Quick Tips for New Leaders

Project Management

You need well executed projects to accomplish your goals. Clearly define and delegate.

• Define the elements of the project and assign responsibility to those best able to manage and execute those elements.
• Once assigning a task to someone – let them handle it. They should be accountable to you, but you should not rush in to micro-manage or to give others pieces of the project.
• Respect the chain of command you have established.
• Allow project leaders to pick your own team (committee) and manage them
• Clarify team (committee) goals and deadlines – hold people accountable.
• Always give positive recognition.

Meeting Management

Your time and everyone else’s is of incredible value. Invest it wisely.

• Set and keep a time schedule.
• As meeting manager (CEO or facilitator) be on time.
• Have an agenda – and publish it – also have paper copies.
• No surprises – everyone involved should know the purpose of the meeting.
• If guests are invited, advise them in advance that they are guests and will be given the opportunity to speak when it is appropriate to the reason they are in attendance.
• Nurture a climate that encourages people to express their own views – and to offer constructive disagreements and/or criticism.
• Share the responsibility of the meeting with attendees by having them responsible for different aspects of the agenda.
• Have a living agenda rather than a static one and allow others to input into the agenda before it is published.
• Start and end on time – that shows respect for others

Time Management for Executives

I recently spoke to about 50 executives of Chambers of Commerce about managing their time, their clients, staff and volunteers.  Since the CEO of a Chamber MUST be focused on customer service at all times, it is somewhat difficult to manage interruptions.  Too often their time gets used up by the interruptions and they feel frustrated at the end of the day or week since they didn’t manage to get done what they needed to do.  This is true of course for most people in leadership positions.  My suggestions apply not only to Chamber executives but to all you executives who read this newsletter.

Some small suggestions:

·        Find a few hours during the day (maybe not every day) when you can close your door, leaving a message on it that you are deeply engaged in a project that demands your full attention and cannot be interrupted except for emergencies.  Of course you don’t need to say all that all the time.  Find some symbols and use them – after of course teaching people what they mean.  Some people use colored cards to say:

o   Emergency Only

o   OK if really important

o   I’m available, just knock

o   Open door – come on in

·        Do not answer your phone or e-mail during those times.

·        Put a message on your voice mail stating that you will return phone calls between X & Y times.

·        Delegate – delegate – delegate & delegate

·        Have staff members as supervisors to volunteers

·        Train volunteers and hold them accountable (yes, you can!)

·        Use Covey’s Four Quadrant’s to organize and prioritize

·        Give as much of the trivial stuff away as possible – e.g. delegate

·        Remember, you more you spend in Quadrant II (planning, organizing) the less you need to spend in crisis management.

My theme today seems to be becoming more effective in the workplace.