5 WAYS TO ASSIST YOUR TEAM WITH TIME MANAGEMENT AS A LEADER

5 WAYS TO ASSIST YOUR TEAM WITH TIME MANAGEMENT AS A LEADER

If all that you think is flooding the inbox of your employees to make them work, then you're highly mistaken. This isn't how teams are made - teams are formed with extreme care, sensitivity, association and inspiration. To better tap into each employee's potential, you've got to tick all the boxes.

Like any skill, time management too is a craft that takes time to exercise, practice, repeat and learn. It's not an overnight thing you simply can blow into your team - it takes a full-fledged strategy to induce this behavior.

This article is about equipping you with the strategies and a thought process to assist your team with time management as a leader.

Let's delve right into it!

Lead by Example

Before you ask your team to comply with the company policies and respect time, you better do it yourself. Your advice is of no good to anyone if it's merely an overly-repeated fact. We're designed to learn by copying others neurochemically. Back in childhood, you automatically learnt the activities that most of the time your parents or siblings were engaged in, right? What difference would it have made if all they had done was lecture you on certain things and do the opposite? Nothing!

The same goes for your team and as a leader, your utmost priority is to respect the time yourself. This will definitely leave a mark on your employees at a subconscious level. Only then would you be in a position to claim your right to have them respect schedules assertively.

Takeaway:

  • Always follow the schedule, irrespective of the amount of work.
  • Create planning charts and hang them in your office for your employees to notice.
  • Only entertain meetings with the employees at the allotted time slots.

Having it done, you've done your part as a leader. Now is the time to take it a step further and disseminate the same to your team.

Run Time Audits

The research was done in 2021, where it was concluded that 49% of people on the job never audit their time. That's approximately 50% of the people who are oblivious to how their time is spent. They fall victim to distractions without them being conscious of them. It's the deadliest thing ever. Because, in order to pluck time-wasting activities out, you've got to be vigilant and cognizant of the habits you most often fall for.

Takeaway: As a leader or in any managerial position, your first job is to run frequent time audits and see where your team lacks. Figure out the areas you're supposed to invest more time in.

Now, there's a complete map before you, and you know precisely where those loopholes are. It is the time to fill them with solid concrete and build a solid base.

Accountability

Hold your employees accountable for the time they spend on each task. Now, it has not got to be strict or a rigid way of getting your message across. You can politely ask them to report on the progress they've made.

Meeting each of them is enervating and doesn't suit your schedule? Then, let them know that you'll randomly come over and inquire about the progress and their invested efforts.

Takeaway: Ask for a tangible roadmap they're following and what they intend to achieve at the end of the following week or a month. If possible, ask for a Gantt chart.

Learn to say NO!

You can't say YES to everyone you see. You’ve your priorities set and someone jumps in, diverting you entirely off the track - Never be the guy to entertain that.

As someone in a leadership position, you must lecture your team on that. Teach them how to say a "No" ethically. It doesn't always have to be rude. Learn to say NO while staying within the ethical boundaries and respecting the organization's culture. Instruct your team to help your teammates once they’re done doing their job. Otherwise, carry a big NO over your head.

Frequent Communication

No two persons are the same. You'll have unique personalities in your team, each with his own persona and style. Emotionally, everybody would differ. And you can't win the time management game unless you resonate with them on an emotional level.

Build friendships, and often talk and inquire about the progress in an informal and fun way. Don't sound bossy, but a friend who's just curious to know how far they have made. Communicate with your team because our tongue is the only gateway to our mind and body. An intelligent person extracts the whole personality out of the words one speaks. Learn the art of dealing with human beings and show flexibility where possible.

Frequent communication will allow you to bridge the gap with your team and help you design a better strategy to keep a person aligned with their preferences and interests. It'll save time because that member can then be delegated to the job he's more into.

Assuming you've followed down to this point, you're pretty much aware of all the practices you should consider opting to enhance this management skill with your team.