Comments on: Leadership Caffeine: Be Careful How You Value Your Time-15 Minutes Can Make a Big Difference

By: Ali Ahmadian

Ali Ahmadian — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:08:56 +0000

Beautifully put Art. Most people (management or else) use time constraint as an excuse to skip effective communication. I’ve learned that effective communication is one of the best management tools. Without knowing what people are like, there is no way you can manage them. There are very few rules that apply to all people. You have to know each individual to be able to effectively manage them or leave them alone to inspire them to be more creative.

To me, a manager’s majority of time should be spent on communicating with people. Let’s not forget, though, listening is even more important than talking.

Thanks for the post.

-Ali

By: Art Petty

Art Petty — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:12:11 +0000

Nicole, right you are! Thanks for reminding us. -Art

By: Nicole

Nicole — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:25:53 +0000

Hi Art,

Thanks for the cautionary tale! One piece of unsolicited advice I have is don’t overlook the value of even 15 seconds. When people come up to you at your desk, lock your screen (hit the windows key and L at the same time).

This way you will look your employee in their eyes, instead of watching for new emails, etc. Additionally, but focusing 100% on them you may actually be saving time since you will fully understand what they need to communicate right away.

Good luck out there!

Nicole

By: Art Petty

Art Petty — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:23:08 +0000

Susan, Tanveer and Penny, thank you all for reading and commenting. Penny, thanks for remembering and for paying it forward! -Art

By: Penny G

Penny G — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:16:16 +0000

Hi Art -
When I read this post, I was reminded of your attention to compliment good customer service. You and other good leaders have influenced many people this way. I also try to thank people for good service, whether on the phone, at a store or in a drive-thru. I’ve encouraged some great people to move up from an hourly role to a salary role by highlighting their skills in customer care. Whether a manager or just a positive consumer, we can all influence someone’s life path.

Thank you for a positive message!

By: Tanveer Naseer

Tanveer Naseer — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:39:01 +0000

There are two take-home messages that I love in this piece of yours, Art. The first one being that leaders need to remember that they are there to serve those who work under them, not the other way around. We still treat leadership as a status symbol, of being a position of prestige, when we really need to view it as a privilege to be in a position to be of service and help to others.

The second message is one I wrote about on my blog a few weeks back and that is the importance of bringing our humanity back into the workplace. We have to stop saying ‘it’s nothing personal; it’s just business’ because we’re not robots, we’re people and we simply can’t expect people to turn off what makes them unique – if not also what attracted us to hire them as a part of our team when we first interviewed them – if we really want our businesses to be able to grow and develop.

Thanks for the great reminder, Art.

By: Susan Mazza

Susan Mazza — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:37:05 +0000

this is a great reminder to tend to things based in importance rather than time. Especially when it comes to people all too often in our pursuit of efficiency costs us our effectiveness in tending to what really matters.

By: Art Petty

Art Petty — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:05:14 +0000

Kelsey, good for your boss and great for you taking the constructive feedback constructively! Great example. -Art

By: Kelsey Anderson

Kelsey Anderson — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:02:04 +0000

Art,

Working as an entry leveI employee, I can competely agree. I work under a former CEO of a national company, and some days my mind is just not there. For example, today I was extremely exhausted and felt like my mind was not working right, not to mention it was the middle of the afternoon. My boss called me out on it, but backed it up with positive/constructive feedback and a short personal conversation. It was just the thing I needed to get re-energized and finish up all my loose ends. The next thing I know it was time to leave! Oh how a little bit of time to your employees goes a long way!

By: Art Petty

Art Petty — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:42:33 +0000

Pat and Gene, thanks for adding your thoughts here. Pat, right you are. The fancy phrase of “Organizational Citizenship Behavior” ‘jumps to mind, but I like your much more human and humane description! Glad you resisted “The Bottom Feeders.”

Gene, it’s always great to have another fan. With you, I think that makes one! I completely agree with you on the “the personal touch.”

Thanks to both of you and to everyone adding your thoughts to what I believe is an important topic. -Art

By: Gene

Gene — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:17:39 +0000

Art, I am becoming a big fan of your BLOGS. This post emphasizes the importance of personal attention to your employees just as your “tell me a story” post did. Employees need to know their story is going to be heard, and giving them the time to tell their story allows them to know you care.

As in your colleague’s situation, they found out the expense of showing they didn’t care by not taking the time to handle the situation. But, it is not just your colleague whom this has happened to, I have suffered from the affects of not taking time to talk to employees and cohorts. We must make sure to take the 15 minutes to work with others. In business, it is the personal touch that helps make a successful leader.

By: Patricia Comer

Patricia Comer — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:18:39 +0000

I so agree and how unfortunate it appears to be for your colleague! However, I am glad to read that he got the “lesson”. At the core of our being, we all want to feel as though we belong. Creating the sense of belonging creates loyalty, higher productivity and stimulates creativity. We will all move on searching for that sense of belonging if we do not feel it at our present place of employment or we will resort to starting those nasty cliques! Case-in-point: While working at a large university I was asked by a group of professionals if I wanted to join their club – The Bottom Feeders! I couldn’t run fast enough! Enough said!

By: Art Petty

Art Petty — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:08:36 +0000

Melissa and Mackenzie, thanks for adding your comments. I love your perspectives on the topic and glad that this served as a reminder. -Art

By: Mackenzie Heys

Mackenzie Heys — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:18:13 +0000

Great reminder Art! It’s all too often that we all forget that while at work, people are still going to behave as such. The time taken to acknowledge people truly makes a big difference. The most effective boss I have had was an extremely busy, high level executive who took a few moments everyday to touch base with everyone in the office. His willingness to make himself available had a huge, positive effect. Reading your post immediately reminded me of him and the importance of taking time to value people. Again, great reminder!

By: Melissa DeAngelo

Melissa DeAngelo — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:58:25 +0000

Hi Art,
Great post! I think as a leader it is extremely important to engage our employees whether it’s for as long as an hour or as little as 5 minutes. Taking the time to get to know our employees and listen to their needs (professional and even some personal) can really make for powerful working relationships that can lead to a team/company’s success. I especially appreciate your statement that a leader’s time is more valuable to others than it is to the leader. Though this may be hard to internalize at first, it is so true. Time management is not just about managing time to finish projects and tasks, but it should also include the time it takes to make sure your employees are getting the attention they need as well. The ability to understand and use this skill separates great leaders from the rest.

By: Art Petty

Art Petty — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:15:40 +0000

Jeanne, as I indicated to Mike above, “well said!” Thanks for reading and sharing. -Art

By: Jeanne Male

Jeanne Male — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:01:06 +0000

Such an important topic, Art! Those who are promoted to leadership are often driven and decisive and have learned to triage tasks and time as a survival skill. Being seen as leadership material because they get things done, may get them the job, but it is often the soft skills and emotional intelligence (empathy, in your example) that creates the tipping point in making a leader successful.

By: Art Petty

Art Petty — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:14:53 +0000

Mike, well said! Thanks for reading and commenting. -Art

By: Mike Henry Sr.

Mike Henry Sr. — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:10:09 +0000

Great suggestions Art. Thanks for the post. It sounds like your friend has a bit of a history with this type of challenge. Fifteen minutes might have saved the day or started the turn-around, but the habit of considering others more important than yourself is the real value. When you can do that, you make the right response to interruptions naturally.

Mike…