Stop Being A Firefighter

4 people called in! We just realized we have 8 over bookings!! This list is due today!! We have another conference call at 10am!!!

Do you feel like all you do is run from one fire to the next? Do you feel constantly behind and struggle to “get ahead”? Are your fellow managers/supervisors stressed out? Is your office morale low? Is your absenteeism high?

Then you might be a firefighter!!

How do you stop the pattern? How do you keep those daily fires out?

Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they’ve started – David Allen

Develop your strategic plan!! By planning ahead and working towards the office’s future, you can stop playing catch-up. This isn’t just about meeting goals. This is about building the type of office in which your employees want to work and the public wants to be served.

If you treat every situation as a life and death matter, you’ll die a lot of times – Dean Smith Be purposeful in your planning and try the following steps.

What are the critical issues? Develop your objectives. Develop your timeline. Develop your action plan. Solicit feedback. Educate your staff. Get buy-in. Roll out. And, most importantly, tweak as necessary

When you try to focus on everything, you focus on nothing. Delegate to your team so they can learn to delegate to theirs. Stop managing like it is 1988!

If you truly value your employees, your management team, and yourself then it is imperative that you strive to improve your office by addressing the wants, with the needs, with the have-to-dos. Stop being a firefighter and start being the proactive leader that you would want to work for!!

Questions?