Taming The Terrible Trio

Time, technology and terror.

Investing in time

We each have 168 hours every week; no more, no less. The amount of time we have however is not the issue, how wisely we use the time available is.

“I don’t have time”, “if only I had more time”, “there is not enough time”, are simply excuses for not being resilient, resourceful, and focused. I find the following chart that I complete on a weekly basis a highly valuable tool to keep me focused.

Each week I plan how much time I am prepared to invest in each area and what I will focus on in the time I have allocated. Allowing for downtime is important for two reasons; we will have time to deal with the unexpected, and we simply take time out to do nothing.

Area of focus and time allocated	What I will focus on
Personal	-	-
Family	-	-
Friends	-	-
Winning business	-	-
Doing business	-	-
Leading and managing for people	-	-
Working on my business	-	-
Downtime	-	-

Managing emotions and thoughts

Along with our attitude we decide our feelings and our thoughts, which is contrary to how most people behave, believing that other people effect our emotions and our thinking. W Mitchell wrote “it’s not what happens to us that is important, rather how we respond to what happens to us”.

We are free to choose our response to whatever happens in our lives.

This is a very empowering concept. We can decide to be upset or not to be upset. We can decide to be happy or not to be happy. What other people feel, think, and do is up to them. We are only responsible for what we feel, think and do. Ask yourself this question, are you driven by what happens to you or how you respond to what happens to you?

Dealing with terror in the workplace

Terror in the workplace, commonly called bullying, has much to do with bosses who believe their way is the only way and therefore mostly tell people what to do. As a general rule telling is not real leadership.

Simply telling someone what to do, or telling them what and how, is acceptable behaviour in the context of training or coaching, where there is agreement to learn a new skill or improve a current one.

Telling us what policy says we should do suggests significant problems in hiring, induction, training, learning and development, performance management, and a host of other essential ingredients for sustaining a remarkable workplace. This kind of telling is also an insult to our intelligence.

Real leaders encourage cooperation and collaboration, understanding that when someone contributes to policy, they have some ownership of it. When we own something we do not need to be reminded about it.

Telling us why it would be good to do something misunderstands the fact that motivation comes from within. Real leaders are such excellent, inspiring communicators and role models that people work out the why for themselves.

Not telling us anything is a sign of immaturity and insecurity. Real leaders build self esteem, co-create environments of openness, frankness and trust where eventually no one needs to feel insecure or unable to speak their truth.

Telling us one thing one day and something different the next means we learn not to trust these kinds of people and eventually we avoid them. When trustworthiness is lost it is the beginning of the end of influence. Real leaders are consistent in what they both say and do and hold trust central to all relationships of high value and mutual reward.

Telling us how to do something in a language we can’t understand is approaching service from the server’s perspective rather than the receiver’s. Real leaders are always helping us achieve what they know is important to us, in ways they know we appreciate.

Telling us what it is thought we want to hear is a short cut to loss of credibility if there ever was any. Real leaders speak their minds and the truth from their perspective.

Transcending technology

The vast amount of technology available to make our work more effective and efficient is our servant, not our master. Email, one of the great inventions in history, is the most abused. As a general rule I send and receive emails twice a day, as the first and last actions of my working day. Nobody minds. I have educated my clients. I am connected all the time when I am in my office however I have the volume on my computer turned off. I refuse to be interrupted by the sound of emails arriving. My practice is in stark contrast to most people I know who send and receive all day, in my view a gross waste of time, let alone a major cause of losing focus and therefore reduced effectiveness.

Further most people are on various lists and are therefore receiving emails totally irrelevant to their work yet are being read anyway.

How we use our mobile phones is also another way we can ensure technology is our servant not our master. I choose not to text. The majority of the time my mobile is switched off. My clients know I will always get back to them within 24 hours.

Mobile phones for me are a convenience, not something I should have turned on all of the time.

Do yourself a favour be diligent with your email, mobile, and all other forms of technology.

Possible action you can take

Always remember internal change precedes external change
Stand against the fakes and the frauds by being the best you can be
Speak out against tyranny
Dob in bullies (be prepared for the backlash!)
Protest against unfairness
In all situations decide to respond rather than react
Ensure all the technology you use is your servant, never your master

Buy Ian Berry's Audio Seminar CD from the Resource Centre:

What Real Leaders Do And Fake Ones Don't

Ian Berry is the Managing Director of Remacue. He has expertise in strategy and operations harmony, leadership and management integration, senior executive individual and team best practice and succession planning and plan execution. Visit www.ianberry.au.com for further information. Remacue is a community of personal and organizational best practice experts who individually and in project teams provide unique services to good and great performance partners who want to be even better. Visit the Remacue web site at: www.remacue.com
First published: 19 October 2006.
Last updated: 19 October 2006.