Ok so I am going to be honest. Most of the bosses I have had (in the past 20 years these have been at CEO level) failed in two key areas. Delegation and time management. They are of course intrinsically linked but today I just want to focus on time management. It seems that most leadership development courses assume we have all established effective time management skills and strategies. I know from personal experience this is not the case. Many leaders are reactive and underprepared, and this results in leadership failure and frustration for both leaders and followers.
Thanks to my recent ADHD diagnosis, I now have greater understanding and appreciation for my need of a clearly defined yet flexible schedule. Without this, I do not operate effectively. I need the dopamine hit of satisfaction that comes from achievement. In the workplace, where I am often working on projects and issues that having a fluctuating appeal (depending on where in the process or task I am at), managing my time to ensure I get that hit even if the project or issue is ongoing is essential.
One basic but often overlooked technique is blocking out chunks of time for activities such as “emails”, “planning” or “problem solving”. This has become essential in managing both my time, and the very real risk of neurodivergent burnout. The risk of professional burnout can also be mitigated with this simple tactic.
A second technique that is rarely taught is to schedule less activities and allow longer lead in times to ensure deadlines are met. This creates both internal and external space for when life just happens. Because I need the dopamine hit, even when days go completely pear shaped, I will always note down the unscheduled activities undertaken during the day so that I retain a sense of satisfaction and achievement instead of cultivating frustration and disappointment. Then I reschedule the activities that were not achieved.
If you would like to explore how to create effective time management approaches to enhance your leadership, please reach out by email elizabethdenniss@bigpond.com to arrange a leadership development session. You can also contact me on 0456728961. Sessions can be online or in person.