WEBVTT - Don't reward looking busy

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to not reward looking busy. If you

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<v Speaker 1>are managing other people, what you say and what you

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<v Speaker 1>do can determine whether people focus on impact or on

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<v Speaker 1>things that just don't really matter. I am sure we

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<v Speaker 1>have all had moments in life when we have felt

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<v Speaker 1>pressure to look busy, and so if you are over

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<v Speaker 1>the age of ten or so, you have probably figured

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<v Speaker 1>out your tricks pretending to look at something in your

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<v Speaker 1>notebook so the teacher thinks you're working on up to

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<v Speaker 1>the adult habits of keeping lots of things open on

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<v Speaker 1>a laptop or desktop, making sure not to leave until

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<v Speaker 1>your manager leaves, or the remote work technique of sending

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<v Speaker 1>emails very early in the morning and very late at night,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, so your boss knows you're working more hours

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<v Speaker 1>than your colleagues. In some cases, we can completely see

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<v Speaker 1>the game. Workers in high rise buildings may have seen

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<v Speaker 1>someone lingering on the roof of another building for a while,

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<v Speaker 1>smoking a cigarette, hanging out. They were sent up on

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<v Speaker 1>the roof for something. And then if you're on the roof,

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<v Speaker 1>you're obviously working, so maybe just stay there a little while.

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<v Speaker 1>You certainly look busy to anyone on the ground, if

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<v Speaker 1>not to the folks who can see you from their

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<v Speaker 1>office windows. So it goes for a nice day on

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<v Speaker 1>the roof. But there are downsides to an organizational culture

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<v Speaker 1>where looking busy is rewarded. For instance, some people send

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<v Speaker 1>slack messages whose major purpose is to show that they

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<v Speaker 1>are working, But then those messages can interrupt people who

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<v Speaker 1>are in fact working, or who are trying to relax

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<v Speaker 1>so they can work effectively during regular business hours. When

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<v Speaker 1>everyone is so busy, there is a tendency not to

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<v Speaker 1>ask for help because who has the time. You might

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<v Speaker 1>miss opportunities because everyone is just too busy to seek

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<v Speaker 1>them out and execute on those that appear promising and

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<v Speaker 1>more fundamentally, being busy is a pretty meaningless metric. If

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<v Speaker 1>you sold a million dollar proposal in two minutes on

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<v Speaker 1>Monday morning, you'd be doing more for your organization that

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<v Speaker 1>week than if you spent fifty hours re editing the

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<v Speaker 1>employee newsletter by continuously changing the font. What matters is

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<v Speaker 1>what you get done. The good news is that if

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<v Speaker 1>you are in management, you have the ability to help

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<v Speaker 1>create a culture that focuses on what people get done

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<v Speaker 1>that in turn helps people have balanced lives while accomplishing

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<v Speaker 1>meaningful things. No one really likes keeping a spreadsheet up

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<v Speaker 1>on their laptop until seven p m. Just so it

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<v Speaker 1>looks like they're doing something when they're actually scrolling on

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<v Speaker 1>their phone. They'd prefer to be doing something challenging, or

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<v Speaker 1>at least something where they can see the purpose, and

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<v Speaker 1>they'd like to be doing it in the company of

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<v Speaker 1>supportive people, and they'd like to do it efficiently and

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<v Speaker 1>then get back any extra time. The first step is

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<v Speaker 1>to regularly talk with people about the expectations for their roles,

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<v Speaker 1>set doable goals together. Weekly might be a good rhythm

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<v Speaker 1>for many people, though some new or very young hires

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<v Speaker 1>might even need a daily conversation. At first, talk about

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<v Speaker 1>how long various tasks should take. Talk about deadlines and

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<v Speaker 1>what to do if you get stuck. Then check in

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<v Speaker 1>regularly with people about how the tasks are going and

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<v Speaker 1>if the timeline seem appropriate, See how people are filling

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<v Speaker 1>their days. If stuff is taking too long or too

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<v Speaker 1>little time, that's not good or bad per se. It's

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<v Speaker 1>just information, and so you can figure out how best

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<v Speaker 1>to allocate resources. You can also have a conversation with

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<v Speaker 1>people about what to do if they have finished their

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<v Speaker 1>primary work, What other work should they do, or what

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<v Speaker 1>professional development or collegial relationship building is appropriate. Maybe that's

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<v Speaker 1>thinking about ways you can enhance your organization services, watching

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<v Speaker 1>a webinar to build skills, or even going out for

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<v Speaker 1>coffee to get to know a colleague better. These are

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<v Speaker 1>all much better uses of time than looking at their

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<v Speaker 1>calendar for the next week. In multiple views, some people

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<v Speaker 1>will naturally take the initiative to do these things, but

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<v Speaker 1>some just won't, so talk with them about it. And again,

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<v Speaker 1>if people have done the requirements of their job to

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<v Speaker 1>the high standards that you expect, then they don't have

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<v Speaker 1>to stick around just to do so. You can work

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<v Speaker 1>together to figure out work that will take approximately forty

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<v Speaker 1>hours per week or whatever of the general expectation is.

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<v Speaker 1>Then how people work these hours can be at least

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<v Speaker 1>partly up to them, and crucially, watch what you say

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<v Speaker 1>and what you do. Don't praise people for getting in

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<v Speaker 1>early and staying late, or sending emails at all hours

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<v Speaker 1>of the day, or boasting about how busy they are.

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<v Speaker 1>If someone signs off at four PM leaves the office,

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<v Speaker 1>then you don't need to say heading out early today, huh.

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<v Speaker 1>If someone else says that, you can remind people that

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<v Speaker 1>you aren't working in a factory where you punch in

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<v Speaker 1>and punch out. I mean, unless you truly are working

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<v Speaker 1>in such a place. You can praise people primarily for

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<v Speaker 1>what they produce. That might sound obvious, but it is

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<v Speaker 1>challenging in practice because thanking a team for their long

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<v Speaker 1>hours can just roll off the tongue. Thanks for all

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<v Speaker 1>those long hours you put in. Well, instead, you can

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<v Speaker 1>thank them for their hard work and they're insightful solutions.

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<v Speaker 1>Even more important, you can model that it is okay

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<v Speaker 1>to work reasonable hours and not be available. Sometimes try

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<v Speaker 1>not to send emails outside of business hours because your

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<v Speaker 1>employees will likely respond as quickly as they can. That's

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<v Speaker 1>just human nature to want to show your boss that

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<v Speaker 1>you are responsive. Tell people if you are leaving for

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<v Speaker 1>something family related. You don't have to say it's a

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<v Speaker 1>doctor's appointment. I have never quite understood why that is okay.

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<v Speaker 1>But not going to an event at a kid's school.

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<v Speaker 1>Show that you have a life outside work, and then

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<v Speaker 1>also talk about what your organization's big goals are people

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<v Speaker 1>like to know why their work matters and how they

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<v Speaker 1>are contributing to the whole. Making sure everyone is clear

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<v Speaker 1>on that keeps people focused on results. You don't want

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<v Speaker 1>your staff doing the knowledge worker equivalent of standing around

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<v Speaker 1>on the roof. You want them to get their work

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<v Speaker 1>done and then intentionally and openly use the available time

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<v Speaker 1>for other valuable pursuits. And that's what they want to

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<v Speaker 1>It feels good to do efficient and meaningful work in

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E

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<v Speaker 1>the number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at

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<v Speaker 1>iHeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letter us. Thanks so much, I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio,

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