It's How Well You Use Your Time

Have you ever heard someone say that he didn't have the time to do something, or that he was too busy to get something done? Why is it, though, that others consistently accomplish what these individuals seem either unwilling or unable to? Perhaps one of the best, and most concise explanations came from Sam Ewing, when he stated it this way, "It's not the hours that you put in your work that counts, it's the work that you put in the hours." In my over thirty years of involvement in nearly every aspect of leadership, from identifying and training, qualifying, and consulting, to serving in leadership positions in both corporate entities as well as non profit organizations, the one area that I have observed is most often misunderstand, over- emphasized, or misconstrued, is that far too many individuals equate the time spent with how well something is done. Many years ago, an organization discussed with me the possibility of serving in a leadership staff position, and during the discussions, one of the questions they wanted discussed, is how many hours per week I would dedicate to their group. I responded in a manner that, to this day, I believe far too many people continue not to understand. I replied that an efficient and capable person can often accomplish far more in considerably less time than most others. I then said that I could accomplish more than the others they might consider in ten or fifteen hours per week than others might get done in fifty, so why would you want someone wasting time on your "dime?"

1. Efficiency begins with doing excellent homework, so as to have the knowledge to be in a position to make wise, timely decisions. This then creates the ability to effectively plan, create goals, and work an action plan that directly relates not only to current needs, but also future ones. Rather than spinning one's wheels, and accomplishing little, the more effective and efficient leader uses his timely wisely and gets more done in far less time. The more efficient person is invariably less stressed, more effective and far more focused on the big picture and on possible ramifications.

2. Many studies show that many individuals in leadership spend the bulk of their time on unproductive matters. There is far too little attention given to priorities, needs and ideas, and far more is often done as a reaction to a perceived crisis, than to forecasting and preventing obstacles from getting to that unproductive stage.

If you really want to lead, be better prepared. Don't blame time or use it as an excuse, but wisely and effectively use your time to be more productive.