In the search for ways to boost productivity in the workplace, we offer two suggestions:
- Work in your strengths. Efficiency is inborn, and productivity is planned. Understand your own strengths, incorporate a growth mindset, and align yourself with others whose strengths complement your own.
- Delegate. Align tasks with people who are best suited for the job. Whether you are a sole operator or working as part of a team, we offer key areas to make sure you’re using your time for the highest benefit (customer experience, travel, meetings and documents).
Work in your strengths.
What does it feel like to work in your zone? Being more self-aware helps us understand what type of work we enjoy, and how to make the best use of our time. There are multiple assessments to help one better understand his or her strengths and weaknesses.
According to the Myers-Briggs personality assessment at 16personalities.com, my type is ENTJ, or the Commander. It means I’m naturally wired to look for efficiency and desire to focus my energy toward goals. I’m a strategic thinker – which means I thrive on navigating challenges and looking for solutions. I also enjoy inspiring others to work toward accomplishing things together.
Delegate.
Working within your strengths is the key for making the highest and best use of your time. Turn loose of tasks for which someone else is better suited…or that cause you anxiety. Early on in my consulting business, the best thing I ever did for re-energizing myself was to outsource bookkeeping. It just does not bring me joy, nor am I efficient in that area.
Let’s examine four areas where it can be beneficial to delegate.
- Customer Experience
Take care of your current and prospective customers by making sure someone is always on hand to field and responding to inquiries.
That could mean forwarding your calls to an assistant or associate while in meetings. If you are a one-man-band, customize your voicemail greeting to let callers know when you expect to be “back in the office” to return calls.
- Travel
One time I worked with a colleague who had traveled extensively. When he moved up in management, he still made his own travel arrangements. I encouraged him to teach someone else the tricks of the trade, so that he could focus on potential clients, rather than logistics.
- Meetings
Working within strengths also means relying on people who are detail-oriented for sending meeting notices and reminders, and handling logistics for productive meetings. It is also helpful to designate someone to take notes and recap the action items.
- Documents – Research & Proofreading
A second pair of eyes is always a good idea to make sure the work that leaves your organization is professional. Find the person on your team who has a built-in radar for grammar and punctuation, or use a grammar checker app. Streamline workflow and minimize email traffic by using a collaboration tool for team projects. At Orbis, we use the google drive for sharing documents and spreadsheets.
View this short 10-minute video, which elaborates on how to put those suggestions into practice.
If this topic has piqued your interest, here are two options for further study.
- Suggested Reading
Emily Price is a freelance journalist whose articles have been published in Fast Company and Fortune magazines. In her book Productivity Hacks, she lists hundreds of ways to be more productive at work, home and travel.
Resource Management – which includes delegation – is one component of the Executive Collective. We have designed this leadership and executive coaching program for executives in new leadership roles and organizations in growth mode. Through a combination of executive coaching, in-person workshops, virtual meetings, and online discussion forums, we will emphasize practical skills for communicating with colleagues and customers and resource management.
Explore.
I invite you to explore our website for more resources for growth and productivity. At Orbis, we help you bring focus to your work, enhance corporate culture, and make lasting connections.
