Tag: Leadership

Leadership Meets Productivity: The Macro View Versus The Micro View

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imagesLeaders are fundamentally charged with getting things done. That’s the underlying principle of my seminar/book titled “The Waterfall Effect: Six Principles for Productive Leadership.” Thus, the ultimate objective for every leader is to be productive. Failure to do so results in the loss of leadership, formally (demotion) or informally (ineffectiveness).

Controlling the People – The Micro View

Many leaders, especially those in the professional services industries, view leadership as an exercise in micro-management. They constantly insert themselves into their team members’ every effort. They either redirect team effort by giving detailed, step-by-step instruction, or they usurp team effort by just doing the work themselves. This is an example of controlling the people.

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Time Management is a Myth

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Time can’t be managed. It ticks inexorably forward, second by second. The phrase “time management” is really just a catch-all to describe how we get things done. The sum of all we get done is our productivity. Thus, we’re talking about productivity, and, in this case, individual productivity.

Productivity – getting things done – is driven by how much focus we can apply to any one task. The greater the focus, the greater the productivity. Oh, and the net result of increased productivity is not just getting more done, but also the feeling of accomplishment that comes with it. Feeling accomplished is a fundamental component of satisfaction. Thus, getting more done equals feeling better about what we do!

The World in Which We Work

Today’s work environments are fast-paced, noise-filled places where focus is hard to attain and virtually impossible to maintain. Establishing and maintaining a command environment with respect to our workload is the best way to increase our focus and get things done in the most effective and efficient manner. If we allow ourselves to become enslaved by our workload, we will find ourselves constantly reacting to the latest emergency, which is an inefficient way to manage our responsibilities.

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Productive Leadership: The Anatomy of Effective Decision Making

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Before getting started on the substance of this post, I must give credit where credit is due. Much of the conceptual framework for this post is based on a fabulous article penned by Mary Goulet and published in Speaker magazine in April 2008. I found the content so compelling and clearly stated that I wanted to[…]

Productive Leadership: A Simple Test For Action

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Last week I was talking with a client who is the CEO of a burgeoning online content company. His ranks have grown rapidly and his team is distributed across the United States. The company is truly virtual – a structure that greatly reduces overhead commitments but produces challenges of its own. Coordinating people and projects in[…]

Productive Leadership: A Simple Test For Action

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Last week I was talking with a client who is the CEO of a burgeoning online content company.  His ranks have grown rapidly and his team is distributed across the United States.  The company is truly virtual, which greatly reduces overhead commitments but produces challenges of its own. Coordinating people and projects in a virtual[…]