The Perpetual Time Crunch
No matter how experienced you become, or how many people you manage, time is a fixed constraint.
It is true that it is possible to work longer hours (and then longer and longer) but there are only so many days in a week and hours in a day. Even if the alarm clock goes off earlier, there comes a point when there are no further hours which can be added. The most ardent workaholics cannot get up before they have gone to bed, or insist that others do the same.
At some point the time crunch will hit. It is much better to make the changes before you hit the extremes.
Making life bearable is not enough. If you set out to perform at your very best with high energy and a fresh mind, and a strong work-life balance beyond, you have some chance of achieving it. Assuming it is impossible will leave you back where you started.
Here are three key challenges to consider around the perpetual time crunch along with some ways forward.
1. Engaging in other people’s work
Some senior leader job descriptions are INSANE on paper. The endless bullet points of responsibilities and accountabilities are enough to put anyone off. Then there's the person specifications which present as the search for the perfect human being.
Then there are all the tasks which do not appear on the JD, not least the ever groaning and instantly refilled inbox. The key is in the title, it should be a ‘description’ and not an exhaustive list of everything that should be done.
What you are responsible for, and what you actually need to do yourself, are not the same thing. Yet they are conflated all too often. Worse than that is the idea that unless you do it yourself you are not being responsible, because only then can it be completed properly.
In my coaching work there's three key categories of work which appear again and again that senior leaders should not be doing, but which can occupy huge amounts of time.
Tasks which should be carried out by direct reports. In some cases they are not delegated at all, or were but only in theory because the senior leader did them anyway. Delegate a little further than you feel comfortable and stick to it.
Tasks which could have been done by other senior colleagues, either because it is their job or their turn. Most of them know if they sit tight long enough someone else (i.e. you) will volunteer. Stay silent, unless you want to point out it is someone else’s turn.
Tasks which exist because there is no system for preventing a specific type of problem occurring. Alternatively the existing system is not fit for purpose and needs to be changed (but not by you). The lack of process means there is huge inconsistency which senior leaders have to iron out. These 'hidden factories' can produce gargantuan amounts of work. Someone on the team will have the first responsibility for fixing this. Suggest it needs doing, and offer to help (but not lead).
Collectively these three areas can form the majority of a senior leader's workload, and leave the minority of time for the actual job description. Senior leaders with ‘too much to do’ often have opportunities to clear away large chunks of their current that they hold back from taking.
2. Externally imposed change
An interesting aspect of senior leadership is that the higher you travel, the more powerless you can feel as you are subject to change imposed from outside.
One unfortunate headline in a Sunday newspaper can mean a whole new set of guidance a fortnight later to be interpreted, adapted, communicated and implemented. Continuous adaptation requires constant learning and an ability to make quick decisions, adding further strain to already demanding schedules.
The pandemic was one particularly difficult example of this but others can arrive because of new competition, legislation or economic circumstances.
Too often the responsibility for handling this is not distributed amongst senior teams, and opportunities for division of labour are not taken. Each team member does not have to read ‘the whole document’ and break it down for what it means for their department.
One can read it in full, consider it from the perspective of the whole team, research what is going on elsewhere, present the implications and invite the comment and action of others. Not each person, every time.
Leadership teams which work together effectively can be agile in responding to change, get to a plan of action more quickly and deliver at minimum cost to everyone.
3. Enjoying the drama
Some senior leaders just love a firefight. They look for where they can add immediate value, the problem they can fix, the-thing-that-can-be-done-now. React react react. Yet the tasks which could stop that same fire ever starting again do not happen.
Senior leaders need boundaries and they need to reinforce them. Not everyone needs to be at the scene of every problem, copied in to every email or a seat at every table. Many of them have a middle leader/head of section or department perfectly capable of fixing the problem if they could be left to it.
Organisations, and their CEOs, need senior leaders to invest their time in what moves it forward. Reactive work is part of every senior leader's job but it is not the be all and end all. People on the ground do not mind you spending a lot of your time in your office or working from home if what comes out of it leads to tangible improvement.
It is perfectly possible to do this while remaining visible, approachable and responsive.
Remember that
Levels of experience vary hugely amongst senior leaders but they all have the same constraint on their time.
It is very possible to do the same job in a thousand different ways. Too many constraints on time are self-imposed and the result of habits formed over time. Those habits can change.
Holding your colleagues to account is not easy, but can also be a time saver. It might be true that if you want something doing, you should ask a busy person. The busy person also needs to hold their colleagues to account. Those short conversations can be wonderful investments.
How can I help you?
1. One to one coaching programmes for senior leaders who are swamped by their jobs so they can thrive in life. Click here to discover where you are on your journey from Frantic to Fulfilled? Just 5 minutes of your time and you will receive a full personalised report with guidance on your next steps.
2. Team coaching programmes - working IN a team is not the same as working AS a team and yet they are often treated as if they are the same. I help teams move from the former to the latter, and generate huge shifts in productivity and outcomes.
3. Talks, workshops and seminars - including topics relevant to the two areas above plus explaining Gen Z to Gen X and dealing with the intergenerational workplace. Speaker showreel here.
