the company. How to deal with a Micromanager The key in dealing with a micro-manager is to give them a sense of confidence that you know what you are doing, that you are keep track of everything on your plate and that you know how to determine what tasks need your bosses opinion and which don’t. “Always restate your boss’s expectations and concerns out loud. This demonstrates that you hear and comprehend your task.” You really need to understand what your boss’s priorities are. Ensure (and repeat back) what the end product needs to look like, when it is due, who needs to review it and state plainly what you believe his main priorities are. Ask him straight out if you can have flexibility in how you get to the project accomplished as long as you are addressing his concerns and make the deadline. Often […]

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Making decisions is an integral part of being a leader

Heather — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 22:14:15 +0000

Decision making is a key component to our lives and a daily element of successful leadership. The quality of decisions and the ability to make one (as opposed to being continually un-decided) shapes our lives and our careers. I’ve personally honed my decision making skills by the following: 1) A lot of practice making decisions and not being stifled by indecision (remember NOT making a decision is still making a decision, you just had no input into the outcome). 2) Learning to focus on the 80/20, the 20% of the facts that are actually relevant to the effectiveness of the decision, quickly discounting the red herrings and fluff. 3) Finally, the most important thing I’ve learned is to trust my intuition. While I generally have little time to make a decision and nearly always have to make it based on not enough information and not enough time, the gut reflex will generally get me there, even if I have little empirical data to support the instinct. I’ve learned to take a moment and ensure I’m making a decision from a place that is positive, won’t have any large unintended negative impacts and that feels genuine to myself. This article from Deepak Chopra discusses how to make great decisions. https://www.deepakchopra.com/blog/view/1412/_the_secret_to_making_good_decisions

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